ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵapp

Are there activity buses for secondary schools?? 

Activity buses were offered to all ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵapp secondary schools as an option. Activity buses began transporting students on August 28.? 

?How does ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵapp offer middle school sports?

Please review the information from the Athletics website about middle school sports.  

?Were the River Ridge Sidewalks completed?? 

The sidewalk portion from the school to the Alexian Gateway will be completed by September 8. Beginning the first day of school through September 8, there were several areas of the sidewalk done and other areas had a flat gravel (walkable) path for students and families to navigate easily. River Ridge staff were placed along the route to support those students and families during days there was not a fully completed sidewalk.  

Is iGrad moving?   

iGrad leases retail space in a shopping complex near bus routes on the East Hill of Kent. The lease continues through June 2024 with an option for one more year. ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵapp offered to purchase the Sequoia Baptist Church property located adjacent to the new middle school, Canyon Ridge, as a site for iGrad relocation. However, this offer did not move forward due to the asking price for the church property. At this time, iGrad will stay at its current location.? 

?Where is Kent Virtual Academy?  

The upstairs area of Kent Valley Early Learning Center (KVELC) has been remodeled to accommodate Kent Virtual Academy (KVA) for this school year, while ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵapp completes the purchase and renovation of a permanent facility early in the 2024 calendar year, but no later than the 2024-25 school year. 

All elementary and secondary Dual Language positions are filled.? 

What is happening with IE staffing? How is ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵapp expanding the program, yet reducing support at the Administration Center.   

ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵapp reduced Inclusive Education (IE) staffing allocations at the administration center to prioritize increased staffing allocations in the schools. This reflects both the recommendations of the boundary committee as well as district investments in school-based instructional services for inclusive education. The Administration Center reorganization included adjusting the capacity of roles and teams supporting district programs.? 

?What is happening with the STEAM Program at Martin Sortun? 

All elementary and secondary Dual Language positions are filled.? 

Does elementary band and orchestra follow state standards for student learning based on similar instruments and time to play in an ensemble? ? 

All music students in ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵapp participate in ensemble learning beginning in kindergarten and through all General Music classes where they sing as a group and play various classroom instruments (Orff, World Drums, Ukuleles).? 

The musical definition of an ensemble is two or more musicians making music together – including duets, trios, quartets and larger. Ensembles of like instruments are common in the music genre (brass quintet, string quartet, woodwind quintet, percussion ensembles, herald trumpets, sax quartets, flute choirs and clarinet choirs).? The consensus of music educators and performers is that working in these smaller ensembles is the best pathway towards developing musicianship.? 

The State Standards in Music specify four Artistic Processes (Creating, Performing, Responding and Connecting) with eleven Anchor Standards. Of those eleven, three are in each of the first three areas and the remaining two in “Connecting”.?  

The three Anchor Standards in Performing are:? 

• Select, analyze, and interpret artistic work for presentation.  
• Develop and refine artistic techniques and work for presentation.  
• Convey meaning through the presentation of artistic work.? 

Across these Anchor Standards there are subcategories of areas: General Music K-8, Harmonizing Instruments, Traditional and Emerging Ensembles, Theory & Composition, and Music Technology. Our beginning band and orchestra students work to fulfill both the standards in General Music, grade appropriate, and begin on the Traditional and Emerging Ensembles standards which are targeted for mastery of the Novice level in Grade 6. Students in the beginning band program on the Specialized Music Instruction model also learn corporately in ensembles of either like instruments or of familiar instruments (Woodwinds, Brass, Percussion, High Strings and Low Strings).? 

What is the deficit facing Kent School District?

The Kent school district will need to replace approximately $32 million in non-recurring federal revenue next year.  If current trends continue, that gap could widen by the end of the school year.

Can the fund balance be used to make-up the deficit?

The fund balance can be used to make up some of the $32 million projected deficit on a short-term basis. Because fund balance is one-time funding, it can only temporarily delay (rather than eliminate), the effects of an operating budget deficit. 

Board Policy states there must be a 5% unreserved fund balance. 

One month of operating expenses equals approximately $40-45 million.

What needs to be done to avoid a fiscal cliff due to ESSER ending?? 

The short answer is that ESSER funding comes to an end at the end of 2023-24. Over the past three years the district has added certain expenditures for school district redesign during the pandemic and to support academic recovery. This has happened during a time when enrollment has plateaued and is down since 2017.?The district was able to make these investments using ESSER funding.  

