Sumner CFO: State revenue forecast dips; district projects modest enrollment growth

Chief Financial Officer Brian Bridal updated the Sumner School District Board of Directors on March 19 on the district's budget outlook, telling the board the Washington state revenue forecast for the next biennium is down by "just under $500,000,000" compared with November and that the legislature's actions this spring will determine the district's final funding. Bridal also said the district's enrollment projection for 2025–26 is roughly 10,050 average annual full‑time equivalent students.

Bridal said the statewide revenue revision reduces the November forecast by about $479 million, a change he described as "about seven‑tenths of 1 percent" of the state's biannual revenue pool. He warned that the long budget session could extend past the planned April 27 adjournment if lawmakers have not reached agreements, and that final details and agency guidance sometimes arrive in May.

The update matters because roughly three‑quarters of the district's revenue comes from the state, Bridal said, and state decisions…