By Rick Schulte
With all the anxiety over state and federal budget cuts impacting Oak Harbor schools, it’s worth taking a moment to remember how far we have come.
We have very good schools in Oak Harbor; great in some areas, working towards great in others. Fifteen years ago, I don’t think anyone in Oak Harbor would have made that claim. At that time, our buildings were run down, there was no local levy and no hot lunch program, very few computers available for student use, larger class sizes, and shorter school days.
Since then, the community has come together to make our schools a point of pride for North Whidbey. When a new family settles into the area and looks around for the right community to fit their needs, Oak Harbor is often the first and best choice. Our schools make that kind of difference.
We now have local levy support providing $4 million a year, helping lower class size, providing AP classes at the high school, supporting technology, and lengthening our elementary school day. Every school in the district has been remade into comfortable places of learning, highlighted by our flagship high school. There, our students have more high level AP classes, more career-tech tech choices, more foreign language programs, and a wider variety of electives than any other school in the region.
We have hot lunch and hot breakfast at each of our schools, something that was a long-time dream until 10 years ago when Oak Harbor voters made it happen. Our classrooms, from elementary to high school, have a wide array of technology available to them, with a computer available for every four students. Our schools and our community finally have a performing arts venue in the new Student Union Building and a covered stadium for football, soccer and track.
I mention this because there is a great deal to be proud of in our schools. The state budget cuts we have endured in recent years (and will see next year) will not take away any of those things mentioned above.
Budget shortfalls, however, have caused significant changes in how we approach education in Oak Harbor; no doubt about that. This will continue next year with the loss of 10 teachers due to the state’s elimination of K-4 Enhancement. That comes on the heels of the state’s elimination of I-728 funding, which cut 20 teaching positions in Oak Harbor. Both of those programs were designed to reduce class size, so we know things have got to change.
So far, we have managed to make structural changes so that the loss of teachers has not had much affect on class size. This year, another idea is on the table to save class sizes, but it means less instructional time for our middle schools. It’s not a great choice, but we’ve reached a point where the options are few.
Another idea is to change kindergarten to an all-day program, with students attending every other day. This saves transportation money, which can go back into our schools, and it has the benefit of providing more instructional time. But, it can be a significant change for some families.
You can get up to speed on these issues and learn more about recent budget constraints by going to www.ohsd.net. A public hearing is planned for Monday, March 7, at 6 p.m. in front of the joint Budget Committee and Oak Harbor School Board. Your comments and feedback are welcome.
Despite the erosion of state funding, Oak Harbor will remain a very good place to get an education. We have great teachers and great support staff, all serving a caring community that believes in providing opportunity for kids to learn.
Rick Schulte is superintendent of the Oak Harbor School District.
