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."
A military judge sentenced Pvt. Deron Gordon to over six years in prison for sexually assaulting a college student.
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. — A Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldier who sexually assaulted a college student in the barracks in 2024 was sentenced to more than six years in prison Friday.
A military judge sentenced Pvt. Deron Gordon, 20, to six years and three months in prison after he pleaded guilty to one specification each of sexual assault, abusive sexual contact and as a principal to indecent recording.
Gordon was previously charged with additional crimes, but those were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.
Gordon is one of four soldiers who were charged in in connection to the sexual assault of a college student, who is now a commissioned Army officer, in October 2024.
When Gordon pleaded guilty, he said that he and another soldier followed the college student into a bedroom after she had been drinking with them. He said she was unstable walking into the room and when they went inside she was on the bed and not responsive.
Gordon said he and the other soldier each proceeded to have sex with her and they filmed each other sexually assaulting her on Snapchat.
As part of his sentencing, Gordon will be reduced in rank to E-1 and dishonorably discharged from the Army.
Gordon will serve the remainder of his sentencing at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Once he is released, Gordon must register as a sex offender.
The three other soldiers who were charged in the incident are at different points in the legal process, and their cases are being treated separately.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673. Additional resources are available on the Washington State Department of Health's website.
KING 5’s Conner Board contributed to this report.
