School board makes moves to bolster new budget
Published 1:30 am Wednesday, April 8, 2026
Vashon’s school board, now engaged in budget planning for the 2026-27 school year, has recently taken steps to tighten the school district’s belt and improve the efficiency of its executive team.
At a meeting on March 26, the board unanimously approved a resolution to allow Interim Superintendent Jo Moccia to trim staff and programming, if needed, to improve the district’s solvency in 2026-27.
The resolution — officially authorizing a reduction in force — got its first reading by the board at a meeting in February, during which Moccia cited the financial pressures of declining enrollment and inflationary factors including an impending 18% spike in the district’s insurance premium.
The extent of the possible staff cuts will be determined in the coming weeks and months as next year’s budget is developed and discussed by the board.
“We’re looking at that resolution, hoping to not have to use it, but at the same time, that may be our reality,” Moccia said.
At the February 26 meeting, Moccia and the district’s Director of Business and Finance, Cassie Zizah, presented an update of their preliminary work on the budget that provided a few more hints of what may be to come.
The presentation included a report, viewable at tinyurl.com/33cphunu, that projects $28.6 million in revenue based on enrollment for the district in 2026-27 — a figure that is more than $1 million shy of the total revenue forecast in the district’s current budget.
According to the document, the district now expects that 1,313 full-time students will attend Vashon schools next year — a decrease from what turned out to be an overly optimistic calculation of 1,358 students in the district’s current budget.
Throughout the school year, actual enrollment has averaged about 27 students below that figure, according to monthly enrollment reports.
Shrinking enrollment — a trend that is being felt statewide — means less in state revenue, which currently stands at about $11,000 per pupil.
The district receives additional revenue from sources including local levies and bonds, and increasingly, the robust fundraising efforts of the Vashon Schools Foundation, which in February presented the school board with a check for $185,000 to support key programs and staffing in the schools.
However, as the largest employer on Vashon, the district remains deeply impacted by any drop in enrollment.
In an email, Moccia explained the complexity of the district’s ongoing budget calculations, saying that she anticipates this year’s budget will be higher than last year’s bottom line of $29 million in expenses and revenue.
This prediction, she said, was due to several factors including adjustments in the state apportionment formula, increases in local tax collections and rising costs associated with expenditures.
Annual increases in salaries have also contributed to the overall growth in the district’s total budget, she said.
Reorganization of district office
The board also took action at its March 26 meeting to approve Moccia’s plan to downsize and restructure the district’s administrative leadership team — a group of employees who have traditionally earned some of the district’s highest salaries.
This employee group now includes five directors variously overseeing the district’s operations in business and finance, human resources, facilities, athletics and technology. Another director leads the district’s services for special education students, and another is in charge of teaching and learning programs pertaining to curriculum, district partnerships and government grant compliance.
School administrators — principals, vice principals and the manager of the district’s FamilyLink and StudentLink alternative education programs — are also members of the leadership team, as is the district’s food services manager.
As detailed on the new organizational chart approved by the board on March 26 (viewable at tinyurl.com/4sfksfnu), the new leadership paradigm will look different, entirely eliminating 1.6 full-time positions and tasking some team members with multiple responsibilities previously performed by one person.
Explaining the changes, Moccia said the reorganization was, in part, prompted by recent attrition in the leadership team — including the decision by the district’s longtime director of teaching and learning, Stephanie Spencer, to resign from 0.6 of her current full-time job in anticipation of fully retiring in June of 2027.
In the new leadership structure, Chautauqua Elementary School’s assistant principal, Karen James, will now serve half time in that position while also working under Spencer’s guidance to assume additional responsibilities now a part of Spencer’s brief.
The recent resignation of Sabrina Kovacs, Vashon High School’s assistant principal, prompted another shift in the organizational chart. A new hire for the position, expected to be announced soon, will now also serve as the district’s athletic director — a job currently held by local educator Anders Blomgren, who will return to full-time classroom teaching in the fall.
The cost savings of the plan, Moccia said in an email to The Beachcomber, will be close to $287,000 in the coming school year.
A significant portion of that savings will come from the elimination of the job of Stephanie Acevedo, who was hired as the district’s facilities director in 2024 with compensation of approximately $125,000 plus benefits.
A new internal hire for a facilities manager, to be overseen by McMurray Middle School Principal Greg Allison, will soon be announced, Moccia said.
In the coming year, the work of the facilities team will also be informed, in part, by a new 10-year facilities master plan, which was also unanimously approved by the school board at its March 26 meeting. Read the 64-page plan at tinyurl.com/5n8kcfuz.
Under the new leadership structure, Allison will also oversee the work of the district’s technology manager, food service manager and a newly created position, Dean of Students, at McMurray.
VHS Principal John Erickson will also have new responsibilities in the fall, overseeing vocational training programs at the school as well as the work of the district’s manager of StudentLink and FamilyLink, Heather Erickson. (John and Heather share a last name, but are not related.)
New hire for Student Services
Last week, the district announced the hire of Anna Marie Dufault to oversee the district’s special education programs. Dufault will step into the position in June following the retirement of Kathryn Coleman, who has held the position since 2018.
Dufault’s long career in education has most recently included serving as Assistant Superintendent of Student Engagement and Support at OSPI (Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction) and as principal of a K-8 school.
Her bio also notes that she also has “many years of experience working with students and families furthest from educational justice, including foster care youth, homeless youth, incarcerated youth and students with disabilities.”
Elizabeth Shepherd is a former editor and reporter for The Beachcomber.
