Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Sunnyside Unified board adopts $306 million budget and approves $1.5 million adjacent-ways levy
Summary
The Sunnyside Unified School District governing board approved a $306.0 million adopted expenditure budget for 2026-27 and voted to levy $1.5 million for adjacent-ways projects, setting a corresponding tax rate of 0.222. Board members cited state funding changes and bond timing as key drivers.
The Sunnyside Unified School District governing board on Tuesday approved the district's 2026-27 adopted annual expenditure budget, totaling $306,000,009.49, and separately authorized a $1,500,000 adjacent-ways (truth-in-taxation) levy to support off-site improvements such as ingress/egress and utilities.
Budget presenter Carla Walters told the board the adopted budget reflects a $34.1 million increase over the last revision and noted several state developments that will affect the district's finances, including a 2 percent increase to the state funding formula and a per-mile increase for transportation support. Walters said one-time legislative supplementals appropriated by the legislature were not yet finalized and therefore were not included in the adopted budget.
Walters described planned bond activity connected to capital work the budget funds: the district retains authorization for a $120 million bond program and expects to sell $45 million in the near term (with later tranches to follow). She told board members the district may delay the sale to January to avoid idle bond proceeds and to seek favorable market conditions.
On the adjacent-ways levy, Walters said the proposed $1.5 million levy would translate to a tax-rate increase of about $0.22 and estimated the annual impact on a $100,000 home at roughly $45.37 (the district's average assessed home value was reported in the presentation as $113,005.97, producing an estimated $51 per year). She stressed taxes are computed on assessed value, not market value.
Board members asked about the School Facilities Division's role in validating off-site projects, whether the division could deny requests above $50,000, and how city projects (for example, the Bilby Road work) interact with adjacent-ways work. Walters said the facilities division must validate projects over $50,000 but typically does not fund them; city-led street projects remain city responsibilities though coordination is necessary where school access is affected.
Following the presentation and the required public hearing, the board approved the adopted budget and then, in a separate motion, approved the $1.5 million adjacent-ways levy and set the 0.222 tax rate. The votes were recorded by roll call with the board recording unanimous "Aye" responses.
The district plans to post final budget documents and the superintendent's performance goals on the Sunnyside website as required. Any adjustments that result from finalized one-time legislative allocations will be reflected in the December budget revision.
