Synopsis
The end of pandemic relief funding and a significant reduction in federal Title program funds will require Battle Ground Public Schools to lower costs by $8.5 million for the 2024-25 school year.
Approximately $6.2 million will be mitigated through reductions to budgets and digital resources, as well as the end of temporary positions funded by federal pandemic relief dollars and some Title positions. Affected employees will be able to pursue new positions.
To cover the remainder, the district will use $2.3 million of its unassigned fund balance.
The end of pandemic relief funding and a significant reduction in federal Title program funds will require Battle Ground Public Schools to lower costs by $8.5 million for the 2024-25 school year. Both of these funding sources allowed the district to provide additional support for students.
BGPS does not anticipate a reduction in force and expects that class sizes will remain about the same as they are currently.
Addressing the funding reduction without layoffs
Approximately $6.2 million of the reduced funding will be covered through reductions to building budgets, departmental budgets and digital resources, as well as the end of temporary positions funded by pandemic relief dollars and some Title-funded positions.
Affected employees will be able to pursue new positions. BGPS anticipates that the number of positions available through attrition will exceed the number of employees who were displaced.
See the affected positions and programs.
To identify these changes, BGPS looked at data demonstrating the learning outcomes of programs most directly tied to students and considered the impact on the range of student needs.
Fund balance
The district plans to use a portion of its unassigned fund balance to address the remainder of the gap. Through careful efforts to save temporary pandemic relief money in recent years, the unassigned fund balance is currently at 6% of the total budget. District policy is to reserve 6% of expenditures for uncertainties such as funding changes and unforeseen expenses associated with accidents and natural events, among other things. The unassigned fund balance will temporarily be reduced by $2.3 million, or 1%, to help mitigate the shortfall. Following the 1% reduction, the district will work toward restoring the 6% identified in district policy to help cover future costs.
Along with the reductions to budgets and positions, the use of the unassigned minimum fund balance will help the district continue to meet the needs of students while operating within its means.
Contributing factors
This school year, BGPS has received $7.2 million in funds through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund. Pandemic relief funds will end in September 2024.
BGPS also is losing approximately $1.3 in Title I funding. This represents more than half of the district’s Title I budget. The decrease is due to 2022 census data that found that the poverty rate among families in Battle Ground Public Schools has fallen to 4.98%. Districts with a poverty rate of less than 5% are no longer eligible for certain grants.
Looking ahead
Longer term, school districts across Washington are looking to legislators to make changes to the school funding model. The percentage of the state budget that goes toward K-12 education has actually decreased in recent years. In 2018-19, K-12 education represented 52.4% of the state budget. For 2023-24, K-12 education represents just 43.1%.
Meanwhile, operating costs are on the rise. Since 2021, insurance costs have risen 50%. Utility costs have increased 22.7% in the same period. State and local investments in education are critical to helping districts keep pace with rising costs.