黑料福利社

The Toppenish School District will reduce staff for the 2026-27 school year, in light of declining enrollment and program efficiency evaluations, said Brittany Kaple, Toppenish's director of public relations.聽

Eight full-time staff positions and one half-time position will be reduced. Reductions include a mix of classified and certified staff. The district is hoping to save more than $1 million.聽

It wasn't a sudden decision, Kaple said. It's been an ongoing process over the past few years, reviewing enrollment realities and evaluating program efficiency.

The district sent layoff notices for 5 1/2 positions in late April, with the rest covered through attrition.

In 2024, the district cut 48 positions through layoffs and attrition to address a budget shortfall of more than $8 million, citing declining student enrollment.聽There are 209 teachers in the Toppenish district, according to Washington report card data from the 2024-25 school year.聽

What's causing the reductions

Toppenish, like neighboring school districts,聽is聽suffering from enrollment decline.

"We've seen a decline in enrollment pretty consistently," Kaple said.

The district has lost more than 600 students over the past three years, she added. The trend is expected to continue next year. The district is projecting a loss of 115 to 130 students and a 20% to 30% reduction in alternative learning enrollment for the 2026-27 school year.

Toppenish has 3,515 students enrolled in the district, according to聽Washington report card data.聽

Enrollment is a significant factor in the district's decision to reduce staff, and the district has consulted with the Washington Association of School Administrators in an effort聽to create a healthier budget, Kaple said.聽

"We've been working with our fiscal department, our school and district program leaders to make sure that we're staffing for the actual enrollment we have," Kaple said.

No core content courses will be impacted by the staffing reductions, Kaple added.聽

Teachers raise concerns

During a Toppenish school board meeting in聽April,聽teacher Robyn Johnson expressed disappointment in district reductions.聽

"I've been sitting in three strategic framework committee meetings now, and I keep hearing over and over, 'Student voice matters,'" she said during public comments. "Yet, we just cut yet another program. This is the second time in four years that the most popular courses have been cut."

She criticized聽the district's decisions, adding that it is eliminating the reasons kids attend school.

Katie Lee, teacher and union representative, said the Toppenish district no longer has the sense of family it once had.聽

"Right now, it feels very much like we have been put into silos," she said. "And there's not that sense of family anymore."

Lee said that she and others were "devastated" to learn that six high school teaching positions were cut, adding that it will hurt students and labor management.聽

"The cutting of those educators does not make our district better," she added. "And this is sitting on top of all of the inconsistency that we've experienced with the high school administration this year."

District changes led to issues with the master schedule, and about 850 students needed to have their schedules rechecked to ensure that they had the right classes, Lee said.聽Scheduling conflicts are nothing new, but this year is an anomaly, she said.

District officials said they've been making adjustments to the high school's master schedule based on needs, course enrollment, interventions and budget constraints.聽