The State’s largest district is patching up it’s funding gap with short-term fixes, but uncertain headwinds remain.
SEATTLE — Despite threats of deep cuts and school closures, families are returning to Seattle Public Schools (SPS) in this school year to find a balanced budget.
The district’s $1.25 billion General Fund Operating Budget is intact, and the projected $104 million deficit has been cleared.
But the financial picture for the school district remains complex. That’s because measures to eliminate the budget deficit are only temporary, and school district leaders acknowledge an ongoing funding gap for next year unless a more permanent fix can be made.
To balance the budget, strategies for SPS included taking out a loan with itself to the tune of $17.6 million, by extending a portion of an interfund loan for at least one more year. The district dipped into its “Rainy Day Fund” or Economic Stabilization Account to make ends meet this year, and cuts were made to Central Office budgets and staff.
But the biggest uncertainty is funding from the State that makes up the vast majority of the budget. With declining enrollment and economic inflation up year-over-year, the district’s largest source of funding is still not known.
“The legislature and the Governor have completely failed our kids,” said Jake Milstein, who has two children in the district.
Milstein is one parent who is satisfied with the fact that the current school year is fully funded. But he, like so many others, has concerns about the future.
“Every parent, every teacher, every administrator needs to be going to the Legislature and say ‘Fix this next year,'” he said. “That’s why we are electing new Seattle school board members right now and keeping the best advocates. Because this matters.”
