Family Communications

January 11, 2023 Message from Dr. Saltzman | pdf format

Dear Everett Public Schools’ families: 

I hope you had a nice holiday break and are ready to kick off 2023 with lots of great learning, activities and fun. I think this is going to be a great year for our community. 

I would like to start by giving you an update on our budget and ask for your input. Last fall we all experienced the economic downturn and an increase in the costs of goods and services as well as an increase in cost-of-living expenses. It was a time for many governments, businesses and families to look at their budgets and be more frugal with their spending.  

The district had the added factor that extra federal funding related to COVID (ESSER funds) provided support the past two years but is going away at the end of this school year. During the 2022-23 school year, fund balance was used to fill the gap in our revenue and expenses. Using fund balance will not be an option next year as it is only one time spending. 

We knew our expenditures were exceeding our revenues and, like other districts, began to look for ways to reduce our expenses. We began reviewing every open position with an extra critical eye in September and held all non-essential spending starting December 1.  

While this work has helped to reduce the deficit, we need to find more reductions to meet budget this year and next. This is where we are soliciting your feedback.  

A few key principles guiding our decisions include: 

• We will preserve items and services that directly affect student learning to the greatest extent possible.
• We will be guided by prioritizing Tier 1 instruction led by the Strategic Plan.
• We will consider regulatory, legal and contractual requirements as well as space needs.
• We will consider consolidating and reorganizing to increase efficiencies. 

We anticipate every department and each school will see budget impacts moving into the 2023-24 school year. We appreciate your perspective and will consider the feedback you provide along with feedback from staff to bring a recommendation to the board next month. 

Please take the budget survey to provide your feedback on the 2023-24 budget. The survey will be open through midnight, Tuesday, January 17. We will post summary results on the budget webpage. There are frequently asked questions (FAQs) on the budget page as well. If you have any unanswered questions, please email budget@everettsd.org. 

Thank you for your input on this very important topic. We want to provide the best education for your child and these decisions can be impactful.  

Stay safe and be well. 

Dr. Ian Saltzman
Superintendent