Amidst a budget shortfall, the Sumner School District is in the process of reducing the number of certified staff positions.

The district took a number of steps last year to trim its budget, reducing costs associated with transportation and coaching, but the district faces between $2.6 million and $4.6 million in reductions depending on what happens in Olympia during the special session of the state Legislature. Declining enrollment for next year of 133 fewer students than expected, accounts for an $800,000 loss in revenue.

“The next big piece of work is a hard one. It’s looking at positions that will be eliminated,” said Ann Cook, communications and community relations specialist for the district.

Due to budget constraints, teachers who were on one-year contracts are not being hired for another year.

“We can no longer avoid staffing reductions,” Cook said. “Staffing costs are nearly 85 percent of our budget.”

Teachers who will not have their contracts renewed are being given the opportunity to fill another open position, if qualified.

Lower enrollment means a reduction of five teaching positions, give or take, depending on actual enrollment.

The district anticipates four teachers retiring and two resigning, along with 17 time-limited (one-year) positions for next year, for a total of 23 open positions. Aside from steps already taken, another two positions will need to be trimmed.

As a cost-saving measure the middle schools and high schools will end the four-period days known as block scheduling and will adopt a traditional six-period day schedule. Switching to the traditional schedule covers a third of the budget shortfall, Cook said.

“You can teach the same number of kids with fewer teachers,” said Hillery Berteaux, president of the Sumner Education Association.

Sumner High School currently has a hybrid model featuring block scheduling and traditional scheduling.

“The majority of students have semester-long classes for 90 minutes,” Berteaux said.

The change in the schedule at the middle school and high school level means a reduction in the staffing model of about 20 positions, accounting for about $1.5 million of the shortfall.