Highline School Board members are expected to approve on Aug. 22 a $168 million general fund budget for the 2007-2008 school year.

There was no public comment on the budget proposal at an Aug. 8 public hearing.

New finance director Susan Smith Leland said the district will receive increased state and federal revenues, but will face a reduction in grants, particularly for elementary school counselors.

Enrolment is flat with 16,601 students expected to this fall, down slightly from the previous year, according to Leland. The district plans to employ 1,196 full-time certified teachers and 725 classified support personnel.

The Legislature approved annual teacher pay raises of 3.7 percent to 4.3 percent. The district will match the increases for teachers not covered by state raises with funds from the current voter-approved operations levy.

Leland said the budget will fund new positions at Mt. Rainier High in Des Moines. The newly built school will open for classes on Sept. 5 with a grand opening celebration on Sept. 10.

The district will also focus on buying new instructional materials and textbooks, according to Leland.

Her budget presentation is available on the district's Web site at www.hsd401.org.

Voicing what she called "a minority opinion," board member Susan Goding questioned increasing expenditures on community engagement and cultural awareness programs.

She charged that the programs have not led to higher test scores or lowered the drop-out rate.

"What evidence do we have that the strategy is working?" Goding asked.

Student preparations during class time for cultural nights are taking away from time spent on academics, she said, adding that project-based learning, where students work together, are effective but should be used for academic subjects and not cultural programs.

"The students don't need community engagement, they need academic engagement," Goding concluded.

Board president Matt Pina countered by reminding current and future board members the district could not have built new schools or passed levies that fund nearly a quarter of the budget without public support.

The board plans to hold a work-study session on community engagement efforts.

Board members also passed a resolution supporting a referendum that allows a simple majority to pass school levies.

Currently school levy elections have to pass by a 60 percent supermajority and draw at least 40 percent of the vote cast in the most recent general election.

The statewide referendum will be on the Nov. 6 election ballot. Bonds for school construction are not mentioned in the referendum so they would continue to need 60 percent approval for passage.

Board member Tom Slattery commented, "I applaud us for supporting this. It is long overdue in this state. "It will not solve our funding problems, but will remove an obstacle."