State of the School Report
Posted on 06/23/2026
Past Superintendent Updates Here
Download a PDF of the message below here.
June 2026
Dear Lopez School community,
Now that the 2025-26 School Year has ended, I wanted to share a 'State of the School' message. Apologies for the length, but I always want to err on the side of too much information rather than too little. The documents I reference (the Citizen Advisory Committee Report, the LISD Strategic Plan, and the Gaps in State Funding) are all available on the LISD website under District Info→LISD Plans & Reports. My hope is that district communication with the Lopez School community this year has helped build trust between our amazing public school and the community it serves.
To get a sense of the impact of inadequate state funding, the NW Educational Service District (ESD), the same group that would represent the state should LISD enter into binding conditions, have updated the 'Gaps in State Funding' document to show actual budget numbers from 2019 to 2024-25 (and projected 2025-26 numbers). The NW ESD provided this document using the same formulas to each of its districts. To summarize, since 2019-20, LISD has been underfunded by the state in the category of Special Education by a total of $1.9M, in the category of Materials, Supplies and Other Costs (MSOCs) by a total of $2.09M and in the category of Transportation by a total of $346k.
As per this document, since 2019-20, LISD has been underfunded by Washington State by a total of $4.38 million dollars.
In the last legislative session, our elected officials passed bills to increase funding for Special Education and MSOCs and for that we are grateful. However, these increases did not reduce our overall deficit. For example, for the MSOC legislation, the per-pupil amount was increased but due to a drop in enrollment, the dollar amount received by LISD for MSOCs was reduced by $2,173. At the same time, our MSOC costs, most of which are not within our control like fuel and cleaning supplies and food, increased. In fact, one MSOC expense, our insurance premium, increased last year to this year by 45%. That amounts to a $40k increase in our annual insurance payment. The legislated increase to Special Education resulted in an additional $52,184 in revenue. But our actual spending on federally-mandated supports in the category of Special Education was over $300k more than we received so we are still roughly $250k in the hole.
In addition, the McCleary decision implemented in 2018 capped local levy collections for districts using a "lesser than" formula that is tied to enrollment. So instead of collecting all of the local levy monies that Lopez voters approved, the McCleary levy lid has prohibited LISD from collecting an approximate average of $350k per year. Last session, the legislature passed HB 2049, a levy lid increase, which resulted in a total dollar amount increase to LISD of $12,807. Remember, voters approved approximately $350k more per year than LISD collects, meaning even with the recent levy lid lift, LISD is collecting approximately $337k less annually than Lopez voters approved.
The McCleary levy lid, since 2019-20, has prohibited LISD from collecting an estimated total of $2.1 million dollars.
Between state and local funding, the Lopez Island School District has received a combined total of $6.5 million dollars LESS in revenue since 2019-20.
I dream of what our school district would look like with an additional $6.5 million dollars in revenue. To those of you who remember wonderful programs at the Lopez School that no longer exist (like our culinary program or French program or in-person alternative school) or that now we have to rely on generous donors to support (like our music program or our garden program or school sports), perhaps these are programs that your children or grandchildren enjoyed, imagine those programs (and many more) fully funded with that $6.5 million...
And yet, I am proud of what we have been able to do with incredibly limited resources. Just this year, we took students to Nicaragua and Japan, we expanded para-educator support for students, we identified a Path to Calculus, we initiated Student-Led Conferences, and we created the Lopez College Advising Corps. All this while providing a dynamic and place-based education K-12.
And we reduced expenditures this past year (again). Salaries and stipends were essentially frozen, some teachers volunteered to teach reduced schedules, we didn't hire a Head of Maintenance, we found system cost-saving efficiencies using Tech and Safety levy monies, and more.
We identified grants to support specific projects, like the solar project and the walk-in cooler repair. These capital grant monies must be used specifically for those projects and cannot be used for general operating budget expenses. Same with funds raised by selling yellow buses - we are preparing to surplus bus #7 but any funds generated must go back into the Transportation fund to purchase future yellow school buses. We cannot use funds generated by the sale of a bus for general operating expenses. Nor are we allowed to use those monies to purchase vans, which, if we could, would allow us to save fuel costs.
