Oak Harbor schools face $3 million budget cuts amid enrollment decline

Oak Harbor Public Schools is preparing $3 million in new reductions for 2026-27, a plan that could touch operations, career and technical education, libraries, special education, district administration, technology, student fees, facility-use fees and student supplies. The district warned families that this would be its fourth straight year of budget cuts, with the high school projected to have its lowest enrollment in more than 20 years next school year.

The district said the latest squeeze comes from declining enrollment, rising operating costs and a state funding system that still does not cover full school costs. A 37 percent rate increase from the Washington Schools Risk Management Pool added about $500,000 in unexpected expenses, while state-level shortfalls and a reduction in Transition to Kindergarten funding added more pressure to the 2026-27 budget.

What makes this round especially consequential for families is how much the district has already cut. Oak Harbor said it has reduced about $12 million in operating expenses since 2022, including about $9 million over the past two years alone. Early projections pointed to a possible $5 million reduction, but district leaders have narrowed the plan to a Tier 1 cut of $3 million. Administrators said most staffing impacts should be absorbed through natural turnover and attrition, so the district does not currently expect a reduction in force.

Even so, the cuts could ripple through daily school life. Fewer dollars in libraries, special education and technology can mean slower replacement cycles, fewer supports and less flexibility when needs arise. Higher student fees and facility-use fees would shift more costs onto families and community groups, while cuts to student supplies could affect classrooms in ways parents notice quickly.

Oak Harbor is also leaning on local levy revenue to keep the district afloat. The current levy makes up about 12 percent of the budget, and district leaders said the 2025 levy passed with more than 62 percent approval, the strongest result for any election measure in nearly a decade. Still, the district said that support only stabilized part of the budget gap, not the larger structural problem.

The public timeline now points to more hard choices ahead. Oak Harbor plans to share a draft budget on July 10, then hold a public hearing and adopt the 2026-27 budget on August 31. For Island County families, the central question is no longer whether cuts are coming, but how many more years the district can keep trimming before the loss reaches classrooms in visible ways.