The total cost increase of Vancouver Education Association’s proposal #6 over the 2017-18 contract is $21.7 million. If VPS were to accept this proposal, the district would need to identify and implement approximately $10 million in budget cuts for the 2018-19 school year.

Ten million dollars of budget cuts is equivalent to the following:

  • 92 teachers and certificated non-administrative staff (8 percent of teacher/teacher support workforce) or
  • 56 administrative staff (62 percent of administrative staff workforce) or
  • 130 classified staff (24 percent of classified staff workforce)

If the equivalent number of classroom teacher positions were cut, class sizes in grades 4-12 would increase on average by three students.

As a practical matter, VPS already has hired nearly all the employees it needs for the 2018-19 school year. Many of these employees are working under contract and could not be laid off.