2025-26 Enrollment and Staffing Update From Superintendent Rundle

Dear Mercer Island Community,

Spring is a season of both celebration and preparation — a time to honor the accomplishments of the current school year while carefully planning for the next. One of the most critical aspects of that planning is setting our staffing to meet the needs of our students in the upcoming year. Guided by enrollment projections and anticipated revenue (now clearer following the legislative session), we make decisions about everything from the number of bus routes to the sections of 6th-grade science, to the level of paraprofessional support in our classrooms.

Today, I want to update you on both our enrollment outlook and staffing for the 2025–2026 school year.

A Strong Year for the Mercer Island Schools Foundation

Before diving into specifics, I want to highlight an incredible success: the Mercer Island Schools Foundation (MISF) is nearing its 2024–2025 fundraising goal of $1.2 million — a milestone not reached in nearly a decade. This is a direct reflection of your continued generosity. Every dollar raised by MISF goes directly into our schools, funding curriculum, classroom innovation, and a more robust staffing. Because of your support, we’ve been able to enhance staffing projections made earlier this spring.

Staffing Highlights

No Reductions in Force (RIF)
Although we prepared for the possibility of staffing reductions, I’m pleased to report that we did not need to implement any Reduction in Force (RIF). This means that all continuing contract educators will remain with our district in 2025–2026. While some of our one-year only positions will not be refilled and other roles may shift, our incredible team of teachers, counselors, coaches, and specialists will return.

Robust Elective Offerings
At both Islander Middle School and Mercer Island High School, students will continue to enjoy the wide array of electives that enrich their educational experience. These opportunities were preserved despite enrollment and funding pressures.

I am also pleased to report that 2025-2026 elementary enrollment in 5th grade band, choir, and orchestra has exceeded the numbers this year. We did add a fee for participation to this before school experience, so please notify your principal or Weston Lucas in the district office if finances are a barrier to your child’s registration. We have scholarships and options available to ensure these programs thrive now and in the future.

Nursing and Health Room Support
Early forecasts projected the potential loss of up to three (3) nurses. In reality, we’ve reduced by only one (1) — a change that occurred earlier this year when a leave was filled with a Health Room Assistant (HRA) rather than a nurse. A cross-functional team of nurses, administrators, and staff developed a new care model focused on student needs rather than school count — a thoughtful redesign and reallocation of resources for our health services.

Library Access and Support
Though staffing models will shift, student access to libraries will be maintained — and even expanded.

• At MIHS, the librarian will now be in the library for 2–3 periods daily (instead of 4–5), but the space will remain open all seven (7) periods thanks to staffing support.
• At the elementary level, a part-time certificated librarian will serve all four schools, with each school also supported by a full-time classified librarian. Libraries that were previously open three (3) days a week will now be open five (5), allowing for access during recesses and other times during the day.

Paraprofessional Support
Each elementary school will receive at least four (4) additional hours of paraprofessional support beyond earlier projections. This will strengthen both supervision and instructional support in classrooms.

Looking Ahead

Our principals and administrative teams will continue to monitor class and course enrollments closely throughout the summer. That means additional staffing decisions — and potential new investments — may still be ahead. Again, the MISF spring fundraising campaign is an essential driver of this, but I would be remiss to not also mention our PTAs who also invested in our schools again for next year.

2025-26 Elementary Average Class Sizes (If School Started Today)

• Kindergarten – too early to finalize, but anticipated at 18–20 students per classroom
• 1st Grade – 22 students per classroom
• 2nd Grade – 19 students per classroom
• 3rd Grade – 21 students per classroom
• 4th Grade – 24 students per classroom
• 5th Grade – 26 students per classroom

These projections are at or below current class sizes, reflecting our commitment to personalized learning and lower student to staff ratios.

Enrollment Trends: Steady and Encouraging

We’re anticipating overall flat enrollment next year — which is quite a success in today’s educational landscape. Notably, our graduating class is nearly 140 students larger than the incoming kindergarten cohort. Despite that, our enrollment will remain stable, underscoring the strong desire families have to join and remain in the Mercer Island School District.

Here’s a look at new student enrollment as of June 5, comparing last June to this June:

Gratitude and Optimism

Thank you for your patience and partnership this spring. Rising costs and uncertain state funding made it a challenging season. Although we still face a gap between what we know our schools need and what the state provides, we are entering 2025–2026 in a strong position — thanks to the unwavering support of our PTAs, our Schools Foundation, and careful fiscal planning.

Next week, I’ll share updates on how we plan to evolve our Central Office support to better serve our schools. In the meantime, I wish you a restful weekend and extend my deepest thanks to our educators for their dedication — and to our community for your enduring trust.

With gratitude,

Fred Rundle
Superintendent