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Board reviews budget outlook and one‑time funding; warns supplemental funds will shrink
Summary
Board leaders credited the legislature for direct funding (including roughly $180 million for PEIP) and new one‑time allocations — $10 million for career‑tech equipment and $25 million for school safety — while warning that ENT/EOR supplemental pools are smaller and future supplementals will be tighter.
Board leaders reviewed the fiscal results of the recent legislative session and outlined implications for K‑12 budgets and programs.
The Chair told members the legislature provided substantial operational funding and made targeted supplemental additions. On health insurance support, the Chair said the legislature appropriated roughly $180 million for the Public Education Insurance Plan (PEIP), below a governor’s recommendation of about $210 million, and that PEIP and the retiree trust board will address remaining cost pressures. The Chair warned that prescription and specialty drug costs are rising and will create additional strain on insurance plans going forward.
One‑time and supplemental funds highlighted in the session included an ENT distribution to K‑12 of about $570 million, a Raise Act (EOR fund) allocation the Chair said was roughly $399 million, $10 million for career‑tech equipment and $25 million for school safety. The legislature also set aside $150 million toward career‑tech center modernization grants; the Chair said this represents $250 million in totals over two years when combined with other allocations. The session also made a technical change allowing districts to use one‑time ENT funds to pay down debt, enabling some districts to reduce interest costs.
The Chair cautioned that these supplemental pools are shrinking: "The ENT was about 750 million last year; this year it was 570," the Chair said, and predicted that supplemental appropriations will be much smaller in the coming biennium. As a result, the board and district finance officers were urged not to count on recurring supplemental funds for long‑term obligations.
Other operational notes: the Chair said the legislature fully funded operations for the coming year (salaries, fuel and routine costs) but said fleet renewal (school buses) funding is under 50% of bus replacement costs due to rising bus prices. The board will continue to review costs during its August budget work and a planned retreat.
What’s next: staff will circulate the full packet (the Chair said the packet runs several hundred pages) and present more detailed budget materials at the June and August meetings; further discussions about retiree trust uses and PEIP board decisions are expected in June.
