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Board reviews enrollment projection; Running Start funding shifts discussed
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Summary
District budget planning will use a projected enrollment of about 2,627 for 2026–27, with a projected shortfall tied to a sunsetting cooperative agreement; staff warned Running Start dual-credit enrollments shift funding to Everett Community College and can reduce local classroom funding.
Marshall Cruz presented the district’s annual enrollment projections at the Feb. 25 board meeting, telling trustees the working budget figure for 2026–27 is about 2,627 students and that the projection reflects a roughly 50-student decline tied to the sunsetting of the Crossroads–Lake Stevens cooperative agreement.
"We like to do this every year and March just to kind of, run the board what we’re projecting," Cruz said, adding the figure is conservative and serves as a foundation for staffing and budget planning.
Cruz noted kindergarten enrollment was lower than expected this year (about 145 actual versus roughly 180 predicted), and while birth-rate data suggest there could be about 190 kindergarteners in future years, the district will not count that growth until it appears in enrollment. He said a demographer the district uses is watching whether the pattern is a COVID-related delay or a longer demographic shift.
Board members and student representatives asked how Running Start (the dual-credit program) affects district funding. Cruz explained that students who take Running Start count toward enrollment but much of the state funding for those students is passed through to Everett Community College; in full-time Running Start cases the district’s revenue for that student shifts to the college and the district then writes a check to the college.
"We get a big check from the state, and then we write a big check to Everett Community College," Cruz said, noting the district still bears costs for extracurricular activities and transportation.
No budget decisions were made at the meeting; trustees asked staff to monitor kindergarten registration and prekindergarten trends and to continue refining budget assumptions to match enrollment realities.
Next steps: staff will continue monitoring registration, bring updated enrollment figures to the board during budget development and adjust staffing assumptions if kindergarten numbers rise.
