Pasco School District budget staff on Tuesday presented a preliminary 2025–26 spending plan that projects a multimillion‑dollar operating shortfall and accounts for roughly $4 million in federal grant funding the district has been told it likely will not receive.

The finance presentation to the Pasco School District Board of Directors laid out year‑to‑year assumptions, five fund categories and a four‑year projection intended to return the district to stronger reserves through staffing attrition and other adjustments, while preserving services where possible.

Joey Castilla, the district’s director of fiscal services, told the board the district is coping with factors largely outside local control. “This is a puzzle. … we’re grappling with some funding challenges that honestly are just really outside of the control of the local school districts,” Castilla said during the presentation, later adding of the timing of the federal notice: “the carpet’s been pulled out from under us.”

Why it matters: the budget determines how the district staffs schools, maintains facilities and funds programs for 19,000 students. Trustees were shown a baseline general‑fund position that begins FY2025‑26 with an estimated fund balance of $16.2 million and would end the year near $12.2 million under the current plan, with total general‑fund revenues of about $339.0 million and expenditures of about $343.2 million.

Key details from the presentation
- Federal grants: Superintendent Whitney told the board the $339.0 million revenue figure “includes about $4,000,000 of federal funds that we’re currently not getting,” and district staff built contingencies assuming those grants may be cut effective Oct. 1, the start of the federal fiscal year. The programs named by staff were Title I, Part C (migrant education; ~ $1.5 million), Title II (professional development; ~ $0.5 million), Title III (English‑learner support; ~$855,000), Title IV Part A (supplemental learning/enrichment; just under $500,000) and Title IV Part B (family‑school/community partnerships; ~$563,000).
- Enrollment and apportionment: the district budgeted on a conservative average full‑time enrollment of 17,400 students for 2025‑26 after budgeting 17,663 in 2024‑25 and receiving an actual average of 17,598. State funding is driven by the district’s apportionment (average enrollment), so lower enrollment reduces state revenue.
- Fund balances and reserves: the plan retains the board‑directed 2.5% reserve and special‑purpose assignments (reduced from a prior practice of ~5%). Staff presented a four‑year projection that assumes flat enrollment, 3% year‑over‑year revenue and expenditure growth and planned staffing reductions by attrition totaling $5 million in 2026‑27 and $3 million in each of the two following years to rebuild reserves.
- Capital, ASB and transportation: the capital projects fund begins the year near $65.5 million and is projected to end near $52.0 million as bond‑funded work on new high schools continues. The Associated Student Body fund is healthy and projected to grow ($2.1M start to $2.3M end). The vehicle replacement (yellow bus) fund will use depreciation revenues to replace aging buses; staff noted about 8 buses on order and capacity to purchase more.

Board reaction and options discussed
Trustees pressed staff about timing and the scale of possible actions. Director Norberg urged board members to study the plan and work with staff: “we’ve got to… take this bull by the horns and deal with it,” she said, urging board members to meet with finance staff.

Board members discussed approaches to close the gap. Staff emphasized the district’s preference to achieve necessary savings through natural attrition over the next several years rather than immediate layoffs, but acknowledged layoffs remain an option if attrition and other measures prove insufficient. One board member suggested an accelerated target of $10 million in staffing reductions in 2026‑27 to address the cumulative shortfall faster.

Levy planning and next steps
District staff said the budget presented is a planning document and that the final budget hearing and formal adoption will occur at the board’s Aug. 12 meeting, with a final statutory deadline for adoption later in August if required. Superintendent Whitney and staff indicated the district will advertise the budget and publish required disclosure slides before the hearing, and reiterated that if the federal grants are restored the budget has capacity to accept and spend them without a subsequent extension.

Public comment and transparency requests
A resident who identified herself as Michelle Andries asked the board to break out the roughly $7.1 million listed as Materials, Supplies and Operating Costs (MSOC) for greater taxpayer transparency and suggested the district explore partial self‑insurance for health benefits.

No formal vote or policy change was taken at the meeting; trustees received the information and directed staff to continue refining the plan ahead of the public hearing and final adoption schedule.

Ending note: district staff described 2025‑26 as a difficult transitional year that will require sustained attention to enrollment patterns, grant notifications and staffing decisions; trustees scheduled levy planning and a public budget hearing for August as part of the follow‑up timeline.