Salmon Bay parents are being asked to raise $128,000 this fall — or their kids may lose a school counselor and a nurse.

The Friends of Salmon Bay's proposed 2026-27 budget, presented at a June 9 meeting, increases the annual school grant by $36,000. The budget document states the grant "pays for FTEs not funded by the district" and lists the positions it would cover: middle school English Language Arts, electives, a reading specialist, a counselor, and a nurse.

In prior years, the grant funded different gaps. In 2024-25, it covered part of a middle school ELA position and part of an art teacher. This year, it supports a middle school science position (0.8 FTE, or four days a week) and a reading specialist at 0.1 FTE.

The proposed budget depends on raising $128,000 at a fall 2026 fundraiser, a 25 percent increase over last year's $102,300. That's an ambitious target given that the spring "Galactic Gala" held Friday, May 8 raised $84,272 from 376 supporters, falling about $36,000 short of its $120,000 goal. The fundraiser page told donors the budget "increases to accommodate a larger School Grant, filling the gap left by district funding."

The shift comes as SPS Superintendent Ben Shuldiner has described a district in financial crisis. "We have a budget of about $1.35 billion. We're $100 million in the hole. We're about to go insolvent," Shuldiner told KNKX on May 22. The district has already cut roughly $20 million combined from central office and school budgets.

The FOSB's total 2026-27 budget is $315,400, up from $299,745. It also raises scholarship funding from $56,000 to $64,000 and maintains an $8,000 Racial Equity Fund.

SPS has not released a school-level staffing breakdown confirming which positions were cut or reduced at Salmon Bay specifically. District 2 Director Kathleen Smith, whose territory includes the school, did not respond to inquiries. Neither did the school principal, referenced in the budget document as "Ms. Dixon." Families can request school-level staffing records under Washington's Public Records Act (RCW 42.56) at Seattle Schools legal department.

When a school counselor or nurse depends on a neighborhood's fundraising capacity, students at schools without well-resourced parent organizations may go without.

The FOSB budget document is scheduled for a full board vote on June 15.