2024-25 Budget Development

Budget Reduction Summary

Over the last two years, Snoqualmie Valley School District has worked to align its expenditures with projected funding based on changes in enrollment, federal funding reductions and inflation. This work resulted in $2.7 million of reductions last year and an additional $1 million in reductions in the budget. Our financial situation is favorable compared to other school districts in our state, which are dealing with levy failures, lower enrollment, and other financial issues, leading to building closures and significant staff layoffs.

2024-25 Budget Document

Yearly Budget Information

In collaboration with the School Board, the SVSD leadership reduced expenditures by $1 million to create a budget that draws slightly on reserves (fund balance). This budget puts the district on track for a balanced budget for future years, barring unexpected changes to enrollment, funding or inflation.

Click on the tab to review more information about each year's reductions.

2024-25 Budget Information
2023-24 Budget Reductions

2024-25 Budget Information

Summary

Over the last four years, Snoqualmie Valley School District received federal funding to help address learning loss and other impacts associated with the COVID pandemic. The 2023-24 school year marked the end of those COVID Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds. Much of these funds were used to increase services related to multi-language learners (English as a second language), mental and behavioral health, and social-emotional support. These focus areas were identified based on post-COVID student data and developing changes to student needs.

We recognize that many of these services are now essential for student success and have determined to maintain them to some degree despite losing federal funding (approximately $1.8 million annually). As a result, we explored reductions elsewhere to address the resulting funding gap and achieve a balanced budget.

As we work toward that goal, we anticipate needing approximately $1 million in reductions before the start of the 2025-26 school year. All reductions have gone through a thorough review and were approved by the SVSD Board of Directors to ensure they align with our educational objectives and fiscal responsibilities.

Expenditures

This is a breakdown of the 2023-24 budget by percentages of expenses.

Expense	% of Budget
Certificated Salaries (Teachers, Nurses, Cert. Admin, etc)	48.07%
Employee Benefits & Payroll	19.82%
Purchased Services	14.40%
Classified Salaries (Bus Drivers, Para Prof., Class. Admin, etc)	13.79%
Supplies & Materials	3.72%
Capital Outlay	.11%
Travel	.08%

Recommended Reductions

The following recommendations required School Board approval of the 2024-25 budget.

Category				Amount
District Office Reorganization/Building Staffing Rebalance				$492,000
Online Curriculum Software Reallocation				$159,000
Reduce Staffing Allocation for ESSER Funded Positions Through Attrition				$102,000
Middle School Tech Para (Costs shifted to tech levy)				$90,000
Reduction in Unit Budgets (All Schools)				$76,000
Middle School Electives Reduction (due to lower enrollment) and Elimination of AVID Subscription (Staff already trained)				$45,000
Increase Sports and Other Fees (Traffic Safety Course, etc)				$42,000
Total Savings				$1,006,000

2023-24 Budget Reductions

REDUCTIONS

By Dollars

By Percentages

Explanation

The budget adjustments made last year were strategically planned to ensure minimal impact on student learning. By carefully prioritizing resources and making thoughtful reductions, we maintained the integrity of our educational programs and continued to support our students' academic success.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you have an additional question? Send it to svsdinfo@svsd410.org, and we will respond. Some questions may be used in our FAQ section.

Why are school districts, including SVSD experiencing a budget shortfall?

Washington State does not fully cover all the expenses required to operate school districts, resulting in significant budget shortfalls.

Here are some key areas where underfunding is evident:

Special Education Services: Our district is committed to providing equitable special education services as mandated by state and federal laws. Despite these requirements, state funding falls short of the actual costs. For the 2022-23 school year, SVSD spent $3.2 million of local levy funds to cover the difference between actual costs and what state and federal funding provides for special education.

Substitute Funding: For the 2022-23 school year, we spent $1.86 million on substitute costs, yet the state only specifically funded $206,000 for this purpose. Most full-time employees receive 10-12 days of sick leave per year and also have access to personal days and bereavement leave. The state’s funding formula only funds four days of substitutes (at a rate lower than what our district pays) for the 330 teachers that are ‘funded’ by the state. With over 700 employees, state funding for substitutes is substantially inadequate.

Lower Enrollment: The state allocates funding based on full-time enrollment of our students. Currently, our enrollment has not rebounded to pre-pandemic levels, which impacts the financial resources available to our district.

Salary Increases: Although the state provides funding linked to the Implicit Price Deflator (IPD) for wage increases, this does not cover the total salary costs or all positions within our district. Approximately 25% of staffing costs are unfunded.

Insurance and Utility Costs (See graph below): Rising costs for insurance and utilities, exacerbated by inflation, have outpaced the allocations provided by the state. Since McCleary funding in 2018-19, state funding for these costs has only increased by 12% through 2022-23, while actual costs have increased by 39%. With inflationary increases for state funding not reflecting actual inflationary cost increases, our local levy funding is forced to cover the difference, which equates to $767K more in 2022-23 than local levy funding covered in 2018-19.

Actual costs over the past four years are as follows. Each of these factors contributes to our fiscal challenges, underscoring the need for careful financial planning and advocacy for better state support.

District Maintenance, Supplies and Operating Costs

EXPENSE	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	% increase since 2018
FUEL	$454,973	$309,888	$256,246	$531,198	551,481	21%
FOOD	$67,729	$54,722	$70,977	$109,652	$88,881	31%
WATER/SEWER	$ 385,341	$311,495	$406,272	$434,569	$572,870	49%
INSURANCE	$714,693	$ 861,746	$1,061,385	$1,128,059	$1,215,146	70%
NATURAL GAS	$172,970	$281,613	$363,362	$372,478	$435,235	152%
ELECTRICITY	$1,075,358	$942,850	$967,203	$1,130,432	$1,120,248	4%
Total	$2,871,064	$2,762,314	$3,125,445	$3,706,387	$3,983,861	39%
Since 2018-19, state funding for these costs has only increased by 12% through 2022-23, while actual costs have increased by 39%.

We recently passed a levy. How are we in a budget shortfall?

As noted above, there are two key factors that explain this situation. First, ESSER funding, which provided $1.8 million annually over the past four years, was utilized to enhance services and staffing to address learning loss and other post-COVID impacts. While we have scaled back these services, we are striving to maintain approximately $1 million worth of these essential services despite the absence of corresponding revenue. Second, many of our general costs, including both staffing and materials/services, have experienced significantly higher inflation than anticipated. Although some cost inflation was accounted for in our latest levy cycle planning, we did not foresee the prolonged duration of this period.

Can school districts use their fund balance to cover budget shortfalls? If so, why doesn't SVSD?

While the district has utilized fund balances to cover recent shortfalls, these reserves are intended as a safety net for unforeseen circumstances, such as emergencies or sudden budget deficits, and should only be used as a short-term solution. Continuously depleting the fund balance can leave the district unprepared for future challenges. Financial stability is often defined by maintaining an adequate fund balance, which can also influence the district’s credit rating and borrowing costs when financing the construction of new buildings. Regulatory and policy constraints further emphasize the importance of preserving these reserves to ensure long-term fiscal health and sustainability.

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