Bainbridge public schools will need to cut spending by $2.6 million to $3.4 million for the coming 2019-20 school year, according to officials with the Bainbridge Island School District.

The Bainbridge Island School Board is expected to declare a fiscal emergency at its meeting this week, and the resolution notes that “funds available for the 2019/2020 school year will be insufficient to maintain the same staffing levels, programs and services as provided for the 2018/2019 fiscal year.”

District Superintendent Peter Bang-Knudsen, in a letter to the community this week, said the spending cuts are being prompted by lower enrollment in district schools, diminished state funding for staff salaries, and a reduction in the Educational Programs & Operations (EP&O) levy.

Fewer students in Bainbridge classrooms will create a nearly $1.6 million budget hit by itself in the district’s next budget, Bang-Knudsen said.

The district is forecasting 172 fewer students than the number officials expected last spring when it planned for 2018-19. (That means 86 fewer students in classrooms this year, and 86 fewer in the coming school year.)

“This is a result of our lower-than-projected enrollment for the current year and a continuing projected decline for next year,” Bang-Knudsen said in the letter.

“We receive approximately $9,100 per student from the state, so a decrease of 172 students equals approximately $1.56 million less in our budget,” he added.

Washington lawmakers, in their attempt to address chronic underfunding of public education in response to the Washington Supreme Court’s McCleary decision, has limited the amount of local levy dollars that districts across the state, including Bainbridge, can collect.

Bang-Knudsen said that while state funding increased for education, the allocation model for salaries was changed and now provides a flat amount for staff, regardless of education and experience. That means Bainbridge will no longer receive additional support from the state to compensate its staff, and the school district will need to absorb the additional expense.

Salary and benefit adjustments will total $650,000 to $1.48 million.

Also included in the general fund budget gap of $2.6 million to $3.4 million: the reduced EP&O levy. Officials estimate the district’s levy funding will be cut by $350,000.

Bang-Knudsen said the district’s Human Resources Department is now projecting staffing models for next year and is working closely with administrators to determine staffing.

“Before considering any reductions, we will incorporate retirements and resignations to mitigate the impact on staff,” Bang-Knudsen said.

The District Budget Advisory Committee is also in the process of looking at the budget for the coming school year, the superintendent noted, and is looking for other potential spending cuts.

An update from the budget advisory committee is expected at the school board meeting on April 11.

Bang-Knudsen said that despite the budget uncertainty, district officials will continue “working thoughtfully and thoroughly on this process.”

“Despite the challenges we face, I am optimistic that we will find constructive and creative solutions which will allow us to continue offering one of the best public educations in Washington,” he said.

The Bainbridge district has faced similar budget crunches in recent years.

Officials noted that there was a “reduction in force resolution” for the 2015-16 school year brought to the school board in spring 2015, and in spring 2017, the board also declared a fiscal emergency and a reduction in force for the 2017-18 school year.