A Message from Superintendent Greg Baker

Dear students, staff, families and community,

The month of May kicks off a busy time for many schools and families, including graduations and summer plans.

At a district level, we are working hard to finalize our budget for the 2024-25 school year.

As we have communicated previously, we are in more of a “hold steady” approach for 2024-25, with the one major exception of compensation increases.  Our biggest expenditure every year is our people, and we know staff are the best investment we can make to support, inspire and teach our students. We continue to have significant needs for additional investments, particularly in Special Education, alongside a lack of state funding to support those needs. Should additional funding become available, Special Education will be a priority.

Unfortunately, as we look ahead to 2025-26 and beyond, we will face significant budget challenges unless the state allocates additional funding. Nearly all districts across the state are facing similar challenges, whether due to declining enrollment, loss of regionalization funding enhancements or the impacts of inflation and higher costs.

This spring, I am participating in a series of meetings around the state with State Superintendent Chris Reykdal, along with a dozen or so other superintendents, and state funding is front and center in these conversations.

Districts agree the state Legislature must make major investments next year in education or it will have devastating consequences across the state.

Below are visuals from Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) that may help illustrate why districts are facing big budget challenges.
 

 

According to the above chart, it looks like funding has increased for districts. But if you compare it with the chart below, when dollars have been adjusted for inflation, state funding for districts has not kept up.

 

As you can see in the chart below, in 2019-20, the state had allocated 52% of its funding to preK-12. For 2024-25, the state allocated 44% of its funding for preK-12 education.

 

 

Most districts across our state, including ours, will not be able to sustain programmatic offerings unless the state legislature increases funding for preK-12 education to help pay for escalating operating costs like insurance, utilities and materials.

We hope the state will close the gap in funding for employee compensation; the state’s models are outdated and have not kept pace with inflation.

Over the coming months, many people and organizations will be advocating to our legislature to fulfill their primary constitutional duty to fully fund public education. We thank our legislators for their work in this area and look forward to better news.

Greg Baker