School board gives green light to cuts

The Blaine school board voted unanimously on February 24 to direct superintendent Christopher Granger to begin preparing a reduced education plan for the 2025-26 school year, marking the third consecutive year of significant budget cuts to the school district.

A finalized budget projection and a full plan that will likely include reductions to certificated, classified and administrative staff and student programs, similar to previous reduced education plans, will be voted on at the next school board meeting on Monday, March 24.

This plan is unique to the past two reduced education plans as it also features merging first and second grade classes from the Blaine Primary School into the elementary school to save an estimated $600,000. Blaine is the only school district in Whatcom County with a dedicated primary school, which serves pre-K through second grade. The primary school will continue to serve preschool and kindergarten classes, Granger said.The plan was met with consternation from primary school parents who are concerned with overcrowding and safety.

Amanda Madrid, a mother of three students in the Blaine school district ranging from pre-K to middle school, said during the board meeting that the district is more concerned with keeping a balanced budget than creating positive student outcomes.

“I understand we have a huge deficit in the budget. I understand we’re operating underwater,” Madrid said. “And while that’s a priority, it shouldn’t come at the expense of our students. I felt like somebody had to say something, and if nobody was willing to do it, then I had to.”

Madrid started a Change.org petition asking the school district to stop the proposed merger of the schools, collecting over 350 signatures as of press time.The district has seen increasingly smaller incoming first grade classes compared to outgoing high school senior classes, reflecting a larger, county-wide downturn in birthrates that contribute to a general enrollment decline across the district.

With less children in the primary school, the district argues that first and second graders should be moved into the elementary school, allowing the district to save significantly on utility and maintenance costs. In a letter explaining its reasoning, the district said it chose to move the primary school children into the elementary school, and not vice versa, because the elementary school has expanded special education services and a gymnasium and cafeteria, which are two of its larger and most critical structures.During a February 18 Supper with the Superintendent community meeting, Granger urged parents to continue to reach out to legislators in Olympia to improve funding for public schools.

“We need to put our energy towards Olympia,” Granger told the crowd of parents and staff in the primary school library. “We wouldn’t be having to make these decisions if the state was upholding the Constitution.”

Since the 2023-24 budget cycle, roughly 100 full-time positions among teachers, paraeducators, bus drivers, maintenance workers, librarians and administrative staff have been cut.