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Richland voters approve two levies; board pledges stewardship as district tracks enrollment spike
Summary
Voters approved both district levies (Proposition 1 and Proposition 2) in certified results announced to the board. District leaders said they will publish stewardship plans and monthly fiscal slides online as they refine budget projections amid an atypical enrollment increase.
The Richland School District board on Feb. 24 announced certified results showing voters approved two local levies the district ran this year. District officials reported Proposition 1 passed with 54.95% of the vote (10,859 yes; 8,904 no) and Proposition 2 passed with 55.22% (10,925 yes; 8,860 no).
Board members and district leaders framed the outcomes as a mandate to steward taxpayer funds carefully. The director of business services, Travis, said the district has forwarded signed certification documents from the county elections supervisor and will make monthly fiscal slides available on the district website so the public can monitor how levy revenue is spent.
"We very much appreciate your support," Acting President Janisins told the public. "We will be watching as well to make sure that those funds are wisely used."
Travis gave the board a fiscal update alongside the levy announcement. He said preliminary February enrollment figures showed an atypical jump that will boost apportionment revenue, improving near-term projections. He cautioned, however, that the district remains below recommended fund-balance targets: current projections put the ending fund-balance percentage near 4%, short of a prudent minimum target the district described as 5% (and an aspirational 12.5%).
Travis said the district is using a financial-framework dashboard to monitor indicators such as fund balance, expenditures-to-revenue and days cash on hand, and projected the district's framework 'fit' score to improve from 1.97 to roughly 2.65 as the year progresses.
Board members asked that the stewardship and framework materials be easy for the public to find. "If Katie Anderson is watching, she can see it as well," Acting President Janisins said, referencing a constituent who had asked about levy transparency in an email.
Next steps: district staff said they will publish monthly fiscal updates and a stewardship plan tied to MTSS and program priorities, continue the financial-audit work already underway, and present a preliminary 2026'27 budget to the board consistent with statutory timelines for public availability and adoption.
