Waterloo Community Schools Faces Backlash Amid Budget Cut Announcements
Over the course of the past fifteen months, the Waterloo Community School’s District Leadership have worked together to try and create a new budget plan within the Waterloo Community School District. In a presentation to the board on March 10, Superintendent Dr. Jared Smith laid out a plan that would equal over $10 million dollars in budget cuts for the 2025-2026 school year, and $6 million dollars in budget cuts for the 2026-2027 school year.
The budget cuts are due to decreasing enrollment, the cost of inflation, and state funding. During the school board presentation, Smith addressed the school board and the rest of the community in an attempt to simplify and explain the impact that these cuts will have on students and employees in the district.
Smith has made it abundantly clear that there are twenty-five other school districts in the state of Iowa going through the same thing and this situation is not unique to Waterloo. The restructuring of money within our school systems is not a local problem but something that starts at the top.
Smith notes that the way in which the Waterloo Schools are currently operating is not economically feasible for the years to come. In Waterloo, there are many specialized programs that separate the district from others, like the International Baccalaureate Program, Comprehensive Special Education Programs, English Language Learning programs, Behavioral Support Programs, and AP classes. All of these programs are expensive and take a lot of work to upkeep.
“We have managed to navigate the challenges of a global pandemic and economic volatility while minimizing staffing reductions and reducing property taxes for the better part of a decade. However, we have reached a critical juncture. To ensure continued educational excellence and student success amidst rising costs, declining funding, stagnant enrollment, and increasing student needs, we have developed a comprehensive multi-year budget plan,” said Smith at the March 10 board meeting.
This has been a long time coming. There was extra financial help with the money given to the district during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has depleted over time; state funding for public schools has decreased exponentially; and the enrollment rates in Waterloo have gone down while student needs and accommodations have increased. As Smith described it, it is the “perfect storm.” All the things that needed to happen for budget cuts to be made did happen.
Federal Funding Used
The federal funding given to the Waterloo Community School District in during the COVID-19 pandemic was $52.6 million dollars. In recent years this money has been used to increase salaries by 3%, create new positions within the schools, and offset costs for so many student opportunities. This money is now gone, while many of the increased salaries and new positions are still in place.
Inadequate State Funding
Another source of the issue is state funding. In recent years, state funding in Iowa for public schools has not kept up with the rate of inflation and costs needed to provide the district with their yearly costs.
Declining Student Enrollment and Increased Student Needs
One of the biggest factors is the pull and push between student enrollment and student accommodations. In the past 10 years, the student enrollment in Waterloo has decreased by over four hundred students. In addition to the overall enrollment declining, the number of English Language Learners has increased by 54%, and the number of special education students has increased by 24%. In this situation, these kids with special accommodations need extra supports, which in turn also costs extra money.
Higher Inflation
Another smaller factor is inflation. Recent years have shown higher than normal inflation rates, which puts further strain on our financial resources. When the district buses kids to and from school and other school activities, large amounts of gas is used and money is spent. The cost of transportation in Waterloo Schools went up by $2 million dollars just last year. These $2 million dollars are due to the increased inflation rates recently, which have put a massive strain on the financial resources within the district.
The plan to re-budget the Waterloo Community School District is split into three main phases, which includes cutting programs.
When making the plans and guidelines in accordance with the budget cuts within the district, a team of individuals throughout the district were put together to minimize the damage done to the community and our schools. Meetings were held with the District Leadership Team, principals, Waterloo Education Association and more.
Those working on the budget made it a priority to make sure the students and people who work directly with students, were protected. Along with these principles, they wanted to focus on the people in the school systems as opposed to the programs. By doing this, they humanized many individuals and the struggles they face when it comes to the budgets.
Over the past 15 months, the district notes that here have been over 100 meetings held to discuss and work on the budget.
Phase 1
The first phase has already begun and was implemented in place last fall, at the beginning of the 2024-25 school year. This year the district has saved $4,825,000 dollars. Within this first year of the plan, there has been a reduction of fifteen instructional coaches, nurses aids have been cut from every building, and the LifeLabs experiences budget has been reduced as well.
Phase 2
In the 2025-2026 school year, the plan is to reduce the amount spent by $10 million dollars. This is the year when the community and staff members will be hit the hardest. This is the year that the majority of staff and programs will be cut.
The group of individuals currently being hit the hardest is librarians. 11 of the district’s 17 librarians will be cut, primarily within the elementary and middle schools, and the school board has faced serious backlash from this decision. At the March 24 board meeting, students, staff, teachers and parents all came to speak up about their concerns. The speakers ranged from fourth graders to librarians who had held their positions for over twenty years.
Phase 3
This year the amount spent will be reduced by two million dollars. This is also the year where the special education and ELL programs will begin to struggle due to the costly nature of these programs.
As noted before, Smith said that this was truly the “perfect storm,” where there is not too much they could have done. This is something that is happening statewide due to lack of federal funding and other factors throughout the state.
“We prioritized protecting employees who work directly with students, especially our teaching staff. While all roles are important, reductions focused on areas with the least direct student impact,” said Smith during the March 10 board meeting.
The community of Waterloo has showed mixed emotions. Many people support the cuts, many strongly oppose, and others are neutral. Belinda Smith, a social work adjunct instructor at the University of Northern Iowa, spoke at the March 10 meeting. Belinda Smith encouraged everybody to call their legislatures and speak out as well. She expressed that “we cannot afford to have fewer teachers and support staff in the buildings when we actually need more.”
Another community member and West High alumni, Todd Woodruff, a man who has been to nearly every meeting regarding the budget cuts, spoke out as well. Woodruff showed the board his view. Woodruff was concerned that the community’s voice and vote were not being heard properly. Woodruff began to speak on the integrity of the Waterloo Community Schools and how the decisions currently being made will only drive our community farther apart.
While many community members have reached out by email and others have shown up to school board meetings to voice their opinions and educate themselves, others have taken to social media platforms like Facebook to express their concerns regarding the budget plan.
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