Issaquah School Board holds public hearing on 2025–26 budget; trustees hear updates on levies, electric buses and equity-based budgeting

The Issaquah School District Board of Directors on Aug. 7 held a public hearing on the district’s proposed 2025–26 budget, hearing a detailed presentation from finance staff and asking questions about enrollment, special education costs, local levies, capital projects and an electric-bus pilot.

District Chief of Finance and Operations Martin Tierney and Executive Director of Finance and Budget Mariah Vanasick led the presentation, which outlined revenue and expenditure drivers and next steps before a formal budget resolution is scheduled for a future meeting.

The hearing matters because the district depends on a mix of state, local and federal revenue — and on voter-approved levies — to cover recurring costs. Finance staff said the district is projecting a 346-student drop next year, which translates into roughly $4 million less in state revenue and contributes to persistent funding gaps between state funding and actual local costs.

Tierney and Vanasick told the board the district projects last year’s ending fund balance at $5.8 million and a projected ending fund balance for 2025–26 of about $46.3 million, which the presenters characterized as the budget’s working projection; the ratio of fund balance to budgeted expenditures falls from about 13% to 11% under their estimate. Vanasick summarized enrollment…