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Bellevue School District: enrollment edges up but superintendent warns of $16 million budget gap
Summary
Superintendent Dr. Kelly Aramaki told the City Council Bellevue School District enrollment has recovered modestly but the district faces a $10 million shortfall this year and a projected $16 million deficit for 2025–26, requiring cuts equal to roughly 91 full‑time positions if state revenue does not increase.
Dr. Kelly Aramaki, superintendent of the Bellevue School District, updated the City Council on district enrollment, new programs and mounting budget pressures, saying the district must reduce spending unless the state provides additional funding.
Aramaki said district enrollment has begun to recover since 2022 and that out‑of‑district students are helping stabilize numbers: "We have 19,331 kids this year," he said, and "1,327 students this year who live outside of the Bellevue School District boundaries." He also outlined new language immersion and career‑connected programs, including Arabic and Hindi at Ardmore, Korean at Newport Heights and a maritime welding class at Interlake High School.
The central warning concerned finances. "We have to cut 10,000,000 from this current year's budget, and we're looking at a $16,000,000 deficit for 25, 26," Aramaki said. He told the council that about 85% of the district budget pays staff and that a roughly $16 million gap equates to "16,000,000 is 91 FTE." The superintendent said the district has drawn down reserves to about $8 million — well below a target he described as roughly $30 million — and that special education alone shows a large funding shortfall: the state provided about $40 million for special education in 2024 while the district spent about $74 million, leaving a gap covering services the district currently budgets with local levy dollars.
Why this matters: Bellevue School District leaders said the city and district should continue coordinating on workforce housing and other local supports because state funding has not kept pace with rising costs, and because cuts to staff or services would affect programs parents say attract families to Bellevue. Councilmembers asked about options to close the gap, effects on class sizes and how the district plans to identify reductions.
Council reaction and next steps: Councilmembers praised the district's programmatic innovations — dual‑language pathways, robotics and expanded career and technical education — while pressing for detail on how the district will implement reductions. Aramaki said the district is pursuing hiring freezes, cuts to materials and supplies and other efficiencies, and that the board and staff are holding listening sessions with employees and families; he said targeted layoffs remain a last‑resort if additional revenue does not materialize.
The presentation was informational; the council took no formal action on district budget decisions at the meeting.