And we relied on the generous support of our community through partner organizations like the Lopez Island Education Foundation (LIEF) and The Pack and through individual donor support. LIEF increased the scale of fundraising from averaging between $15-25k per year to raising over $300k last year. Our music program is entirely funded by donations. Our garden program relies heavily on private funding. The trip to Nicaragua was almost entirely funded by donations from In-STEP, a Lopez non-profit created to support student international travel. The Lopez College Advising Corps, which utilizes highly skilled volunteer advisors, is able to provide additional college-prep activities because of donations. Many public schools rely on fundraising for non-essential programs. But LISD, a public school district, currently relies on private funding to balance the general operating budget. I hope you agree with me that this is not the way it is supposed to be. We are incredibly fortunate to have so many who support the school so generously. But this means the school is seeking the same philanthropic dollars as other deserving non-profits on the fundraising landscape when, as a public institution, we should be able to provide a quality education with public funding.
2021 Citizens Advisory Committee Report
Many cost-saving strategies were outlined in a 2021 Report by a Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC) that was tasked with presenting "strategic options for the future of the LISD." The CAC consisted of Bill LeDrew (Committee Chair), Tom Cowan, June Arnold, Claudia Rempel, Constance Euerle and Stephen Adams with then-Board Director Chris Greacen as advisor and liaison between the Committee and the School Board. This important and thorough report (available on the LISD website) references a budget cut of $364,000 in School Year 2020-21. This clearly shows that LISDs financial challenges are not new and have only been compounded since then. I offer huge appreciations to the committee that conducted the research and presented this report back in 2021 - it remains an insightful and valuable source for district improvements.
I list the Main Conclusions of the paper below and have added my comments in italics.
1. Governance:
i. Create a new strategic plan for the LISD. A Strategic Plan was initiated in 2023, is available on the school website and continues to drive district-level decisions.
ii. Establish committees of the board to strengthen its operation. The current School Board identified forming additional subcommittees as a next step at our Board Retreat last week.
iii. Support the expansion and renewal of a schools foundation. The Lopez Island Educational Foundation (LIEF) has scaled up its fundraising goals from annual fundraising averaging between $20-30k to last year's goal of $300k.
iv. Participate in discussions to plan and develop a Park and Recreation Taxing District to take before the voters of Lopez Island. Lopez Rec was formed by decision of the voters in 2025. A levy to fund Lopez Rec has not yet passed.
2. Programs with Financial Impact:
i. Class Rigor and Choice. Budget cuts have reduced course offerings at the high school level, but we have ensured rigor by offering honors classes and an honors diploma, through Running Start classes which offer individualized advanced coursework, and through the creation of a Path to Calculus and we leverage that rigor for students who want to apply to top-tier colleges and universities through our new Lopez College Advising Corps.
ii. Parent Partner Program. The Parent Partner Program (PPP) provides funding at roughly 2/3 the rate of in-person schooling. PPP serves fewer students than in previous years which ensures the program is revenue neutral and has led to more students taking in-person classes at school which are funded at the full rate.
iii. Garden Program. The garden program receives significant funding from donation and fundraising. It provides an essential Career and Technical Education (CTE) path to graduation strand for high school students, enrichment classes for all elementary students and produces an estimated $20-30k worth of fresh produce for school meals each year.
iv. Vocational CTE Programs. Sustainable Agriculture Program (SAP) combines with Marine Biology to provide a CTE strand. We continue to explore expanding CTE options.
v. Library Services. The Lopez Island School Library continues to operate independently from the Lopez Library but with significant collaboration.
vi. Split-Grade Classes. Split-grade classes exist at elementary, middle and high school.
vii. 4-Day School Week. Benefits and drawbacks are outlined in the paper and a transition to a four-day week would require significant community input and state approval.
viii. Sports Programs. Athletic program recommendations from the paper have been followed. The cost of the athletic program has increased and the estimate from 2021 covers fewer varsity teams, does not include middle school sports, does not include post-season costs and maintains coach stipends at a level far below peer districts.
