Budget Issues Behind Peninsula School District Staffing Shuffle

Of all the schools affected, those on the Key Peninsula appear to be among the hardest hit.”

UNEVEN IMPACT: PSD Budget Cuts

From Peninsula High School all the way down to Evergreen Elementary, the effects of PSD’s financial squeeze are playing out in vastly different ways.

Some schools are gaining specialists; others are losing long-tenured teachers. Some are bracing for larger class sizes; others face lingering questions about what programs will survive next year’s budget.

What’s clear is this: Even as the district works to balance its books, the impact isn’t being felt evenly.

Staffing shifts and resource reshuffling may be cost-effective on paper, but in practice, they can create uncertainty — especially in communities already juggling higher needs or recent leadership changes. While administrators point to long-term stability, families and teachers are living in the short-term churn.

In the absence of across-the-board cuts, the district has turned to a different kind of math: doing more with less, and asking some schools to carry more of the weight.

Evergreen and Vaughn Elementary

Evergreen and Vaughn elementary schools face similar challenges: both serve higher-poverty student populations and rely on a mix of federal and state funding to support struggling learners. While each school receives Title I dollars, they fall below the 70% threshold that qualifies schools for the highest level of federal support. Both also benefit from Washington’s Learning Assistance Program to help pay for paraeducators, specialists, and other classroom support staff.

But that support now carries uncertainty. Federal Title I allocations are delayed, and new funding formulas or budget changes could shrink or reshape how much schools like Evergreen and Vaughn receive. As of early May, the district had not yet received its annual allocation, and administrators warned that delays could lead to further program cuts or staffing shifts.

Still, not all signs point to loss. Vaughn is expected to gain a new STEM specialist next year, although the schedule and details for that role are still being finalized.

Minter Creek Elementary

Minter Creek is losing a trusted principal, but is also gaining an administrator with KP experience. It appears to be better positioned than other KP schools, for now. Its projected enrollment remains high enough to retain a STEM specialist for grades 3-5, a level of enrichment that some other elementary schools in the district may no longer be able to offer. Like Evergreen and Vaughn, it is also a Title I school.

Purdy Elementary

Purdy Elementary is also undergoing leadership changes, with former Minter Creek principal Ty Robuck set to take over as principal next year. While Purdy has not been as heavily affected by reassignments or program cuts as some other schools, it still faces ongoing uncertainty about support services, depending on final budget outcomes.

Key Peninsula Middle School

Enrollment at the middle school level is ticking up across the district, which means Key Peninsula Middle School could see larger class sizes next year — without the additional staffing or categorical funding that higher-poverty schools may receive. Some parents worry the school, which they say is still finding its footing after recent changes, could be destabilized by the loss of experienced teachers reassigned to fill vacancies elsewhere.

Peninsula High School

Enrollment is rising at Peninsula High School, which might sound like good news, but it also increases pressure on remaining staff and resources, especially as some teachers are being reassigned to fill district-wide vacancies. While PHS continues to receive Career and Technical Education funding for programs like the Aviation Academy, those dollars are tightly earmarked and can’t be used for general classroom staffing or supplies.

It took a CFO with a spreadsheet and a PowerPoint to finally say what no one else in the Peninsula School District office would.

For weeks, parents and teachers had been asking one simple question: Why?

Why were principals and teachers moved from their positions without their input in April? Why did it feel like decisions were made behind closed doors, with only vague nods to “growth opportunities” and “system-wide cohesion”?

At the May 6 PSD school board meeting, the answer didn’t come from Superintendent Krestin Bahr or the district communications office, it came from Chief Financial Officer Ashley Murphy.

In a presentation equal parts budget briefing and public translation, Murphy did what other district leaders had not: She offered an explanation that finally added up.

Declining enrollment, disappearing federal dollars, and a year of planned financial overextension have pushed the district to the edge of a crisis, forcing decisions that look like strategy but sound more like survival.

Murphy said PSD is on track to run a $5.5 million deficit this school year, with projections showing the annual shortfall could balloon to $44 million by 2030 if the district doesn’t act. While she assured the board that the district remains financially stable in the short term, the staffing shifts tell a more complicated story.

In recent weeks, nine principals and 24 teachers were involuntarily reassigned to new schools starting July 1 — the highest number in years — even as staff turnover fell to its lowest point in four years.

Instead of hiring replacements for retiring or resigning employees, the district chose to move existing staff to cover those roles. Hiring 24 new teachers would have cost an additional $3.4 million in base salaries, an expense the district said it simply can’t afford.

Most of the open positions are at the elementary level, which means some middle and high school teachers are being reassigned to younger grades, often without their input. Murphy noted that while no one will face a pay cut, the disruption is real.

