It’s gloomy for South Whidbey High School Spanish teacher Wanda McDonald to think she might be out of a job at the end of the school year.

As one of the newest teachers in the South Whidbey School District, McDonald has accepted the district may not have enough money in its budget next fall to keep her on board. Due to declining enrollment, which nets fewer monies from the state, teacher cuts may be on the horizon this spring. Superintendent Jo Moccia said the district anticipates having 60 fewer students enrolled next fall, which equates to a loss of nearly $300,000 from the state. The state bases its funding model on student numbers.

McDonald first learned about the potential cuts in January, though nothing was confirmed at the time. Her suspicions were proved true when district staff informed teachers of the situation on March 9. Certificated employees will receive notification of whether or not their contracts will be terminated by no later than May 15, according to the South Whidbey Education Association Bargaining Agreement.

“It’s kind of a feeling of impending doom because it’s almost like the writing is on the wall,” McDonald said.

“I’m not mad about it,” she added. “I just really want to stay here.”

The fact that McDonald, a 66-year-old Clinton resident, has 17 years of experience as a teacher won’t make a difference. Moccia said the cuts will be made based on seniority and programs the district prioritize.

“It really all comes down to seniority in each of those areas, so it just depends,” Moccia said in a recent telephone interview.

With less wiggle room to work with after teachers fought for a 10 percent salary increase over two years in a five-day strike this summer, the district has consolidated its resources wherever it can, by renting out four previously-used buildings in the district, for example. But, because 90 percent of the district’s $16 million budget goes toward teacher salaries and enrollment is projected to continue dropping, administrators say their hands, for the most part, are tied.

“It’s a process that is going to take time,” Moccia said. “Nothing has been decided. We’re certainly going to have to look forward to the next steps. It’s not easy, it is our reality.”

School Board Director Rocco Gianni, a former district teacher, said he couldn’t offer much comment on the possible cuts, saying the budget forecast isn’t set and that the board hasn’t discussed it in detail.

He did say that he was “sick” at a possibility of losing any teachers.

“I don’t want to lose anybody, that’s a given,” Gianni said. “My heart is out there,” he added.

Having taught for most of her career in Nashville, Tenn., McDonald said she had little to no knowledge of South Whidbey’s paradigm shift toward an older-aged population, which in a 2010 census showed more people above the age of 55 than below the age of 5, when she moved here to the island in September 2015. While she was outspoken about her love of the district and its administrators, she said it would have helped in her decision to pursue a teaching position had she been informed of the trending student decline.

“It kind of makes you feel downhearted that you picked a place to live and you love it and the type of job you do is going downhill because there’s not going to be kids to teach,” McDonald. “That’s not something I knew so much about Whidbey. And I had only been in Washington since the summer of 2014.”

Langley Middle School band teacher Nick Delmedico is among the bottom of the rung in terms of seniority. Fresh out of Central Washington University, Delmedico is the second-newest teacher in the district but his particular situation is different. Delmedico has a non-continuing contract, meaning he’ll have to reapply at the end of the school year. He also teaches up to 42 students each class period, which is the equivalent of two teachers, he says.

“I’m in my own boat, so I’m not worried about it,” Delmedico said. “I don’t think they want to lose me. I’m the cheapest paid employee and teach the most kids.”

“I’m the only one who’s dependent on numbers. Other teachers are just fed their numbers, but me and (South Whidbey High School band teacher Chris Harshman) are the ones responsible with maintaining our numbers,” he added.

One of Delmedico’s colleagues, however, may be affected and he said he knows they’re worried about losing their jobs. A Record reporter contacted one of those teachers, but he declined to comment.

The district will be examining what they want the school’s extracurricular program to look like between now and May 15.

“Though we certainly are empathetic with staff who may not have a position next year in South Whidbey we expect that we will have fewer teachers each year until we level out in the next three or so years,” Moccia said in an email Monday. “We will continue to discuss the budget and enrollment and the impact at each board meeting and on a regular basis into the future.”

Moccia also said the district doesn’t expect to be in jeopardy of exceeding state requirements for class size. As the state’s Washington Class Size Reduction Measure, Initiative 1351, outlines, classroom sizes for K-3 grades are to be no more than 15-17 students, while 4-12 are to be no more than 22-25.

“We are working to shrink gracefully,” she said.