South Kitsap officials report enrollment decline, project lower fund balance despite new state aid
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Summary
At the May 21 South Kitsap School Board meeting, district staff reported a decline in student enrollment that reduced revenue and will lower the district's fund balance, though newly signed state funding for special education and MSOC will offset some losses.
At the May 21 regular meeting of the South Kitsap Board of Directors, district finance staff presented the April budget status and warned the board that declining enrollment is reducing revenue and will draw down the district's fund balance for the 2024-25 year.
Monica, a district staff member who presented the report, told the board the district faces a loss of roughly $1,270,000 in revenue tied to lower enrollment and projects an ending fund balance about $1,700,000 below the budgeted level for 2024-25.
The budget presentation explained the decline was most pronounced at secondary grade levels and that elementary enrollment was down slightly (by about five students in the most recent month). Monica said the district is budgeting for continued enrollment decline for 2025-26 but has received supplemental funding that will offset the majority of the revenue loss.
Monica said district expenditures are slightly above plan in some areas because of an unbudgeted transportation software purchase and an unexpected grant related to West and STEM programs; the board previously approved a resolution to move capacity between funds to cover some of those costs. She also reported that the bus fleet is delayed: vehicles ordered a year and a half ago have not yet been delivered.
Board members asked whether neighboring districts were experiencing the same trends. Monica said statewide birth rates are down and the majority of districts in the region show enrollment declines; she noted a few districts have small increases but said the primary driver appears to be lower birth rates rather than mass transfers between nearby districts. On the question of homeschooling and private school shifts, Monica said statewide data from OSPI exist but she had not yet examined homeschool numbers for the district and that private schools had not reported increased enrollment.
Superintendent Tim Winter, who also spoke during the report, said the district expects to provide a fuller update in June with projections for 2025-26 after the governor signed the state budget package. Monica told the board that the signed budget included additional special education and MSOC funding that will help district finances.
The board did not take formal action on the budget presentation at this meeting; staff said they will return in June with a more complete year-end picture and 2025-26 projections.
Ending: District staff emphasized that the enrollment trend is ongoing, that state aid partially mitigates the revenue loss, and that a fuller financial update is expected at the June meeting.