“This feels like unnecessary pain,” said Minter Creek PTA President Jessica Gamble. “But the question remains: were the (cost-saving strategies) more harmful to students and staff than they had to be?”

“Our district talks constantly about a ‘sense of belonging,’ ” said one PSD middle school teacher who spoke to KP News on condition of anonymity. “I like that focus, but there’s no way to build a sense of belonging if we’re just going to shuffle teachers and administrators around.”

A high school teacher echoed that sentiment but also declined to be named, fearing retribution by PSD through its new social media policy for employees.

“I definitely have problems with the level and clarity and transparency of detail in district communications. … And then in terms of our ‘blackout silent’ day of protest (May 8), I think it's great for the district to see how upset and left out and excluded and uninvolved the community feels, so that they can learn how to do better. Hopefully, they can rebuild the community trust before we run our next levy in a year or two.”

Some PSD staff and students wore black to their schools May 8 to protest district personnel moves.

PSD social media policy states: “Employee expression on social media platforms that interferes with the district’s operations or prevents the district from functioning efficiently and effectively may be subject to discipline up to and including termination.” (See “Teachers’ Rights on Trial,” December 2024.)

Mixed Messages on Leadership Changes

The district’s messaging around recent principal and assistant principal reassignments has shifted noticeably in recent weeks, raising concerns among staff and families about transparency and consistency.

School board President Natalie Wimberley admitted in a prepared statement she read before the May 6 school board meeting that, “in the absence of timely communication, misinformation and speculation have taken root.”

When the changes were first announced April 10, an email to families featured the headline: “Educational Benefits of a Leadership Rotation.” It framed the moves as part of a collaborative effort between district leadership and school administrators, intended to bring fresh perspectives and strengthen school communities.

But during the May 6 school board meeting, Murphy referred to the same moves as an “involuntary leadership placement,” suggesting the changes may not have been as voluntary or collaborative as initially portrayed.

Further muddying the waters, a follow-up FAQ published on the district’s website stated, “Decisions were not part of a rotation system,” and future decisions will be made “not as a scheduled rotation but on an as-needed basis.”

The shifting narrative has made it unclear whether the reassignments reflect a long-term strategic plan, as initially claimed, or a scramble to fill positions without waiting for natural attrition, as Murphy implied.

“I don’t think (the leadership reassignment) was done in good faith, and I don’t believe this was done for the right reasons,” said the anonymous middle school teacher.

‘Systemwide Cohesion’ or Selective Disruption?

Of all the schools affected, those on the Key Peninsula appear to be among the hardest hit, raising concerns about equity and representation. Only two KP schools — Minter Creek and Purdy Elementary — had principals changed, while others will lose teachers supplanted by displacement. Minter Creek Principal Todd Hering will swap roles with Harbor Ridge Assistant Principal Abbie Barabe, while Purdy Principal Kristi Brooks will move to Pioneer Elementary. Goodman Middle School Principal Ty Robuck will take over at Purdy starting in July.

District leaders cited goals like increasing leadership diversity and broadening administrative experience, but Gamble said those explanations feel hollow without community involvement, especially from a district that spent years building a strategic plan based on family and staff input.

“New ideas and fresh perspectives are great, but they can’t replace the long-term trust and relationships (Hering) brings to a school community,” Gamble said. “His knowledge of our community far exceeds and outpaces any sort of new idea that could be brought into our school.”

Pamela Loek, PTSA president and parent at Key Peninsula Middle School, stressed the need for consistency, especially for students in low-income areas, and questioned the value of reassigning educators without clear communication or parent involvement. While KPMS wasn’t directly affected by the changes, she worries that shifting teachers and future leadership disruptions could undo hard-won progress in school climate and student behavior since the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’re finally starting to see progress at KPMS, and now we’re afraid the rug could be pulled out from under us like it was at other schools,” she said.

To that point, and fearing what’s done is done, Gamble has become a leading voice for transparency — and she has a clear message: Keep KPMS Principal Luke Grunberg and Assistant Principal Kim Kinney where they are.

“If they take another phenomenal administrator away from the KP and move them to Gig Harbor without talking to us first, our community is going to pitch a fit,” Gamble said.

Gamble and Loek are among a growing group of parents and community members who are speaking out, not because they believe they can reverse the principal and teacher reassignments, but because they believe families deserve to be part of the decision process.

“There’s a huge disconnect between parents and district leadership, and it keeps growing," Loek said. "Parents feel like they’re not being heard, so we’re doing the research ourselves, bringing it to them, trying to be part of the conversation, even if they haven’t asked us to be.”

Gamble agreed.

"All (the district administration) had to do was ask for our thoughts, and they didn’t,” she said. “As public servants, they failed us and the teachers. And that’s really disappointing.”

PSD administration did not respond with answers to requests for comment on this report.