In January 2010, the community was invited to weigh in on budget priorities for the 2010-11 school year as the district prepared for more spending reductions due to declining state revenue. The ten-minute online survey asked participants to answer a series of questions that required them to prioritize various district programs and support services by choosing between two of them at a time.

The following are the results of the survey, as prioritized by the survey participants:

Question: What should have greater budget priority?

1. Class sizes, smaller than that which is funded by the state, including additional adult classroom support
2. School-based supports including counseling, nursing, custodial, grounds, and office services
3. School safety, playground supervision, and security
4. Learning supports and interventions for struggling students
5. Instructional materials including curriculum adoptions, textbooks, and supplementary materials
6. Bus transportation
7. After school extracurricular athletics, clubs, and performing arts programs
8. Accelerated and highly capable programs
9. Centralized services such as payroll, accounting, human resources, technology, and communications
10. Staff training

Question: Which of the following is your preference?

1. Saving the maximum number of positions/jobs (84%)
2. Improving/maintaining employee compensation (salary and benefits) (16%)

Contact us

For more information about the survey, contact Executive Director of Communications Brian Fox at (253) 841-8703.

Related links

• 2010-11 Budget Priorities Survey presentation (pdf, 1.2Mb)
• 2010-11 Budget Information Overview