Winlock School District has a budget shortfall

On Wednesday evening, several parents, teachers, students and community members attended the Winlock School District Board Meeting. The number one topic during public comment was the reduction of Behavioral Specialist staff who work directly with students who have mental health issues. The school currently employs "Certified Counselors" in each school, but they do not have the time to handle all the issues plaguing our students today. They are looking to reduce staff by five employees, three of which are behavioral specialists.

The meeting at the high school library was well attended with the crowd spilling over to the hallway. Teachers, parents and students openly poured their hearts out as to the importance of these employees. Public comment went on for a couple of hours, it was clear, these behavioral specialists play an important role in students' lives. To hear students talk about their mental health was heartbreaking, there wasn't a dry eye in the room when some of these students spoke.

The notification of the budget shortfall seemed to have just been discovered. When Spencer Hoven, President of the Winlock Student Community found out about the reduction in forces, she sprung into action. She stated, "I had to speak up, I couldn't sit back and not try to help. I let the community know what was going on hoping to get some support in helping to save these people who we need in our schools. The way our community and people around our community rallied together at our school board meeting was incredible! I just hope we've made enough noise for them to listen. I hope we were able to make a difference. I hope the community comes back to the special meeting with the same sense of urgency. We need to keep the pressure on the Administration and School Board to come up with a different solution."

During the meeting, several students spoke out, one being Brooklyn Bradshaw, she stated, "They have helped me so much in the years I've been in school. Without them, I don't know if I'd be in school or here right now." Other students talked about they had considered suicide and had been cutting themselves. COVID took a toll on students' mental health and it was evident that evening.

Several teachers also commented. Meg Matheson who works at Winlock Elementary School stated, "Knowing what these jobs do for students should be first and foremost in your mind when making these decisions. Every student, every day!"

Brenda Hoven, a parent whose daughter attended Winlock School District stated, "Dr. Cameron, you are a coward." Erika Molina, former employee of the Winlock School District and worked in the District office stated that Dr. Cameron had "ran off principals," purchased land that was not able to be fully utilized due to wetlands, shown pornographic images by staff and made several bad business decisions, in not only the budget but also in the hiring and firing of staff. Winlock School District has recently had checks returned for insufficient funds. One person asked, "Where did the money go?"

Winlock Schools Superintendent Dr. Cameron stated in a quote to the Lewis County News, "The reason for the possible reductions in force is that we are in a budget shortfall. This shortfall is due to lower K-12 enrollment than projected, loss of local effort assistance (LEA) dollars due to rising property values, grant recoveries, and the lower amount of levy collections than anticipated. Going forward the school board is going to have a financial workshop special session meeting provided by ESD 113 to see how we got here, where we are, and where we are going. We are hoping to schedule that special session meeting within a week."

Tori Nelson, President of the Winlock Teachers Union stated after the meeting, "I love my school! And I will continue fighting to make a difference. I don't know how we got here, but we aren't going to let this unravel us. It feels like we have been blindsided. I'm not sure any of us were aware of how dire our financial situation was/is. The cuts came without warning. That's a hard pill to swallow in itself. But factor in those being cut and it's unimaginable. While tabling the issue feels like a small victory, it is also alarming. I'm not sure how anyone could listen to all those testimonies and still want to proceed with a vote that cuts the lifeline of so many kids! So many kids!"

Nelson continued, "So often we get our poor test scores shoved down our throats. We are constantly reminded that what we are doing here isn't good enough, especially at the elementary. So much negative press. Yet we keep getting resources taken away. Until we can take steps to improving mental health and behavior, our scores won't go very far. Regardless of their titles, the people being let go are the glue that holds this unraveling chain together. This district is a bit of a mess. And the blame for that, in my personal opinion, can be pointed in several directions. I am truly afraid of how much messier we will be without these people. I am afraid of the change it will bring in the workload of teachers and other support staff. Mostly, I'm afraid of how detrimental it would be for our kids. I struggle in this position at times. Bad mouthing a school I'm proud to be a part of makes me feel hypocritical. But at the same time, I would be ashamed of myself if I sat by idly and let things slide."

After public comment, the school board went into executive session. When they returned, they voted to table the reduction in forces to gather more financial information. Holly Orbino was the only school board member to vote no to tabling the issue, she stated, "I am only one board member so I do not represent the board as a whole.... The Winlock School District's motto is 'Every Student, Every Day!' We must stand by that motto at all times and in all decisions! Tabling was the compromise between keeping their jobs and letting them go. Now we all must wait to find out the fate of our district. I believe four of these jobs are invaluable and our district will be crippled without them. I am unwilling to compromise! The mental health of our community is too important to table. My only YES vote on this topic will be to keep Denise, Dani, Eric, and Lorena as their positions are vital to the operation of our district."

The Lewis County News reached out to a couple other members of the Winlock School Board but they did not respond by print time.

Now, the Winlock School District Board of Directors will have a special meeting to discuss where they are in the budget and what steps will be necessary to fix the budget shortfall.