As we look to the future (beyond 2023-24), the district will be faced with making deliberate budgetary decisions to bring expenditures back in line with sustainable levels. The district will either need to reduce expenditures or find other revenue sources – or a combination of both. Annual ESSER support has been approximately $30 million.  

Is the district using its ESSER funds? 

ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵapp was awarded a given amount of ESSER funds, in three separate allocations, ESSER I, II, and III, which may be claimed through 2024. Although it is and always has been the intent to claim the entire amount awarded, the district cannot simply “cash in” to receive the funds whenever it chooses. All expenditures for which the district claims for reimbursement must continue to meet allowability guidelines (just as with all other federal grants).  

Fiscal Recovery Fund (SLFRF) was 9 million and now it is zero. Is there an explanation? 

What is the status of ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵapp’s student enrollment and how does it impact the district budget? Has student enrollment been increasing or decreasing?   

Overall, since the 2017-18 school year, ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵapp enrollment has been declining.  While there have been some year-to-year fluctuations, total enrollment (including running start students, and I-Grad) is down over 1,900 FTE since 2018 through January. Regular enrollment (excluding those extra categories in the comparison) are down over 2,000 FTE. These figures change each month, as new enrollment is tabulated. The largest difference in these groups is the green column representing running start students – those students “pass through” our system and go to colleges like Green River Community College for their high school credits. However, we send 93% of the funding for these students along to the College to pay for their education, so our financial impact is different for this group. As you can see, this one of our fastest growing enrollment categories. 

District staff present updates on enrollment with each monthly financial report. Most recently, at the , the district presented a comprehensive chart showing overall enrollment declines since 2018. The chart is included below. Each month, the district receives enrollment updates from the state in the form of the ; the picture below shows how Kent can be chosen from the scroll down menu. Because enrollment is a primary basis by which state funding is provided to districts, declining enrollment can present challenges for district budgets. 

I heard that the district received $100 million in ESSER funding from the Federal government. How is the district using its ESSER funds? How can the district have budget challenges when it received so much federal funding? 

ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵapp was awarded approximately in three separate allocations, ESSER I, II, and III, which may be claimed through 2024. The funding was provided by the federal government mainly to help districts maintain continuity of operations during the COVID-19 Pandemic. The district implemented a multi-year plan for expenditure, spanning through the end of the 2023-24 school year. The intention was to give the system time to recover from the Pandemic; keeping staff hired while districts returned to in-person instruction, and enrollment had time to rebound. Toward this end, each of the last three years, the district has claimed approximately $30 million/yr to support current staffing levels. Because costs have continued to rise, and enrollments have remained lower, the district is facing a general fund operating deficit as this ESSER relief funding ends. This is a common experience for districts . 

The district has reported on the types of expenditures in an Appendix in its monthly financial statements, which can be viewed here. If you wish to read about the intended uses of ESSER funding, you can also access guidance . 

How are rising inflation costs impacting school districts like ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵapp? 

School districts like ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵapp are experiencing inflationary pressures in a variety of ways. In the labor market, actual salaries paid to school employees have been increasing at rates exceeding the Implicit Price Deflator (IPD), which is the measure that determines state funding to school districts. Districts have also seen cost increases in certain goods and services. In the last few years, equipment and supplies have experienced both delays in production and increases in price. A notable example is the cost of the district’s liability insurance coverage, which increased over $900,000 this year, or about 30%. 

Is state and federal funding increasing for education? 

Yes. Funding from both the state and federal government has been increasing steadily in recent years. However, the federal funding is expected to decrease rapidly beginning next year. The state increases are driven primarily by allocations for Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLA), which match the implicit price deflator. In some cases, the state has provided funding for staffing. The issue confronting districts across the region is that overall expenses are exceeding the rate of increase in school funding, and, at the same time, substantial sums of federal funding are expected to go away (ESSER).  

I heard the district uses purchasing cooperatives to get around bid requirements; is that true? What are purchasing Cooperatives? What are their benefits? 

Depending on the type of good or service in question, bid procedures can be costly and time consuming for governmental entities. In recognition of this, the law gives these entities (like school districts) the flexibility to cooperate and, in many instances, share the administrative burden of conducting bids.  In most cases, entities like school districts or cities can do this by either 1) “piggy-backing” on an existing bid for the same service from a peer district or organization (avoiding duplication of work), or 2) using a purchasing cooperative (like ) to conduct bid procedures on behalf of all of its members, thereby saving time and money. The law expressly enables this practice, and the Board approves the purchasing cooperatives that the district is authorized to do business with. Currently there are 13 approved cooperatives. 

Are teachers being moved to other schools this year?