Community Education

Peninsula Schools administrators address outcry over staffing shifts

Posted on May 7th, 2025 By: Christina T Henry

Following its announcement that some principals will transfer to new schools in the upcoming academic year, Peninsula School District is enacting involuntary transfers of 24 teachers, including some elementary STEM specialists.

Ashley Murphy, the district’s chief financial officer, explained the moves at a school board meeting on Tuesday, May 6, in response to community outcry.

Murphy said that for the third year in a row, the district must downsize to adjust to lower enrollment and state funding that doesn’t fully cover the district’s costs. Murphy projects a net decrease of $2.7 million in state funding for next year.

Federal funding for 2025-26 is an “unknown,” as Peninsula and other districts await clarity on changes made by the Trump administration.

Peninsula School District is solvent and fiscally stable, Murphy said, unlike some districts around the state that are facing state scrutiny and potential budget intervention by state officials.

Anxiety and confusion

Before Murphy’s report, school board President Natalie Wimberley acknowledged community concerns and complaints the district has fielded and seen on social media about the staffing changes.

“I want to take a moment to acknowledge the anxiety and confusion that some in our community are feeling,” Wimberley said. “The uncertainty around staffing, school leadership assignments, and potential program changes has understandably caused concern among our families and staff. We’ve heard from many of you — through emails, phone calls, meetings, and even petitions — and we want you to know that your voices matter to us.”

“We are in a challenging moment, not just as a district, but as a state and nation. State-level budget reductions, declining enrollment, and the end of certain federal funding streams are having very real effects on our schools,” she continued. “Unfortunately, in the absence of timely communication, misinformation and speculation have taken root — especially on social media — amplifying fear and undermining trust.”

Wimberley said the budget and staffing for next year is a work in progress, and more information would be forthcoming. But given “public attention,” the board directed Superintendent Krestin Bahr and the finance staff to present an extensive report to address community concerns.

Statement on free speech

Bahr followed up Murphy’s lengthy report with a statement on staffing and the budget. In it, she called out a new policy on “staff expression” (Policy 5254), including posts and comments on social media, saying the district is not trying to squelch employees’ right to free speech.

“We value the input of our educators. Feedback from our staff informs ongoing decision-making, though we remain bound by confidentiality and professional standards. A workgroup accompanying Policy 5254 that will help clarify the policy’s enforcement will be taking place later this month in coordination with all of our labor partners to ensure it protects employee voice while upholding our shared professional responsibilities.

“Staff are not just permitted but encouraged to have honest conversations with their principals and share their perspectives. Staff at schools with new principals for the 2025-2026 school year have had the opportunity to provide input and will have opportunities to interact with those new principals this spring before the end of the school year.”

Involuntary teacher transfers

The district must notify teachers by May 5 of changes such as involuntary transfers, and contracts are due by May 15. The district notified 24 teachers that they face involuntary transfers for the 2025-26 school year, Murphy reported.

In 2023, Peninsula School District made a sweeping staff reduction to fill a $12 million budget gap. In each year since, Murphy said, the district has managed to address decreasing enrollment and increasing costs without a reduction in force.

Over the past three budget cycles, the district didn’t fill positions vacated by retirements and resignations, and made involuntary transfers of staff as needed. They also did so in 2023, in addition to the RIF.

The district’s good news is that teacher and principal retention is up; fewer are leaving Peninsula compared to three years ago. The impact is, there are more involuntary transfers. The 24 teachers slated for transfer next year are more than double the 10 impacted in 2022-23, Murphy reported.

How does it work?

Teachers slated for involuntary transfer are given a choice of new positions based on seniority and their area of certification. Their salary and benefits remain the same, in line with their education and experience as outlined in the teachers’ contract pay schedule.

“What does that mean?” said Murphy. “It doesn’t mean they’re losing their job. It doesn’t mean that they’re taking a cut in pay. It means that their teaching assignment from this year to next year may look different, their building location from this year to next year may look different, but they have positions within this school district.”

Involuntary transfers will occur from secondary to the elementary level, Murphy said. Some classes at the high school have been have had too few students, so adjustments are needed to be fiscally responsible.

Some classes at the elementary level have been overloaded (allowed by contract for extra compensation), and most of the retirements and resignations came from elementary schools. So, positions need to be added there, even though elementary enrollment will be lower overall next year. Many middle school teachers are certified to teach K-8, hence the downward shuffle.

What about principals?

