The new last day of school will be Monday, June 23. Here is what that means for the last few days of school:

The one-page and district website calendars have been updated to reflect the revisions. The early dismissal and LIT release times are noted at the bottom of the one-page calendar.

SUN Bucks provides eligible school-aged children with $120 in food benefits to buy groceries during the summer while meals aren’t available in schools. This amount will be adjusted annually for inflation. Last summer, Washington SUN Bucks provided an additional food benefit to nearly 600,000 children, the first year of the new program. The school district will upload their qualifying family data to the state in May.

If you’re already enrolled in benefits like SNAP, TANF, or FDPIR, your school-age children will automatically be enrolled in SUN Bucks if it’s available where you live. Also, if your household income meets the requirements for free or reduced-price school meals and you've already received confirmation of that, your child will automatically be enrolled in SUN Bucks.

If you are NOT automatically enrolled, you can apply for SUN Bucks directly. SUN Bucks requires students to meet Income Eligibility Guidelines. Free school meals in our district doesn't require income verification, so families must apply for the benefit if they are not already enrolled in state-provided benefits like SNAP, TANF, etc. If you have not already done so, please apply for free and reduced benefits through the Child Nutrition Benefit Application on the district's Nutrition Services Free Meals webpage.

Once you’re enrolled, SUN Bucks may be automatically added to your SNAP account, issued as a separate electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card, or sent in other ways depending on where you live. SUN Bucks cards will be mailed to the address on file at DSHS or at the child's school, or the address listed on the application. Families should be sure their address is correct at both locations.

As you might recall, we shared in late January that we would need to make additional budget reductions for the 2025-26 school year due to enrollment trends and inadequate state funding models. On Tuesday, the school board received a second reading of a proposed Reduced Educational Program that identified general areas of reduction for next school year. I encourage you to review the slides and watch the recording of the initial presentation (starts at the 1:03:50 mark) to hear the full context. The proposal identified nearly $5.4 million in general budget reductions for next school year. The school board approved the Reduced Educational Program resolution.

One of the largest areas of reductions is about 19 classroom teachers because of reduced student enrollment. The second largest area of reduction is administration and office professionals (a total of 5.8 positions) including another Superintendent’s Cabinet position. There are also a few other reduction areas but at a much smaller scale.

Now that the board approved the Reduced Educational Plan, our next steps include identifying specific positions and notifying any affected staff. Last year, we were able to avoid issuing Reduction in Force (RIF) notices to many affected positions once we took retirements and resignations into account. We hope to do the same this year.

There is nothing easy about reducing staff, no matter what the reason. While the number of staff being reduced for next year is relatively small compared to prior years, it still stings to lose even one valued member of our district community. We are doing what we can to increase enrollment, attract new students to our district and strongly advocate for public education funding with our legislators. In the meantime, we will continue to do what we can with the resources we have. 

School districts receive guidance from the state, and together, we monitor the federal changes closely. With news of the U.S. Department of Education's plans to close, we are still gathering if or how federal funding will be distributed to school districts. Our district receives about five percent, just under $16 million, of the district's general budget from the federal government. That funding supports students receiving special services, students learning English, students experiencing poverty and student meal reimbursements. We are monitoring the situation closely and working with the state to help us interpret the quickly changing situation. 

As always, we remain committed to serving all students and ensuring they have what they need to focus on learning. Thank you for your support as we continue to navigate the continuous changes and challenges in education. We'll update you as we learn more.

If you have immigration-related questions or concerns, please call or visit your school for more resources. They have printed and electronic resources to help guide families who are concerned about the immigration status of a family member.