District staff brief board on school trust lands program, compliance deadlines

District staff reviewed the School Trust Lands (school trust) program and the district's responsibilities for training, monitoring and approving school plans at a March 31 Washington County School District working session.

The presenter told the board that school community councils prepare school trust plans that govern how trust-land-derived funds are spent; the board must be trained before it approves school trust plans and councils must be trained after elections in the fall. Staff identified fixed compliance milestones: final reports for the prior year become available January 15 and must be submitted by March 1; proposed plans are submitted by May 15 for board review; October 20 is a website-disclosure compliance deadline. The presenter emphasized that plans must include clear goals tied to academic need, measurable outcomes and allowable expenditures such as books, technology, professional development, staff and student transportation. The presenter warned that ambiguous spending descriptions are a common cause of compliance problems and potential defunding by the state.

Board members asked how the program's results affect future decisions. Staff explained that the final report shows each school's stated goal, the measurement used and whether growth occurred; a lack of progress can prompt councils to revise plans or adopt a new action plan. Staff also noted a minimum-spend rule: schools must spend at least 10% of funds they receive (or explain why carryover occurred), and frequent amendments are often used to reallocate unspent carryover.

Board members and principals described common uses of trust funds, saying roughly three-quarters of expenditures typically go to staff (additional teachers or paraprofessionals), which local participants said tends to have the largest instructional effect. Staff warned that the district must pre-review plans for compliance before submission to the state to avoid defunding.

The presentation also contrasted School Trust Lands funding with the Teachers and Student Success grants (referred to in the packet as TSSP/TSSA), noting TSSA/TSSP funding is larger than trust lands and that schools often combine those funds to support their Comprehensive School Improvement Plans.

The board reviewed the 2025'''6 school trust lands plans (25'''6 SLP plans) and staff asked members to submit feedback to a district contact by April 14 so staff could incorporate comments before formal approval.