This June marks the third anniversary of the passing of my brother Mike.

Mike spent his entire professional career in the field of education. As teacher, learning director, assistant

principal, assistant superintendent and superintendent, it was always about the kids. “What about the kids?” he would say. “How will this affect the kids?” Throughout his career, the litmus test was always, the kids.

Developments in the Washougal School District suggest that it is not about the kids, but about something else altogether. Just what that is, I don’t know.

Community Education is a department of the WSD. It offered 91 classes in the fall of 2008. In addition, 140 students benefited from preschool programs, some 200 students participated in before, during and after school enrichment programs and 24 students attended the KinderAcademy, a supplement to regular kindergarten class. Fees are charged to attend each of these programs. The programs are intended to have attendance fees cover expenses.

Comm Ed employees have traditionally been the lowest paid employees in the WSD, with low wages and lack of benefits. Three years ago, pay was increased somewhat in order to attract and retain employees with higher skills. The result was a reduction in turnover, increased program quality and consistency, increased enrollment, and the kids were better served. As a testament to their success, more kids participate in these programs than ever before!

Interestingly, Comm Ed employees were denied the 4.4 percent cost of living allowance (COLA) that all other classified WSD employees received for the 2008-09 school year as directed by the School Board. When approached, WSD administration said that Comm Ed needed to prove they had the revenue to fund their COLA. Comm Ed did just that.

The administration then said Comm Ed needed to continue to prove it over a period of time. Comm Ed proved it once again. Finally the administration said they had decided not to give the COLA to Comm Ed, even after all the additional requirements had been met. Why are these district employees treated differently from others in the district? Where is the School Board on this issue?

Out of frustration, the Comm Ed employees voted to be brought into the Public School Employees Union. They now receive benefits, but still no COLA. Now, please bear with me because there is a connection here to the kids.

Comm Ed provides valuable programs and services to our community, our families and our children. However, the WSD is currently planning to eliminate some of these programs and increase fees in others by 33-35 percent. The proposed fee increase was presented at a recent School Board meeting as necessary due to the increased cost associated with employee benefits.

The WSD administration is treating this issue as if it were a math problem with only one variable. Clearly it is not. In order to determine the actual percentage increase required for a break even point, zero based budgeting should be used. The School Board should require it and the administration should provide it.

Zero based budgeting requires that the program budget be prepared from the ground up including all expense and revenue factors specific to the upcoming year. Simply throwing a percentage at one component of last year’s model is inadequate. My concern is that using incremental budgeting instead of zero based budgeting will likely result in fees that are unnecessarily high, pricing some families out of the programs. The end result, you guessed it, would be turning away some of the kids.

Even with current budget shortfalls, changes in kindergarten scheduling and transportation services, the School Board and administration have the opportunity to strengthen ties with the community, not weaken them.

The WSD should continue providing programs that our community wants, deserves and supports, but evidently is not willing to do so. Why dismantle high quality, long running, self-funding programs that benefit so many families when it provides no cost savings to the district? It doesn’t make sense.

Take a cue from my brother Mike. How will this affect the kids? I believe he would have said, negatively.

Tim Young is a WSD parent and can be reached at younggorge@hughes.net