Budget Planning for 2024-25

Planning ahead for fiscal challenges may be hard in the short-term, but is essential for the long-term health of our district.  Camas School District partners with key stakeholders including parents, the community, and staff as we work to balance our budget and develop a strategic plan over the next year to ensure that:

• We are applying our scarce resources to areas which support our students

• We continue to seek ways to contain and reduce costs in all area while minimizing impact to students

• We limit staffing cuts and ensure staff are positioned to best support district priorities

• Our work and decisions are transparent

Presentations have been given on an ongoing basis at school board workshops and meetings regarding our financial outlook for the next several years.   As outlined in these presentations, our district faces a structural deficit; one which is defined by salary and benefit costs growing at a faster rate than funding.

As a result, CSD has been intentionally using budget reserves over the last two years, and we will need to balance our budget to align funding received with expenditures over the next two years.

The combination of factors listed below has resulted in budget issues for many districts in our state, including Camas:

• Declining enrollment, resulting in a reduction to state funding

• Rising costs due to inflation

• Salary and Benefit costs continue to outpace state funding for staff

• State funding enhancements (Regionalization) that helped offset our high cost of living have been reduced by 50% since 2020-21.

CSD needs to take steps to bring expenditures in alignment with revenues. The earlier we plan for these changes, the easier it will be to minimize impacts to programs and continue momentum toward a balanced budget.

2024-25 Initial Assumptions

Below is a list of items which are known as of the beginning of this cycle, and which have major impacts of the budget.  It is not comprehensive and is updated periodically as assumptions clarify through the process.

• Enrollment trends:  Enrollment as of January 2024 was within .5% of the 2023-24 budget, which projected flat enrollment.  For 2024-25 that trend is expected to continue, with enrollment declining slightly.

• Regionalization:  The district will see a 1.5% reduction in baseline regionalization, which reduces the state funding formula in areas which apply to classified and administrative staff funding.

• State Legislature:  The Governor's budget has been released, including a 3.8% increase in salary and benefit rates for state-funded staff (IPD).  We expect the House and Senate will adopt the same IPD adjustment.

• Staffing Costs:  Labor group contract negotiations concluded in Fall 2023 established salary growth between 5% and 6.6% depending upon labor group.  

• Fund Balance:  The District will continue deficit spending and use at least $2.6M in fund balance in 2023-24, with an ending fund balance of approximately $12.8M.  Due to salaries increasing at a faster rate than funding (IPD), and adding the effects of inflation, for 2024-25 the district expects that deficit to increase and will continue to plan to utilize fund balance.

Go to the Budget FAQs

RCW 28A.505.040

Budget—Four-year budget plan—Notice of completion—Copies—Review by educational service districts.

(1) On or before the tenth day of July in each year, all school districts shall prepare their budget (F-195) for the ensuing fiscal year. The annual budget development process shall include the development or update of a four-year budget plan that includes a four-year enrollment projection (F-195F). The four-year budget plan must include an estimate of funding necessary to maintain the continuing costs of program and service levels and any existing supplemental contract obligations.

(2) The completed budget must include a summary of the four-year budget plan and set forth the complete financial plan of the district for the ensuing fiscal year.

(3)  (a) Upon completion of their budgets, every school district shall electronically publish a notice stating that the district has completed the budget, posted it electronically, placed it on file in the school district administration office, and that a copy of the budget and a summary of the four-year budget plan will be furnished to any person who calls upon the district for it.

(b) School districts shall submit one copy of their proposed budget and the four-year budget plan summary to their educational service districts for review and comment by July 10th. The superintendent of public instruction may delay the dates in this section if the state's operating budget is not finally approved by the legislature until after June 1st.

(c) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall consider the information provided under (b) of this subsection when ranking each school district by the financial health of the school district in order to provide information for districts to avoid potential financial difficulty, insolvency, or binding conditions.