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County treasurer warns of potential $1M–$2M shortfall; offers short‑term assistance, urges legislative advocacy
Summary
Benton County Treasurer Ken Spencer told the Kiona-Benton City School District board that county short-term loans are available but time-limited, outlined a cash‑management approach and said deeper structural funding issues tied to the state's K‑12 funding model (McCleary) could leave the district $1M–$2M short if long-term solutions are not found.
Ken Spencer, the Benton County treasurer, told the school board that the county has provided short-term investment-pool funding to help the district with cash flow but warned that assistance is not a permanent solution.
"There's no white horse coming in to save the school districts," Spencer said, describing how the county's support works through pooled investments with modest interest and an administrative fee. He said staff have identified proposed expense reductions in the range of $1,000,000 and noted a possibility the district could face a larger shortfall of up to $2,000,000 if additional measures are necessary.
John (district finance) reported the district's end-of‑January cash balance was about $300,000 better than anticipated, which Spencer said was positive but not sufficient to avoid longer-term decisions. Spencer and board members discussed the McCleary funding context: while the state has constitutional obligations for basic education, facility maintenance and local levies remain a local responsibility and community advocacy to legislators may be necessary to secure systemic changes.
Spencer outlined the next steps if short-term fixes are not enough: increased county collaboration, possible OSPI financial oversight or 'binding conditions' and continued tracking of progress with the educational service district. Board members asked for comparative benchmarking with peer districts; the finance lead agreed to research comparative data and the educational service district contact.
