Superintendent Michelle presented the Port Angeles School District’s 2025–26 proposed budget and four-year forecast at a special board work session, saying, “this session, is a requirement by state law. So we are required to present the budget to you, and we are also required to open it for community comments.” Finance Director Karen Casey walked the board through the numbers, saying, “what we are projecting for the 2025–26 school year is in our general fund. We're gonna have a beginning balance of 2,500,000, moving on to revenues for $63,109,794 against expenditures of $62,000,962.852 for an increase of $146,942 to end our fund balance at $2,646,942 for the year.”

The numbers matter because the district's board policy requires a minimum fund balance of 7% of budgeted expenditures, roughly $4.4 million; the proposed budget therefore remains below that threshold and will require continued cost reductions and monitoring to meet policy. Karen Casey told the board the district “still need[s] to continue working to decrease our costs by 1.7 to comply with our minimum fund balance policy.”

Most of the district’s spending is personnel: Karen Casey told the board personnel comprises about 85% of the budget, with certificated salaries listed at about $26 million, classified salaries at $11 million and benefits at $13 million. The proposed general-fund revenues are shown at roughly $63.11 million and expenditures near $62.00 million. Other funds presented included an ASB fund projected to end at $544,112, a newly established debt service fund with a balance shown at $769,318 following the district’s bond sale, capital projects with large planned spending, and a transportation vehicle fund reflecting an ordered bus that will arrive next year.

Board members and district leaders emphasized uncertainty driven by enrollment and state and federal funding. The presentation used a conservative enrollment projection (3,223 FTE) for the 2025–26 budget; Superintendent Michelle and staff noted they will not know final enrollment until the first day of school and that staff are monitoring kindergarten and other registrations daily. The four-year forecast incorporates assumed state inflationary adjustments (IPD) of 2.6%, 2.9% and 2.1% over the next three years and includes projected annual reductions to balance the budget (roughly 1.3% reductions in 2026–27 and 1.0% in 2027–28 under the assumptions presented).

No formal action was taken at the work session. The board opened a one-week public comment period and will consider approval of the 2025–26 budget and any accompanying resolutions at the next regular meeting; Superintendent Michelle reminded the board that the final budget must be submitted to the state by Aug. 31.

Smaller, less certain items that were highlighted: one final year of an MTSS grant of about $300,000, receipt of Title II and Title IV federal funds at slightly reduced amounts, and a new Indian education grant the district did not have last year. Staff said they will continue monthly reporting on revenues, expenditures and enrollment and will return to the board with updates as needed.