Teachers will lose their jobs and class sizes will increase.

That is the reality emerging for the Lake Washington School District (LWSD) as it braces for substantial cuts to their budget for the next two years.

With the state attempting to balance a budget deficit of around $10 billion, public schools are poised to take a significant hit. Now that the state Senate and House draft budgets have been released, LWSD knows more about the possible effects of state cuts on its budget.

The proposed Senate budget has a slightly larger impact on the district than the House – an effective total of $7.7 million dollars after federal stimulus money is applied. While that is less than the $10 million estimate the district was looking at a few weeks ago, it still amounts to a significant cut in programs and services.

“If we simply cut the items that the state money now pays for, our class size in kindergarten would rise from an average of 19 students to an average of 27, for example,” noted Superintendent Dr. Chip Kimball. “Our fourth grade classes would rise from an average of 25 to an average of 28. Teachers would lose two days of pay. We know from our survey that class size along with efforts to attract and retain teachers are the top budget priorities for parents in our district. We can save some of these important items but to keep our budget in balance, we would have to make decisions on what to cut instead.”

Other items now funded by money proposed for reduction by the state include services to students not at standard; the Ready Start preschool program for at-risk students; professional development services; and student transportation.

The district must develop its budget now, rather than waiting on the final budget from the legislature since it must notify staff of potential layoffs by May 15. The district is asking for parents, staff and community members to weigh in on which items the state is proposing to cut that should be saved and other budget items to cut instead.

Public meetings at each of the four comprehensive high schools will ask parents, staff members and community members to offer their opinions. Attendees will participate in an exercise to prioritize which areas to protect and which areas to cut. They will be able to discuss options with others, as well as submit their own selection. Each of the four meetings is open to parents, staff and community members from anywhere in the district: they have been scheduled in the four high schools to provide one nearby meeting for everyone.

• 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 14, Lake Washington High School, 12033 NE 80th St., Kirkland

• 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 15, Redmond High School, NE 104th St., Redmond

• 7 p.m. Thursday, April 16, Eastlake High School, 400 228th Ave. NE, Sammamish

• 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 22 – 7 p.m. Juanita High School, 10601 NE 132nd St., Kirkland