The Blaine school board finalized its budget in the district board room on August 25 during its last meeting before the 2025-26 school year officially started. The board also used the meeting to discuss senior parking spots, adding Birch Bay to the district name and student enrollment.
The board unanimously adopted the 2025-26 budget after new finance director Lynn Vanbuskirk provided its general overview. The vote was 4-0 with Ryan Swinburnson absent.
The budget comes after interim superintendent Dan Chaplik, who started his one-year term in July, put forward a plan to the board that stopped a merger of the primary and elementary schools. The board voted in July to pause the merger, which would have moved first and second grade classes from the primary school into the elementary school, saving the cash-tight district $600,000 this year.
Chaplik said the district saved money from the disliked merger by saving some money from many line items, including eliminating the superintendent’s budget altogether. He added that he was focused on the district applying for more grants as well.
“When we look for sustainable funding cuts, I’ll always look away from the classroom,” Chaplik said.
Enrollment trends have the largest impact on the general fund revenue. Chaplik said that kindergarten enrollment was showing improvement from previous years. Enrollment numbers will become available in mid-September.
The district’s 2025-26 ending fund balance is planned to be $3.1 million.
The board unanimously approved not adding Birch Bay to the Blaine school district name right now, citing financial reasons and the inclusion of other communities in the name like Point Roberts.
Board member Steve Galbraith said he and Swinburnson met with a concerned Birch Bay group last year and that, while he understood their concerns, he was concerned adding Birch Bay could bring up questions about adding Point Roberts and Haynie. Board member Erika Creydt said she thought the district should focus on acquiring a Birch Bay property, and board member Ben Lazarus said he hadn’t been approached by any constituents which made him wonder if the name change represented the overall community sentiment. Chaplik said he wanted to focus on improving relations with Birch Bay.
Chaplik said purchasing land for a Birch Bay elementary school remained high on his priority list and he had reached out to a few people to discuss the land acquisition further. The district has been eyeing a school there for decades and last August the district received approval to evaluate Whatcom County’s Bay Horizon Park.
The board unanimously approved allowing seniors to paint a personalized parking spot for an additional $25 if they purchased a parking pass. There will be a “Senior Parking Painting Day” where all of the students who have been approved for a personalized spot will decorate their area. The board also approved parking registration for students to obtain parking permits.
Chaplik said he saw a need for the district to have more program consistency across classrooms and schools, and he was looking at changing the way absences were monitored. Along the lines of consistency, Chaplik said he planned to bring the board a cell phone policy at the next meeting because he saw different cell phone rules throughout the district.
The next school board meeting will be 7 p.m. Monday, September 22 at Point Roberts Primary School.
