SEQUIM — The School Board has called a special meeting today to possibly act on a proposal to cut the vocational education department staff by 0.8 of a full-time-equivalency teaching position.

The board will meet at

7 p.m. in the district boardroom at Sequim High School, 503 N. Sequim Ave.

“The bottom line is the board is going to have to take some action,” board President Sarah Bedinger said, adding that the five-member elected panel faces a May 1 deadline under a contract with the teachers union to notify any personnel possibly affected.

“It’s not a huge [reduction in force], but nevertheless, it results in less for our students,” Bedinger said.

The board will look at enrollment figures to determine whether they are declining.

Vocational education courses that could be affected by the cut would include engineering technology, sports marketing, cooking and computer training, according to Bedinger.

“There are kids on an academic track and kids on vocational track,” she said, and the board would have to ensure balance in any decision it makes.

The board avoided layoffs last year. The district, however, left five positions — three teachers and two counselors — of retiring school employees unfilled.

District officials said staff was reduced, citing $600,000 as a “fairly substantial” loss in state funding, though it was less than the $900,000 cut that was anticipated.

The district in 2011 cut its staff by six, mostly para-educators but also a custodian and a groundskeeper.

Last May, the board originally targeted up to 10 teaching positions in anticipation of potential state budget cuts that would have forced the district to cut expenditures by $950,000.

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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Reporter Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-681-2390 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.