In April, the district announced it would move nine principals to new buildings (compared to zero involuntary transfers in 2022-23.) In the past, Murphy said, the district would wait for last-minute resignations to shuffle principals around. But with the retention trend making that scenario less likely, the district decided to proactively move some principals in line with district needs and to offer career growth opportunities, she said. No principal is making less because of the move.

Murphy said the district is working closely with principal and teacher unions on involuntary transfers.

Federal funding question mark

Federal funding for schools is largely “unknown,” as the Trump administration makes changes in the Department of Education.

“We would normally have already received our federal allocations. To date, we have received no federal allocations, or indications as to what level our federal grants will be funded,” Murphy reported.

Peninsula School District is less impacted by the uncertainty than many other districts because it’s considered “low-poverty, low-diversity” by federal standards. Federal funds make up approximately 3% of Peninsula’s budget. Still, if that income stream dries up, it will be a hit.

Tallying potential hits, Murphy reported the district could lose $400,000 in Title I funds for disadvantaged students, $2.4 million in special education funding and $100,000 in other miscellaneous federal dollars. Title II, for students with disabilities, has been eleminated, costing Peninsula $350,000.

Federal funding for student meals, $1.5 million, should be safe, Murphy said.

Enrollment trends

Because the state apportions money based on student enrollment, districts everywhere are feeling the pinch of lower birth rates, Murphy said. Decreasing enrollment has been a trend since she came to the district in 2022.

The district projects a net loss in 2025-26 of 37 students, for a total enrollment of 8,653. The biggest loss is at the elementary level, down by 194 students across 10 schools. That’s largely because a particularly large fifth grade is moving on to middle school, Murphy said.

Middle schools are expected to have a net increase of 28 students. The high schools will have a net increase of 129, because of a large incoming ninth grade class. The district does not get to count Running Start students, who take college-level classes, in its high school enrollment.

Current enrollment is 8,745, 514 students fewer than five years ago.

STEM positions trimmed

Specialist teacher staffing, like STEM, Music and PE, is dependent on enrollment at each school and contract terms. All schools have music and PE specialists. Some may have enough enrollment for additional specialists. The district considers travel time for specialists who teach at different schools.

“Art or STEM specialists are designed to supplement the teacher’s instruction,” Murphy’s report says. At smaller schools with fewer classes per grade, having too many specialists can cut into core instructional time, she said.

Minter Creek and Vaughn elementary schools, both with fewer than 300 students, will be most heavily impacted by specialist staffing changes.

The reduction in STEM hours at Minter Creek means only grades 3-5 will get specialist time in STEM. STEM specialist hours at Vaughn also have been reduced, and their schedule is still being worked out. All elementary students in all grades get some STEM instruction from their classroom teachers.

Among other specialist adjustments, Harbor Heights is losing art specialist hours but gaining STEM specialist hours.

State funding, a net loss

State funding makes up more than 77% of Peninsula’s budget. Formulas allocate specific amounts of money for teachers, principals, nurses, paraeducators and other staff positions. Districts, including Peninsula, say the number of positions generated by the formula and the amount paid per position is inadequate, despite annual lobbying in Olympia year after year.

Most districts pay more than the state formula allows to be competitive with others in the region, so they make up the difference primarily from local levy funds. Peninsula’s levy, up for renewal in 2027, makes up about 19 % of the budget.

Legislators gave districts some help with cost-of living increases, materials and operating supplies, and special education. For Peninsula, that’s a net positive of $2 million. That bump will be gobbled up by lost income due to lower enrollment, increased salary and benefit costs, increased liability insurance and other costs, totaling $4.7 million, for a net loss of $2.7 million, Murphy reported.

Ongoing budget maintenance

Including all sources and impacts, the district projects a $5 million deficit heading into the 2025-26 school year … if no budget adjustments were made. Peninsula can roll month to month with budget fluctuations, filling in from its reserve fund, Murphy said, but to do so in the long-term would bankrupt the district. That’s why annual staffing adjustments, like involuntary transfers, are called for.

As a budgeting strategy, moving staff to new positions is nothing new, Murphy said.

“Another key part of this that I am transparently speaking about, and I have said at other board meetings, this work is not one-time work,” she said. “I mean, if it was one-time work, you wouldn’t necessarily need me doing what I do, because I could just fix it all and leave, and you guys would be fine forever.

“But ultimately, it’s about looking at the revenues, looking at the expenditures, looking at where our trends are, where birth rates are going, where the enrollment is coming from, where are we losing enrollment, all of those pieces, and then being able to make decisions at this point in every single school year.”