Clover Park School District previews 2025‑26 budget, schedules July 7 public hearing and vote
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Summary
District staff presented the final budget update before a scheduled July 7 public hearing and vote, showing a projected enrollment of 11,695, an anticipated beginning fund balance of about $37.8 million and a projected $21 million ending fund balance for 2025‑26 while warning of future federal and state funding uncertainty.
CLOVER PARK, Wash. — Clover Park School District officials on Tuesday presented the final budget update before a public hearing and vote set for July 7, outlining revenue, spending and a multi‑year outlook for 2025‑26.
Assistant Superintendent Greg Hart and Amy Day, the district’s director of financial services, told the board the district is “projecting a total annual average enrollment of 11,695 students,” and that enrollment projections remain largely flat. Hart said the district expects a small secondary increase tied to a large fifth‑grade cohort moving into middle school.
The presentation placed the district’s projected beginning fund balance for 2025‑26 at about $37.8 million and showed estimated operating revenue of roughly $278 million against planned expenditures near $295 million. “Add in the revenue of 278,000,000, subtract out our expenditures of 295,000,000, and you get an ending fund balance for next year of 21,000,000,” Hart said.
Why it matters: the board’s minimum reserve requirement is 6 percent of the budget, and district officials said conservative enrollment projections and one‑time federal ESSER funds helped build the current reserve. Staff cautioned, however, that ESSER funding has largely expired and that future federal and state funding changes could reduce revenue in later years.
What the numbers show: presenters broke revenue into major categories during the meeting: roughly $135 million in state general‑purpose (basic education) funding, about $65 million in state special‑purpose funding (including special education and multilingual programs), $38 million in federal funding (including Impact Aid and Title grants), $25 million in local voter‑approved levy revenue and about $3.8 million in miscellaneous revenue. The district said it also built a capacity line of $9.5 million for potential grants and one‑time spending opportunities.
Expenditures were shown primarily as staffing costs, which the district said account for roughly 80–85 percent of total spending; presenters listed roughly $295 million in planned total expenditures for 2025‑26 and noted the district plans to use fund balance strategically to smooth upcoming debt‑service payments.
Board discussion and next steps: staff explained the budget development timeline and said a public hearing is scheduled for July 7 at 5 p.m., followed by the regular meeting and a vote on the budget at 6 p.m. Board members debated whether to move the hearing date but were told legal counsel advised holding the public hearing and vote on the same night. Superintendent Banner and board members said staff will continue forecasting and scenario‑planning as federal and state funding details for fiscal year 2026 become clearer.
Other fiscal items: the presentation reviewed the district’s recent audit history and compliance work. Staff noted the district received a single audit finding for fiscal year 2022 tied to an emergency connectivity grant; presenters said they contested the finding, and that the Federal Communications Commission subsequently questioned the State Auditor’s interpretation. The district received clean audits for fiscal years 2023 and 2024.
What’s next: the board will hold the July 7 public hearing and is scheduled to vote the same night on the 2025‑26 budget. If approved, staff said they will continue forecasting for potential federal reductions and may bring staffing or program recommendations to the board if required by changing revenues.
