Tacoma School District officials told the board on Thursday that the district faces an estimated $30,000,000 budget shortfall for the 2025–26 school year, and staff reductions and program changes are under way as part of efforts to balance the operating budget.

The district’s finance presentation said state funding increases were modest compared with district needs and that rising costs — including fuel, utilities, insurance and salaries — left Tacoma Public Schools vulnerable. “We are facing a $30,000,000 deficit,” the superintendent said during the board meeting.

Chief Financial Officer Ross told the board the conference budget produced roughly $5,800,000 in new basic education revenue for Tacoma and about $6,500,000 in special-education revenue driven by a revised multiplier and a higher safety-net threshold. He said those increases will not close the gap and that the district remains under the special-education cap (16%), so it will not receive additional automatic reimbursements tied to exceeding that threshold. Ross also said the district cannot access extra levy increases authorized statewide for some districts because Tacoma is already locked into a voter-approved levy rate for 2026.

Board members and staff described additional financial pressure from federal and state changes. The superintendent said the district received notice that three federal grants would be eliminated, including a U.S. Department of Education grant of about $2,600,000, and that other late-breaking budget details continue to emerge as the governor reviews the state budget.

District staff described the district’s mitigation steps as including tighter spending controls (freezing purchasing cards), limiting or reducing contracts, eliminating or freezing overtime and extra work, and other position eliminations and hiring freezes. Staff also said there were currently no reserves and warned that if current trends continue, the district could operate without fund-balance reserves.

Officials described “binding conditions” — a state designation for insolvency — and said the district is working to avoid that outcome. They explained that a financial oversight process under OSPI (the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction) and the local Educational Service District would follow if the district entered binding conditions. The presentation noted other Washington districts have faced binding conditions and that Tacoma is not currently on the state’s watch list but could be next year if conditions worsen.

Several district employees addressed the board during public comment to describe how staffing changes would affect students and school operations. Liz Wall, a 19-year paraeducator with Tacoma Public Schools, described daily duties performed by building paras — from supervising crossings and buses to running interventions and covering 1-on-1 assignments when substitutes are not available — and warned that cuts to those positions would disrupt services for students with special needs. Connor Griswold, an educational support professional at Fawcett Elementary, and other speakers said staff received notice they “no longer have jobs to return to,” and urged the board to consider alternatives such as pay cuts for top administrators or furlough days before eliminating frontline positions.

Board members reiterated that the superintendent and cabinet have been advocating with state legislators and that the district will continue to seek changes and additional information as the governor signs or vetoes parts of the state budget. Several board members stressed the district will coordinate decisions with bargaining units and comply with contractual obligations, but noted those steps may not prevent some reductions.

The superintendent said the district would provide updates and that additional program changes and mitigation proposals would be brought forward as staff continue to refine projections.