MOSES LAKE, Wash. — Nearly 200 Moses Lake School District staff have been laid off in 2024, with the district announcing a second round of layoffs impacting 85 employees on Thursday.
Earlier in May, more than 100 staff learned their contracts would not be renewed ahead of a union-mandated deadline.
The cuts come as the district grapples with an overwhelming budget shortfall to the tune of more than $20 million.
“Unfortunately, these steps are essential to ensure the financial sustainability of our organization,” Carol Lewis, acting superintendent of the Moses Lake School District said.
The district reported that more than 80% of its budget goes to paying staff, which they argued made it impossible to address the shortfall without making these cuts.
Moses Lake School District’s board of directors placed Superintendent Monty Sabin on leave the day before the previous round of layoffs but didn’t explicitly state why.
Sabin had supported a pair of levies in February and April which might have allowed the district to address its budget shortfall without large scale cuts.
On Thursday, the district noted it had cut expenditures on classified employees by 13% and district level employees by 15.5%, though it wasn’t immediately clear how much may still need to be cut to balance the budget.
The district expects to have a $2.2 million negative balance by the end of May.
