Board Workshop planned for June 12. Citizen comment on June 25.
The 2025 budget planning for the Highline School District is nearing the end of the year-long process, and it must be quite a challenge to plan when there is so much fiscal uncertainty, both statewide and at the federal level.
Budgetary Unknowns
There are many news stories of changes at the U.S. Department of Education, which administers funding for specific purposes to school districts. Slide 8 from a workshop on March 25 summarizes the timeline and some of the preliminary information available at that time. The district also had a meeting December 11, though that was more focused on legislative priorities related to district finances.
Planned District Meetings
June 12 from 4 to 5pm, the school board is holding a budget workshop at the school district headquarters, with live streaming also planned. Agenda will be listed on this page. There is no citizen comment at workshops, just board member discussion with staff.
On June 25, from 4:15 to 4:45 pm, the school board is holding a public hearing, where citizens can comment on the budget. This is also listed on the board calendar page.
Yes, the June 25 meeting is just 30 minutes, but for many years, I’ve been the only citizen who comments on the budget, so 30 minutes could well be “28 minutes too many.” Could someone else please review the budget and provide comments?
The next regular board meeting is on July 2. So, the timeline this year is significantly different than in past years, when the board workshop, citizen comment, and first vote were all within a few hours of each other. I am grateful for a few days between introduction and a vote.
Additional links from the Highline District
Here are more 2025-26 Budget Details from Highline Schools
What’s the situation with State Funding?
Seattle Times editorial writer Kate Riley wrote an editorial on May 2 about “troubling bugs” in the state budget passed by the legislature a few days earlier. She stated that Governor Ferguson should reconvene the legislature and ask them to adjust various items, including the amount districts can raise through local levies, boosting special education (much of the local levy money has gone to special ed), funding to support Treehouse programs for foster children, and more.
On May 2, I wrote to the elected officials of the 33rd District, asking if they had any comments on this editorial and if they had any data on the impacts of this budget, both positive and negative, on the Highline School District.
I heard back from the offices of Sen Orwall and Rep Gregerson. Staff from both said they would pull together some numbers. Well, as of this writing, a full month later, they have not sent any numbers. I am left wondering: is this budget as bad as Kate Riley states? Were my questions too complicated? Do they want the school district Chief Financial Officer and others to go through the numbers first?
There are a lot of possible reasons, but the main point is there’s a lot of mystery about what the legislators actually voted for.
Local Levies: How Much Will Highline Taxpayers Need to Pay?
One of Kate’s statements cites a state funding expert, Joel Aune:
“Amid the cuts, lawmakers passed a bill lifting the cap on how much money districts could ask from their taxpayers — a move that will only increase education disparities between affluent and poor districts around the state.”
Highline voters passed a four-year operations levy in November 2021 for the 2023 through 2026 school years. At the time of the vote, the levy amount was projected to be $56 million in the 2025 calendar year, but the levy language actually gave the district some room to increase local levy collections up to $68 million per year. ($12 million more than anticipated.)
I asked a district employee about this at the time, and her response was, “if the legislature changes the law, we want the flexibility to raise more local levy money.”
So I asked the legislators about fiscal protections for less affluent districts:
1. How much will the maximum amount districts can collect in a levy go up? Is it a dollar or a percent increase?
2. What protection is there for districts that are always on the short end of the stick, namely Highline, when compared to the big end, namely Seattle?
Unfortunately, when Seattle schools run a deficit due to salary increases they cannot afford, and Highline operates within its means, Highline is at a disadvantage in being able to pay competitive salaries.
Upcoming Options – Levy in November 2025 & Construction Bond in 2026
I hope the legislators or staff can address this. But if the local levy can increase, what will the school board do?
The district is considering running an operations renewal levy this November, followed by a possible construction bond in 2026. Raising the amount collected now could sour voters on those measures.
“Yes for Highline” community leaders are already working to create awareness and gather support for the upcoming levies and bonds.
Federal Funding – What’s Next?
According to the budget book for the 2024-25 school year, sourced from the overall district budget page, federal funding totals $32 million. (Some previous years have been higher because of Covid-relief money). This is eight percent (8%) of district revenues. My understanding is nearly all of this is allocated to specific uses.
Federal funding sources, including money from the U.S. Department of Education, are constantly shifting based on federal laws, decisions, and court rulings, so it is hard to predict what it will mean for the Highline budget.
Stay tuned for additional coverage of the school district budget process and decisions.
