Tacoma School District warns $30 million shortfall as legislative budgets diverge

At the Tacoma School District No. 10 board meeting on April 10, finance staff told directors the district faces an estimated $30,000,000 shortfall for upcoming budgets and cannot yet rely on proposed state revenue increases.

District finance presenter Roz told the board that the Senate and House budgets differ sharply and that “all we know is we have a $30,000,000 shortfall,” adding that the district continues to run scenarios while negotiations proceed in Olympia.

The report said the Senate budget would generate significantly more net revenue for the district than the House proposal, with differences tied to assumptions about the implicit price deflator, medical benefit rates and retirement contributions. Roz said those differences, plus uncertainty about proposed state revenue measures, make planning difficult: “You can’t read these numbers and say ‘you have $8,000,000 coming to you’ — that’s not true,” Roz said.

The presentation flagged several specific risks and deadlines. The district has a voter-approved maintenance-and-operations levy of $82,000,000; a floating House proposal (referred to in staff comments as House Bill 2049) could allow levies up to $100,000,000 but would require the district to put a replacement levy on the ballot as early as August 2025 — a change staff described as “too risky” to pursue absent clearer law. Roz also said the district’s Head Start grant, roughly $7,400,000, has a June 1 application deadline and that recent federal office closures in the region complicate timely approval.

Superintendent Garcia and board members asked about timing and the consequences of a special legislative session. Roz said possible actions include delaying budget adoption into August to wait for clearer state action, but noted that teacher contract timelines could force decisions sooner: a reduction-in-force notice, if required, normally must be decided and communicated by May 15 under current timelines.

Why it matters: the district said state and federal uncertainty could affect staffing and programs. Roz emphasized that projected legislative increases, if realized, would largely backfill services the district already provides locally — especially special education — rather than fund new programs.

The board heard staff requests to continue scenario planning and to press legislators for clarity on special education, materials/supplies funding and levy rules. Directors said they have been meeting with legislators in Olympia to press the district’s priorities.

Ending: Staff said they will update the board as negotiations progress and as the legislature moves toward a final budget; the district still plans to adopt its budget in July if possible but acknowledged the possibility of later action depending on state developments.