Wenatchee School District projects smaller 2025-26 deficit; warns enrollment decline will pressure future budgets

The Wenatchee School District’s executive director of business and finance, Sean Fitzgerald, presented a preliminary 2025–26 general fund budget to the board on June 24 and outlined a four-year forecast that shows a smaller near-term deficit but continued long-term pressure from declining enrollment.

Fitzgerald said the district expects a preliminary budgeted deficit of about $2.1 million for 2025–26 but noted that a number of favorable factors shrank a prior projection of roughly $4.6 million to the current figure. He told the board the district ended the 2024–25 year with a smaller-than-expected draw on fund balance and that several one-time items improved the year-end position.

Why it matters: declining enrollment, state funding rules and inflation create a structural budget challenge. The district must balance staffing, program priorities and reserves while planning capital transfers and bus purchases.