3. Capital Investments:
i. Energy Audit. As part of our Rural School Modernization Grant application, Apollo Solutions Group conducted an energy audit and presented those findings to the Board this year. Once we receive the grant (anticipated 2029-2030), funded renovations will further increase energy savings.
ii. Add Solar where possible. Through two grants, former Board member Chris Greacen has spear-headed the addition of a new large roof-top solar array on the school.
iii. Continue lighting upgrades to LED. This is included as a priority in the Rural School Modernization grant.
iv. Trash Compaction. We continue to seek a cost-savings approach to our garbage collection.
v. Optimize existing energy systems, HVAC/Heating. A year-to-year analysis of the district's OPALCO bills shows that through maintenance and efficient programming of our HVAC systems (mostly by Jesse Hammond), we have reduced our energy consumption this year compared to last. And through our HVAC maintenance agreement with Sage Building Solutions, we anticipate savings for required and emergency HVAC service.
vi. Investigate with other agencies the development of staff housing program. There are ongoing discussions with various island-based organizations about developing housing options for "front-line workers" which would include staff of the school.
4. Collaboration:
i. Explore collaboration/consolidation in the following areas with neighboring districts: Operations; Programs; Curriculum; and on-line and remote instruction. I meet weekly with the three other island Superintendents and from before my time until now, we have not identified collaboartive strategies that would bring financial benefit to LISD.
ii. Work with Representative Alex Ramel to achieve increased collaboration. I have met with all three of our LD40 elected officials, most recently last month with Senator Lovelett. I believe they understand our predicament and want to help, but they anticipate budget cuts at the state level and have suggested that our solutions are going to have to be local solutions. As one said to me, "the cavalry is not coming."
5. Communications:
i. A District Communication Plan is advised focusing on keeping the whole community informed about all the good things happening at LISD. This message, and monthly Superintendent Updates, and weekly newsletters, and an increased presence on social media are all part of an improved LISD communications strategy.
It is worth noting that this Citizen Advisory Committee, and the Lopez Island Family Resource Center in their application for the 21st Century Learning grant that supports after-school and summer programming, identified a Lopez Parks and Rec District as a sustainable source of funding.
The Lopez Island School District Strategic Plan
The LISD Strategic Plan was initiated in 2023 after a School Board-driven process involving then-Superintendent Ed Murray, staff and community members. In 2023, we were coming out of COVID and the Strategic Plan serves as a comprehensive roadmap to move the school district forward. It includes over 25 Strategic Initiatives, some of which have been achieved, some of which are in process and some that are no longer relevant. My monthly reports to the Board typically reference Strategic Initiatives from the Strategic Plan. All Board reports are included on the school website, as are my Superintendent Updates which highlight current events and issues.
The School Levy renewal on the ballot in August
This August, we seek renewal of the school Educational Programs and Operations levy (EP&O) levy which funds costs not covered by the state. This is not a new levy but the same school levy that requires renewal every four years. This is also the levy that is capped by the McCleary decision. Local levy funding from the EP&O levy can be used to cover essential costs such as teacher salaries, para-educators, substitute teachers, the librarian, the nurse and medical room assistant, Advanced Placement (AP) offerings, career and technical education, instructional materials, operational expenses like maintenance and utility costs, and more. Like all local levies, voters have the chance to vote to renew them every four years.
These are very challenging times for people and organizations on our beautiful little island. The reality is that we will need to seek local funding in the form of local levies and donations in the short and mid term while we continue to advocate for more appropriate and adequate funding from the state. And, even with our limited resources, we need to continue to strengthen existing programs and create new ones to encourage families to choose the Lopez School for their children.
Thank you always for your support and have a wonderful summer.
Brady