Voting continues until February 8th on a funding levy for Castle Rock schools, which some parents oppose over the issue of masks.
ESD 112 / Melissa Burt
The levy that provides funds for the Castle Rock School District in Cowlitz County, Washington, is up for renewal on Feb. 8.
When Superintendent Ryan Greene heard some parents were mobilizing opposition to the levy over the issue of masks, he came back with an open letter that laid out the truth about authority and funding.
“We get about $1.3 to 1.7 million dollars a month from the state,” Greene said. “If we decided that we were going to go against the mask mandate in schools, that potentially could be something that they would withhold from us.”
“It would bankrupt our school within a month,” he said.
Greene also says it is critical that the levy passes, so the school can keep its extracurricular activities going.
Greene spoke with OPB Morning Edition host Geoff Norcross. Some highlights from their conversation:
Castle Rock School District superintendent Ryan Greene says his hands are tied when it comes to following the state's mandate for masks in the schools.
Ryan Greene / Castle Rock SD
Norcross: “I take it from your letter that some parents want you to defy the state-imposed mask mandate in your schools. What would it mean for you financially if you did?”
Greene: “In the state of Washington, we get about 82% of our funding from the state. So for our district, we get about 1.3 to $1.7 million dollars a month from the state. If we decided that we were going to go against the mandate and not enforce the mask mandate in schools, that potentially could be something that they would withhold from us. And it would bankrupt our school within a month.”
Norcross: “The Alsea School district in Oregon recently decided to go its own way on masking, even though Oregon has a similar mandate. And now some state funds for that district are on hold. So you’re trying to keep the same thing from happening to you?”
Greene: “I don’t think there’s any school in the state of Washington that can survive budgetarily without having the state allocation dollars. We have to follow the mandates because we have to be able to pay our employees and pay our bills and be able to provide those funds for our kids to be able to have that education they need.”
Norcross: “You also have this renewal of your levy that is on the ballot, and voting is going on until next Tuesday. If some of the parents in your district follow through on their threat to reject it because of your stance on masks, what would that mean for the district?”
Greene: “The levy is to provide extracurricular activities like sports and band and choir and transportation to and from sporting events or field trips. Obviously, if we don’t pass the levy, we’ll run it again and see if we can pass it again in April. But we will need to make that decision before the May 15th contractual cutoffs for staffing purposes. That’s when we have to reassure staff that they will be back next year or not. So everything kind of takes effect before that May 15th deadline.”
Norcross: You’ve made it very clear that you do not have the authority to set your own policy about masking in the schools. But if you did, what might it look like?
Greene: “You know, it’s tough. I represent 1412 families. And do we have parents that want us to get rid of masks? Absolutely. But we also have kids that their parents want us to keep masks. I’m not a big fan of wearing masks, but I’m not the voice of the community.”
Norcross: “It makes me wonder what it’s like for you as a school administrator and as a district superintendent to have to balance all these interests, with the health and safety of your students, plus the differing opinions about masks in the community plus the state law and all the money that’s attached to that. What is your job like these days?”
Greene: “Well, I always kind of laugh because I’ve been a school superintendent for three years and 2.5 of that has been with COVID. So I really don’t know what a traditional superintendent is like. For the first year, there wasn’t a day that went by that I didn’t look at case counts and try to figure out where we’re moving. Right now the big topic is around testing. So we’re testing athletes, we’re testing kids that are symptomatic, we’re testing employees that are symptomatic. And so it’s interesting that you ask that question because I can’t give you an answer. It changes week to week, month to month, for sure.”
Click on audio player at the top to hear this conversation.