Emotions were running high Monday night as a crowd gathered in the Bainbridge High School Commons, demanding answers from administrators about looming threats to the Options Program.

Many of the parents of children in the Bainbridge Island School District Options Program had come to voice their concerns that imminent budget cuts threaten to close the Commodore building, displacing students who need an alternative learning environment to succeed.

On Feb. 17, district superintendent, Peter Bang-Knudsen sent out a letter to all district families informing them of the district’s need for budget cuts. In the letter, the superintendent detailed two options being explored by the district to cut costs.

Option one cited staff reductions and cuts to programs as the main methods for eliminating cost overruns. Option two proposed the closure of the Commodore building and relocation of it’s programs elsewhere.

According to Bang-Knudsen, the district will need to layoff personnel regardless of which option the district decides to pursue.

“We anticipate that we’re going to need to do some reduction in force or layoff notices whether it’s option one or option two,” Bang-Knudsen said.

Sherri Wilson is the parent of two options students, and she likened the move by the district to President Trump’s desire to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

“It’s like repealing Obamacare and hoping something good happens,” Wilson said.

While expressing her concern about fracturing the options program, Wilson also voiced her desire to see the program grow.

“We would love to grow your program, it’s a fantastic program. The problem I think, is there’s a lot of research that shows that this idea of putting a small school within a larger school, destroys the smaller school,” Wilson said.

At the meeting, Bang-Knudsen emphasized that the district had not yet decided on any one course of action yet and that Monday’s meeting was the first conversation of many to come.

“One of the things I want to emphasize tonight is this is not about making promises or commitments, it’s about beginning a conversation,” Bang-Knudsen said.

The district will be holding an Options Program Information Night at Commodore Commons Wednesday, March 1 from 5:30 to 7 p.m., followed by an identical presentation to accommodate families’ schedules from 7 to 8:30 p.m..