Battle Ground School District projects large fund‑balance draw, 116 FTE eliminations after levy nonrenewal

Business office staff presented the Battle Ground School District’s proposed 2025–26 budget at a board workshop, saying the district will draw roughly $14.9 million from reserves and eliminate 116 full‑time equivalent (FTE) positions after voters did not renew a local levy.

The presentation, identified in the district’s meeting materials as the state F‑195 budget document, described a two‑year funding gap of $38,300,000 created by the levy nonrenewal. “The non renewal of the local levy resulted in a $38,300,000 funding gap over 2 years,” the presenter said, and added that the district plans to use $5,200,000 of fund balance specifically to cover the immediate levy shortfall. “While we try to keep cuts as far away from students as possible, these reductions will still have an impact,” the presenter said.

The nut of the proposal: to balance the general fund for 2025–26 the district would use $14,875,490 in fund balance, producing a projected ending fund balance of $17,224,510 (about 7.2 percent) from an opening balance of roughly $32.1 million. The proposed revenue total shown in the budget materials is $224,437,769.

Why it matters: the district says state and federal funding increases are not keeping pace with rising costs for salaries, materials and operations, so local levies have been essential to maintain services. The presenter said the district projects 12,306 full‑time equivalent students for…