Schools: Masks back on at VHS; budget set for vote

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, June 8, 2022

Public Health recommends universal masking

Last week, Public Health Seattle King County (PHSKC) declared that Vashon High School (VHS) met the criteria for a COVID outbreak and highly recommended that the school move to universal masking indoors, for the duration of the school year.

Superintendent Slade McSheehy announced the news in a community email on Friday, June 3, saying that starting Monday, June 6, masks would be required indoors for all students, staff, and visitors at VHS, regardless of vaccination status. Masks will also be required for all students, staff, and drivers on all district transportation, regardless of vaccination status.

Masks are also now recommended, though not required, indoors at McMurray Middle School and Chautauqua Elementary School, regardless of vaccination status, he said.

On Monday, PHSKC spokesperson Kate Cole said, in an interview with The Beachcomber, that the agency had made its recommendation to VISD directly, by phone, after reviewing VHS case numbers for the week of May 23 to 29.

Cole also said that PHSKC had earlier notified all county school districts on May 13 that due to increasing cases in both schools and the broader community, the agency had changed its guidance to recommend that schools implement stronger safety protocols, including universal masking, if there was an indication of spread in a cohort, cluster or building.

“We made that new recommendation [because we were seeing an increase in the schools] and we wanted schools to take preventative action rather than wait for an individual recommendation,” Cole said.

In May, VISD experienced its second-highest case counts ever for students and its highest case count ever for staff. During the week of May 23 to 29 alone, 59 cases in VHS and staff were recorded — a threshold well above PHSKC’s definition of an outbreak, according to Cole.

At a board meeting on May 26, McSheehy discussed the high case counts but did not make recommendations for any change in COVID protocols and precautions at VISD, which at that time stipulated that masks were optional. At the meeting, McSheehy himself was unmasked.

In a phone call, McSheehy acknowledged receiving the updated guidance on Friday, May 13, and said he had met with the district’s administrative team the following week to review it and discuss the district’s known transmission rates and cases at that time.

“After that review, we did not identify any transmission that met the definition of a cluster as described in the updated guidance,” he said. “Known cases increased the week following prom, and after review of the cases, updating and reconciling the transmission data, as well as consulting with PHSKC, it was determined that we fit the definition of an outbreak at VHS related to VHS students attending prom.”

In a follow-up email, Cole, of PHSKC, said that the recent outbreak at VHS “is similar to what we’ve been seeing in schools throughout King County in the last three months, as COVID case numbers have risen precipitously.”

Additionally, she added, that the “time frame for implementation of universal masking at Vashon High is consistent with timeframes we’ve seen at other schools throughout the county, as schools have needed time to understand the scope of outbreaks, coordinate internally on policy decisions, and communicate new policies to families, students and staff.”

By the numbers: VISD’S 2022-2023 budget

Vashon’s school board is set to vote on the district’s 2022-2023 budget at a meeting scheduled for Thursday, June 9. Islanders can review the budget summary at tinyurl.com/yckn8dzs.

The $27 million budget is approximately 4% higher than last year’s $26 million budget and reflects recommendations for a $917,000 reduction in force (RIF) measure, announced in May, that includes programming and position cuts to custodial, food service, office, teaching, para-educator and specialist staff that were made to help cure a $1.3 million deficit in the budget.

Despite these cuts, salary costs for certificated staff in the new budget are still up by 6.8% from last year, due to newly bargained salaries for both union and non-union represented staffers in this category — groups that include both teachers and administrators. Salary costs for classified staff have risen 9.4% in the new budget, also due to bargained salaries and pay increases recommended by the superintendent and approved by the board in 2021 and 2022. Employee benefits, across the board, have accordingly risen 6.3%.

Despite the RIF measure, the budget shows numbers for full-time employment (FTE) in the district slightly increased from last year, though FTE has decreased in some impactful categories including special education and student services, coaching staff, library staff, pupil management and safety monitors.

The district’s personnel costs comprise 79% of its budgeted expenses — a two percent increase from last year’s budget.

The budget summary also incorporates an anticipated $12.6 million expenditure in 2022-2023 for capital improvements. Currently, the administration and board are considering bond measures including choices between a $16 million bond, a $19.5 million bond, and a $27.5 million bond.

The budget document, said the district’s executive director of business and operations, Matt Sullivan, projects the passage of one of the three options and the expenditure of funds in the summer of 2023.

Possible capital projects now under consideration are a new bus barn, exterior building improvements to McMurray Middle School, the replacement of the main playground at Chautauqua Elementary School as well as fire alarm and HVAC improvements to the building, and locker room renovations and accessibility improvements at Vashon High School.

In terms of revenue for district programs, $6.6 million comes from local property taxes. Revenue from the state is slated to bring $18 million to the district, and revenue from federal and other sources accounts for $2.4 million.

Notably, student fees are also set to rise in the new budget, including increased tuition for preschool programs, costs to participate in art and some other elective classes, and other longtime enrichment programs such as McMurray Middle School Exploratory Week and Chautauqua’s Outdoor Education Program.

Last year’s fees for Exploratory Week were listed as $200, but in 2022-2023, the fee is listed as $200-$400. Chautauqua Elementary School’s Outdoor Education program will also have tiered costs next year, from $100 to $200.

The increased fees for these programs come as Vashon Schools Foundation has announced a $35,000 emergency fund drive (see Schools Foundation, page 6) to fully pay the costs of the programs, for the first time ever. For 2022-2023, the foundation has already committed to fully funding other social-emotional and enrichment programs. These include Sisterhood, Journeymen, Vashon Artists in Schools, Sources of Strength, Vashon Wilderness Program, and Vashon Nature Center.

The Schools Foundation will also now fully support a partnership with Vashon Youth & Family Services which provides counseling support for students.

Previously, the district contributed approximately one-third of the costs for these programs and all of the costs for Outdoor Education and Exploratory Week, but this year’s budget was not able to accommodate those costs, said Sullivan.

The higher student fees for Exploratory Week and Outdoor Education that are listed in the budget document, said McSheehy, would be charged for the programs if total funding for them is not raised by the Foundation or other district resources in the upcoming year.