Students and staff urge board to protect KC program and student supports amid cuts

Multiple students, program instructors and employees asked the Battle Ground board to reconsider proposed cuts that they said would disproportionately harm small programs and student supports.

Seventh‑grader Ry Dilley told trustees the district’s proposed reduction in force would remove “approximately 137 staff positions” and warned that cuts to assistant principals, campus security, counselors, prevention intervention specialists and social‑emotional learning staff could harm student safety and the day‑to‑day supports students rely on.

Vanessa Tolan, an SEL paraprofessional at Tukes Valley Middle School, described more than 3,000 visits this year to her SEL room and said the para role provides everyday care — “thousands of hugs, snacks, pencils” and a safe place for students — and that removing those supports would be “heartbreaking.” She asked for more transparency about what is being cut and the impact of those decisions.

Staff from KC (Casey) agricultural and environmental education described program‑specific impacts if the board moves forward with staff and program reductions. KC instructor Chelsea Pakenings said cutting the senior year removes a pathway juniors have spent three years building and would eliminate community service, lab time and career‑prep hours that the juniors expected to complete. KC teacher Jessica Mulsnes described the emotional harm to a cohort of students who would not be able to finish a four‑year sequence on the 80‑acre campus.

A community member and KC supporter, Ian Kreiner, told the board that KC operates with a small staff (seven staff for roughly 120 students in one account) and that cutting any one person would have an outsized effect on safety and campus maintenance. Multiple speakers urged exploring fund‑raising, partnerships with boosters and use of grants (such as the Patrick Haug endowment) to preserve core elements of CTE and extracurricular programming.

Board members and administrators said the reduction‑in‑force step is required to prepare a legally balanced budget and emphasized that some positions and program details could be revisited if additional funding appears. The board also encouraged staff to continue communication with families and staff through the budget process.

Next steps: administration asked community members to submit targeted suggestions about which programs to prioritize for restoration if new funds arrive and scheduled listening sessions and further budget discussions in the coming months.