Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the State Funding topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Othello board highlights "Big 3" school funding priorities after legislative conference
Summary
Directors reported from a legislative conference that three statewide funding prioritiesa0— MSOC (materials, supplies and operating costs), special education multipliers and transportation fundinga0— are being advanced jointly by WASDA, WASA and WASBO to press lawmakers for more targeted state support.
Othello School District directors said the most urgent item they brought back from a statewide legislative conference is a coordinated push on three funding categories the associations are calling the "big 3": MSOC (materials, supplies and operating costs), special education funding and transportation.
Director Gerber, who attended the conference with Superintendent Pete Perez, said the three organizations are aligning requests so legislators receive a single, consistent message. "They said that a lot," Gerber said of the conference presenters, referring to emphasis on the three priorities.
MSOC, the board was told, includes insurance, utilities, technology, curriculum and textbooks, library materials, professional development, facilities maintenance, security and central-office supports. "MSOC is the one that's going to impact us the most," Superintendent Perez said, noting dramatic increases in insurance and utilities that districts must cover.
On special education, presenters emphasized recalculating multipliersa0the additional weighting applied to students who qualify for special educationa0so funding better reflects actual costs. The board heard about "safety net" funds that can reimburse districts for extraordinary costs for an individual special-education student once expenses pass a high threshold; presenters cited a threshold figure in the conference materials of roughly $40,000 in incremental cost for a single student.
Transportation funding was described as similarly in need of formula reform. Board members said the student-transportation allocation reporting system (STARS) does not fully reflect per-route costs; a bus that carries 20 students still costs nearly the same to operate as a bus that carries 40. Delegates described district examples of substantial rideshare or contract transportation costs in other parts of the state.
Board members emphasized the political strategy they observed: by narrowing and unifying requests to the "big 3," the associations hope to improve the chance of legislative progress in a session where overall revenue and competing priorities are constrained. Perez and Gerber said presenters urged districts to tell local stories to their legislators so representatives understand how those three funding lines affect districts like Othello.
The board also heard context about the state budget outlook from conference speakers: presenters cited multi‑year shortfall estimates in the low double-digit billions and reported that some statewide proposals under consideration range from roughly $1.1 billion to $2.5 billion for public education. Presenters repeatedly warned districts and trustees to expect guardrails on any new funds so they are used as intended.
The board said it will watch the 105‑day legislative session closely and expects additional updates from director(s) and staff as bills and funding proposals emerge.
