St. Helens board approves Northwest Regional ESD local service plan amid warnings of state funding cuts

The St. Helens School District Board of Directors on a unanimous vote approved Resolution 2025-26007, the Northwest Regional Educational Service District(NWRESD) Local Service Plan for 2026—27, following a presentation from NWRESD leaders about services, funding and looming state budget pressure.

Dan Goldman, identified in the meeting as superintendent at the regional ESD, told the board the plan is co-designed each year with district leaders across the region and covers core shared services plus a menu of buy-back options that districts may purchase with their locally controlled accounts. He said the region serves 20 districts and that the local service plan governs how roughly 40% of NWRESD's budget is organized and how districts access about 75% of those funds via district accounts.

Dr. Megan Holden, the ESDchief academic officer, highlighted technical and programmatic supports the ESD provides to small districts, including an Internet/fiber network that offers redundancy across four counties and a range of special education specialists (the presenters said the district accesses about 4.5 special-education staff through the ESD). She also noted the ESD delivers substantial early-literacy professional development, reporting 842 hours of early literacy training so far this year.

Presenters repeatedly warned the board that the state has circulated a "cut list" that could eliminate or reduce funding for several programs the ESD provides, including early literacy supports and other instructional coaching networks. Goldman and Holden said special education funding is particularly strained by statutory limits and reimbursement rules: the state provides a double-weight formula for special education up to an 11% cap and a separate high-cost disability reimbursement that has historically covered only about one quarter of excess costs.

Board members asked how district accounts, core services and optional contracted services interact and whether cutting an ESD-run program merely shifts costs back to the local district. Goldman said many services are optional and districts retain the choice to purchase them; he also explained county allocation mechanisms that are used to stabilize high-need placements and countywide programs (for example, Meadowlark and specialized classroom slots).

After discussion the board moved and approved the resolution adopting the 2026—27 NWRESD Local Service Plan. The administration said the planand the ESDwill continue to work with districts to finalize service selections and that individual districts will decide which services to buy back during their budget processes.

The board meeting also included citizen comment and other agenda items; public commenters urged patience as the district addresses budget shortfalls and defended central office classified staff who said they perform functions required for state reporting and special-education compliance.

The board indicated it will monitor state budget developments closely, given presentersstatements that further cuts at the state level could remove supports the regional ESD currently provides.