PORT ANGELES — Declining student enrollment and increasing expenses have led to more than a $1 million in school district budget shortfalls during the last two years.
“We are trying to be extremely conservative,” School Board President Charlie McClain said. “We cannot continue to run in the red.”
The fiscal 2000-2001 budget had a negative balance of less than $400,000, McClain said. And this year, the School Board is preparing for more than a $600,000 deficit.
To make up for the shortfall last year, the district dipped into its reserve fund. The district plans to do the same to overcome this year’s red ink.
The preliminary $34.4 million budget shows a shortfall of $614,436.
This full report appears in today’s Peninsula Daily News Clallam County edition. The big Sunday PDN is on sale throughout the county, or click on “Subscribe” to order your PDN delivered to your home or office.