Board of Directors' Core Mission Priorities and Guiding Principles

The unprecedented global economic recession has resulted in a state budget deficit currently estimated at over $8 billion for the 2009-11 biennium. While the Northshore School District Board of Directors remains hopeful that the Legislature will honor its responsibility to fully fund Basic Education and address the deficiencies of the current definition and funding structure for Basic Education, we recognize that our District may face significant funding reductions in the coming years. These reductions will follow several years of budget reductions due to unfunded and under-funded state and federal mandates, declining enrollment, and escalating costs. Further reductions will require deeper cuts into our educational core mission and possibly the elimination altogether of certain programs, services, and activities.

In the current environment, the Board of Directors recognizes the necessity of articulating guiding principles that reflect the sentiment of the Northshore school community. These guiding principles serve to inform the difficult budget decisions our District may face over the next few years.

To that end, an extensive survey of eight core mission priorities was conducted. Participants included the District Administrative Team, Key Communicators, and over 3,500 parents, staff, and community members. Utilizing this feedback, the Board adopts the following core mission priorities to be used as guiding principles in the order below:

1. Class Size
2. Instructional Materials
3. Support for Struggling Learners
4. Highly Capable Programs
5. Extra- and Co-Curricular Programs
6. Professional Development
7. Instructional Technology
8. Choice Programs

The Board recognizes the challenging work of aligning our priorities to our resources. The Board wants to be clear that the above ordering of core mission priorities in no way constitutes a value judgment of specific programs, services, or activities, the students being served, or the staff serving them. The Board directs the Superintendent and District administrators, including the Budget Committee, with filtering necessary budget reductions through the above prioritized items when developing budget recommendations. The Board recognizes that several of the above items are general and broad and are not intended to encompass "all or nothing" choices. Rather, balance and creativity must be strategically applied to sustain programs, services, and activities in as many of the areas as possible. The District will continue to explore opportunities to make programs and services cost neutral as an alternative to reduction or elimination. Likewise, the District will continue to advocate for legislative and appropriate legal action to improve school funding. Adopted by the Board of Directors at an open public meeting on March 24, 2009.

By: Sue Buske, School Board member
By: Gene Hawkridge, School Board member
By: Dawn McCravey, School Board member
By: Janet Quinn, School Board member
By: Cathy Swanson, School Board member

Attest: Larry Francois, Superintendent