Tacoma schools say statetransportation formula left district $3 million short this year

Carrie Kaufman, presenting the district's transportation funding report, told the Tacoma School Board on March 27 that the state's Students Transportation Allocation Reporting System (STARS) produced $15.8 million for the district for the 2024-25 year.

Kaufman said that figure is roughly $1 million less than what the district received the previous year and about $3 million below the district's budget forecast. "We were showing about a 4% increase and we thought we were going to be doing pretty good," Kaufman said. "The reality is that we're going to receive $15,800,000.0. So, let that sink for a second. It's a million dollars less than last year."

The drop comes despite local steps the district took to increase efficiency and ridership, Kaufman said, including route changes and a tiered bell schedule designed to reduce miles and stop count. She explained the STARS output is calculated by a regression model the district cannot fully observe. "We have nicknamed it the black box," she said. "Things go in, something comes out the end, and we're not quite sure how it all gets there."

Kaufman outlined the four components of state transportation funding the district reports to OSPI: ridership (the largest component), a safety-net allocation, an "In Lieu Of" payment tied to contracted transportation, and small grant funds. She said the STARS calculation weights several inputs (land area, average distance, number of destinations, basic program ridership and special programs such as special education and McKinney-Vento) and then applies a cohort coefficient that can change annually.

Kaufman and board members warned the February "true-up" OSPI performs introduces uncertainty into budgeting: money is allocated incrementally and then adjusted in February based on counts and STARS calculations. The district's transportation expenditures have been fairly flat even as costs such as fuel and labor rise. Kaufman said the transportation team has held costs steady while absorbing the funding gap. "We're gonna be $2,700,000 short this year," she said later in the presentation when discussing year-to-date forecasts.

Superintendent Josh Garcia and board members framed the STARS concern as a statewide policy problem that requires legislative remedy. Board members and presenters said they have pressed OSPI for more transparency but have not received usable detail on how to influence the formula beyond the broad advice to "become more efficient" and increase ridership.

Kaufman recommended the board and community review the statutory and regulatory references she cited, including RCW 28A and related WAC rules governing transportation reporting. The district's finance team will continue to update the board as budget work for 2025-26 proceeds.

The board did not take a vote on funding policy at the meeting; the session was an informational briefing and the district said further budget decisions will follow in the coming weeks.