Longview presents preliminary $127M general fund budget and four-year forecast; public hearing set for Aug. 10

The Longview School District presented a preliminary general-fund budget and four-year forecast during its July 13 board meeting, showing roughly $127.6 million in revenues and a comparable level of expenditures for 2026–27 and a projected ending fund balance of approximately $9.68 million (about 7.59% of budgeted expenditures).

Executive Director of Business Services and acting superintendent Patty Bowen said the preliminary figures reflect modest net changes since the June 22 presentation — about $510,000 in revenue adjustments overall — with the largest movements tied to special-education safety-net awards, anticipated Title I carryover under allowable provisions, and small adjustments in nutrition services. Bowen said approximately 83% of the district’s expenditures are personnel costs.

Bowen walked the board through budget parameters and fund-balance projections, explaining that the district is operating under a set of planning assumptions that hold enrollment steady for out years and assume IPD (state inflationary adjustments) and negotiated increases in later years. The four-year forecast assumes the current levy runs through calendar-year 2028 and includes a modeled replacement levy in later years as a planning assumption.

Board members and members of the public asked questions about contingency planning, the narrow margin in some draft figures and an estimated liability-insurance increase incorporated into planning. Bowen confirmed the budget includes a preparatory estimate for liability-insurance premiums of up to 15% and said the district communicates regularly with its risk pool; she also described short-term staffing steps the district has taken (cross-training and a returning retiree) to ensure continuity in finance and operations.

A public hearing on the preliminary 2026–27 budget was set for Monday, Aug. 10; the board scheduled formal adoption for Monday, Aug. 24 to meet statutory deadlines.

Board members emphasized the need to preserve classroom services if reductions are required and said the district’s budget process is ongoing: staffing and program adjustments are aligned to enrollment projections and are prepared through regular budget development steps ahead of adoption.

What happens next: the district will post the draft budget and four-year forecast online and hold the Aug. 10 public hearing; the board will consider final adoption at its Aug. 24 meeting to meet the statutory deadline of Aug. 31 for budget adoption.