Restricted Funds
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What Did Voters Approve in 2023 & How Does It Shape SoWashCo’s Five-Year Plan?
The Key Takeaway In 2022, SoWashCo voters rejected a $462.7 million facilities proposal. In 2023, they approved a substantially narrower plan: $201.2 million in construction bonds focused on existing schools and a separate ten-year technology levy. The 2023 plan preserved Newport, Crestview, and Pine Hill as elementary schools; eliminated two replacement schools and several support-facility…
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Understanding Local Revenue: Property Taxes, Fees, and Other District Income
The Key Takeaway SoWashCo Schools budgeted $160.3 million in local revenue across all funds for 2026–27. However, that total includes several fundamentally different types of money. Approximately $96.0 million is budgeted in the General Fund, where local revenue supports regular district operations and several legally restricted programs. The remaining local revenue is assigned to other…
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Understanding Federal Aid: How Targeted Programs Support SoWashCo Schools
The Key Takeaway SoWashCo Schools budgeted approximately $10.9 million in federal aid for 2026–27. Unlike most state aid, federal funding is generally tied to specific students, services, or reimbursable expenses. It cannot simply be redirected to cover an unrelated budget shortfall. Federal aid supports programs including special education, academic intervention, educator development, English-language instruction, school…
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SoWashCo’s LTFM Construction Fund Is Nearly $12 Million Ahead of Plan. What Is the Money For?
The Key Takeaway The school district sells bonds to pay for Long-Term Facilities Maintenance (LTFM) construction projects. South Washington County Schools entered fiscal year 2026 with approximately $7.2 million more in its LTFM construction account than it had projected one year earlier, but it sold essentially the full planned principal amount of facilities-maintenance bonds anyway.…
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What Is Intermediate School District 916, and Why Should SoWashCo Families Care?
The Key Takeaway District 916 is a separate public school district that allows SoWashCo and 12 other member districts to share specialized programs, staff, and facilities. SoWashCo’s financial participation includes membership fees, program-related costs, state-aid adjustments, and a significant share of 916’s facilities funding. These shared services may provide expertise and scale that would be…
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10 Questions For Evaluating Budget Proposals When They Are Released
The Key Takeaway A credible budget recommendation should make five things clear: No budget adjustment will be painless. There will be legitimate disagreements about priorities and acceptable tradeoffs. The district’s responsibility is not to eliminate disagreement. It is to provide enough information for the School Board and community to understand what each proposal accomplishes, what…
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Why Equal Percentage Budget Targets Do Not Create Equal Outcomes
The Key Takeaway Proportional targets are a reasonable way to begin collecting adjustment ideas but they should not be the entire strategy. Equal percentages do not create equal educational effects, equal financial benefits, or equal risks. The final package should be built by comparing proposals across funds and programs, then selecting the combination that provides…
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Adjustment & Five-Year Plan Overview
The Key Takeaway SoWashCo is conducting two related but different planning processes. The budget adjustment will address the district’s most immediate financial pressures, while the five-year plan will make broader decisions about enrollment, facilities, programs, and the district’s long-term direction. These processes should not be evaluated separately. Near-term adjustments will shape the options available for…
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Decoding The School District Budget – Part 2: Understanding The Funds
The Key Takeaway A school district does not have one large bank account. It maintains several major funds, and many of those funds contain additional restricted balances. The rules attached to each revenue source determine where the money can be used. That explains how SoWashCo can simultaneously have: When someone asks, “Why can’t the district…