Longview Public Schools unveils preliminary 2025-26 budget and four‑year forecast; board sets Aug. 11 hearing

At a Longview Public Schools board meeting, district finance staff presented the preliminary 2025‑26 general fund budget and a four‑year forecast and the board voted to set a public hearing on the budget for Aug. 11 at 5:35 p.m., with final adoption planned for Aug. 25. The board was told the preliminary budget shows revenues slightly exceeding expenditures by about $387,000 and an ending fund balance that meets the board’s minimum parameter of 7%.

The forecast matters because it is the district’s road map for staffing, contracts and operations through 2028‑29 and because the district faces uncertainties in federal grant funding and active labor negotiations. “We are locked in now for another four years” for school meals under the Community Eligibility Provision, the presenter said, and the district is watching federal and state revenue developments that could require midyear reductions.

Finance staff told the board they made planned reductions of roughly $1,030,000 in preparing the 2025‑26 budget, including classroom relocations for early learning programs, alignment of elementary staffing to projected enrollment, and a central office reorganization. The presenter said the district previously used a one‑time fund balance of $1,600,000 in 2024‑25. Staff reported special education revenue increased because of recent state funding changes and noted small additional state MSOC and levy equalization changes that improve projected revenue.

On fund balance, staff described the projected beginning balance for 2025‑26 as “just under $9 million” (exact figure described in meeting materials). The presenter said the projected ending‑fund‑balance percentage is about 7.61% of expenditures, slightly above the board’s 7% minimum. Board members and staff emphasized that much of the ending fund balance is not liquid: some is prepaid or already committed to operations, inventory or accounting entries. The presenter warned that closing the fiscal year and month‑to‑month cash flow require maintaining that margin because the district can experience very lean months; the meeting cited an average monthly payroll of about $8,100,000.

The presenter highlighted several revenue risks that remain in the preliminary budget: recent federal cuts to Title II, Title III and Title IV were described as totaling roughly $550,000 for the district, and the district is awaiting state confirmation of how those reductions will affect final allocations. The district also is awaiting word on federal school improvement dollars (referred to in the meeting as OSSI funds), described in the presentation as just under $120,000; staff said those dollars remain in the preliminary budget until the state provides final guidance. The presenter told the board that salary and benefit projections in the draft budget assume the state’s inflationary index (IPD) of 2.5% and that final salary costs will be updated after ongoing negotiations with employee groups conclude.

Staff also reported an operational revenue item: the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) approved district participation in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) for four years covering 2025‑26 through 2028‑29, which the presenter said will continue to allow all students to receive breakfast and lunch at no cost and produces predictable child‑nutrition revenue lines for the forecast. The presenter credited Rick Treanor, the district’s food‑service manager, with applying early to secure the district under existing thresholds.

Board members urged conservative planning. Board member Mark said employees and the community should understand the district must be cautious with controllable spending, and board member Dawn and others agreed the forecast is a useful tool for avoiding “knee‑jerk” decisions in the future. Several board members asked staff to show a breakout at the public hearing that explains, line by line, which portions of the ending fund balance are already committed (prepaids, inventory, restricted accounts) and which are available for monthly cash flow. The presenter agreed to include that slide in the public hearing materials.

The board voted to set a public hearing on the 2025‑26 budget and four‑year budget plan for Aug. 11 at 5:35 p.m.; the chair said the board has traditionally held the hearing at its first August meeting and adopted a budget at the second August meeting so the district can meet the statutory adoption deadline of Aug. 31.

What happens next: staff will publish the hearing materials (hard copies are available in the administration and business offices and the budget documents are on the district website), present fund‑balance detail at the hearing, and update revenues and expenditures if the state confirms changes to federal grant allocations or when negotiations with employee groups produce final salary agreements.

Board members said they intend to monitor state revenue forecasts and federal grant guidance closely and to return to the board with adjustments if the state notifies the district of reduced allocations.