Kent School District finance director outlines budget outlook and a multi‑year deficit forecast

The Kent School District received a detailed fiscal update at its May 14 regular meeting, during which Executive Director of Finance Raul Perangal reviewed the state operating budget, anticipated revenue changes for 2025–26, and updated a multi-year forecast that still shows a structural deficit without ongoing balancing steps.

The most important figures: Perangal said the Legislature approved an operating budget (referred to in the presentation as S B 51 67) that totals about $77.9 billion statewide, an increase of roughly $5.9 billion. K–12 education’s portion was presented as $33.7 billion statewide, an increase of approximately $2.5 billion. Per Perangal’s briefing, the district will see a mix of maintenance-level increases and smaller discretionary policy funding.

Special education and MSOC funding: Perangal summarized changes to special-education funding (including elimination of a tiered system and changes to excess-cost multipliers) worth about $309.6 million statewide, and a separate $12.4 million provision to extend services to age 22 under SB 5253. The state’s maintenance-level contribution to the per‑student formula (MSOC) was described as $45.99 per student with a separately described enhancement and a net new funding figure of $35.27 per K–12 student in the district's slide presentation.

Local impact and forecast: Perangal highlighted the district’s local funding pressure from an "over formula" gap: using the state’s funded salary rate compared with district pay rates, he estimated an underfunding of about $63.6 million tied to salary differentials and an additional $10 million tied to FTE differences (the state funds fewer FTEs than the district employs), for a combined total he presented as about $73.6 million. He warned that while some forecast years improve (noting the IPD/inflation factor changes), the district still faces deficits unless it identifies recurring budget-balancing solutions.

Federal uncertainty and enrollment risk: Perangal said federal education funding faces a projected 15.3% reduction in some scenarios and that national proposals could consolidate multiple federal programs, creating uncertainty. He also noted that enrollment projections were prepared prior to recent political changes and could decline, further reducing state apportionment.

Board discussion and next steps: Board members asked how Kent compares to neighboring districts; Perangal said Kent’s multi-year forecasting and scenario planning put it ahead in preparedness. The district will present a second budget work session on June 11 with estimated revenues and expenditures and a public hearing; Perangal said the board will be asked to adopt a final budget at a June 25 meeting. He urged continued work on efficiencies and revenue enhancements and noted that pending bargaining negotiations and federal funding changes could alter the forecast.

Ending: The forecasted improvements in later years reflect incremental IPD increases, but Perangal emphasized the district still needs recurring savings (he cited a hypothetical $3–5 million annual balancing approach) to reach a near-balanced budget in coming years.