Northshore trustees hear budget update as state funding lifts fall short, levy authority eyed

Northshore School District officials on May 12 told the board of directors that modest gains in the state biennial budget and one-time payments will not fully close the district’s funding gap and that the district will likely need increased local levy authority to avoid recurring cuts.

Deputy Superintendent and Chief Financial Officer Jolynn Berge opened the study session by calling it “just an informational update for the board” as staff walked members through legislative funding changes, cash-flow shifts and the district’s restoration plan for restored positions and services.

The update matters because the district’s four-year forecast still shows expenditures outpacing revenue without additional local levy collections. “We are anticipating a few more dollars that we can apply back to the restoration plans,” Superintendent Tolley told the board, while cautioning the board that final amounts depend on legislation that, as of the study session, was not yet signed by the governor.

At a glance: Berge said special education funding will increase by about $1,470,000 next school year and Material, Supplies and Other Costs (MSOC) policy-level funding will rise about $860,000 (roughly $35 per pupil). The district received roughly $1 million in one-time K‑3 reversion funds for 2024–25 that will be paid in June based on April average annual full-time-equivalent enrollment, Berge said. She also said special-education multipliers were adjusted upward (reported near 1.16), and that some cash‑flow provisions — including a move to quarterly payments for certain special‑education reimbursements — could ease timing pressures.

Still, staff said…