Olympia School District to prioritize ‘equitable’ funding to poverty-stricken schools amid budget deficit concerns

During the Olympia School District (OSD) regular board meeting last February 9, District 1 Director Maria Flores addressed the public’s concerns about funding for schools with a higher occurrence of poverty.

“The board has prioritized equitable funding, which means that some schools do receive more. We put in a poverty multiplier for the schools that are most impacted by poverty,” Flores declared after hearing concerns about the funding.

Flores clarified that putting a poverty multiplier for poverty-impacted schools was the board’s initiative, after seeing that they need to give those schools additional district money because they need to hire additional staff.

Clara Householder, a parent and educator, shared her concerns about schools needing more resources and how some parents aren’t keen on these changes.

“I'm here tonight to urge the board to prioritize funding equity work. When we don't meet the needs of all of our students, including the most marginalized: we fail,” Householder said.

Householder added that these equity needs might not make some parents comfortable, but they will make the community better.

“When progress is made, there is always backlash. Parents care deeply about their children and want what is best for them. However, they may not always understand what is truly best for the greater community,” Householder added.

Kathleen Manning, a parent of a student enrolled in Hansen Elementary School, voiced her worry about the impacts of the deficit on the school, with it being a Title I school.

Title I is a federal education program that sustains low-income students nationwide.

“It's [Hansen elementary School] a school with 47% free and reduced lunch rate– it's clearly a school with a lot of needs. I would urge the board to make sure that you are considering equity in these decisions that you're making about where to allocate resources,” Manning said.

Flores encouraged other concerned individuals and groups to personally attend and comment during budget hearings, in order for the board to make informed decisions.

“I'm gonna just touch on some of the concerns folks are having specifically within the budget. Maybe misconceptions – that we've already made decisions on the budget, which we haven't,” Flores said.

“Last year when we did the budget, we had a budget hearing and there was no one here. This is a really long iterative process for a reason, and I want to encourage all of you here. You really got to show up,” Flores prompted the listeners.

Flores added that the board wants to hear the people’s circumstances and encouraged the population to engage in the surveys and focus group discussions that they will organize.