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Highline CFO: enrollment stronger than projected; revenue and spending on track
Summary
Chief Financial Officer Jackie Bridal reported the district is about 550 FTE above projection for the 2024–25 year, with elementary growth concentrated in the south end. Revenue and expenditures are tracking to plan; the district will receive January apportionment and expects updated projections next month.
Highline School District Chief Financial Officer Jackie Bridal told the board on Jan. 22 that the district’s current-year enrollment is stronger than budgeted, and that revenue and expenditures are tracking as expected.
Bridal said the district is about 550 full‑time‑equivalent (FTE) students above the budget projection for 2024–25, with elementary schools accounting for roughly 314 of that surplus. The district uses annual average FTE to calculate state apportionment; Bridal said January is the month the state “trues up” funding and that the district will receive adjusted apportionment funds this week.
As of Dec. 31 figures presented at the meeting, Bridal said the district had received 29% of projected revenue and spent 30% of projected expenditures, noting that December month‑end numbers were not fully closed because of a recent cyber incident that delayed business‑services month closings. Federal revenue is lower than in prior years because ESSER funds have ended; Bridal said federal revenue is projected around $32 million for the year and that the district is on track for that amount.
Bridal said the Evergreen High School replacement project had a change order to remediate additional vandalism damage; insurance adjusters are engaged and the district expects insurance to cover the majority of the remediation costs, with contingency in the capital budget for any uncovered amounts. She said the Evergreen project remains on schedule for an August opening and that some of the additional cost is to accelerate contractor work (extra shifts) to keep the timeline.
Bridal described the district’s budget‑development timeline: a busy season through April and a February set of resource alignment tools and meetings. The district plans three ThoughtExchange surveys this year to collect community feedback. Bridal said the district will return next month with updated projections after apportionment is received.
No budget adoption vote occurred at the Jan. 22 meeting; the CFO said the board will get monthly updates during superintendent comments going forward.
