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Camas School District's budget process relies heavily on input from the community and the district Budget Committee, as well as historical and projected trend data.  Annually, the District Budget Committee and District Staff engage in a budget development process which seeks to align out-year assumptions and financial modeling with district goals.   Our revenue, expenditure, and fund balance forecasts represent our best projections while taking into account changes in enrollment, inflation, legislative action, reductions-in-force, and other operational factors.  The preliminary budget presentation outlines these budget objectives in more detail and contains information on the General Fund, Capital Projects Fund, Debt Service Fund, Transportation Vehicle Fund, and Associated Student Body Fund, as well as the local levy.

The General Fund is the primary operating fund for the District, encompassing the vast majority of daily transactions.

The General Fund is financed from local, county, state, and federal sources. These revenues are generally used for financing the current ordinary normal and recurring operations of the school district such as programs of instruction for the students, food services, maintenance, data processing, printing, and pupil transportation.

During the annual budget process, the Budget Committee and district staff work together to present the Superintendent and the board with information to develop a budget strategy, and to understand the legislative, demographic, and fiscal environment influencing future budgeting and cash flow.  Moving into 2023-24, the District was faced with the need to implement a Reduction in Force (RIF) in order to realign expenditures to expected revenues.  Informed by the budget objectives below, Camas School District implemented a Reductions in Force for the 2023-24 year, resulting in approximately 5% reduction in year-over-year staffing expenditures at 2022-23 rates (see below).

We are Committed to a Strategic Plan Which Achieves Sustainability as a District

Taking into account the above guidelines, the 2023-24 budget reflects a planned use of fund balance of $2.7M to end the year at 10.4% of expenditures.  

Revenues: Revenues are influenced by many factors, the largest of which are outlined below.  In the aggregate, while state funding was subject to a 3.7% inflationary factor increase, the loss of one-time funding and levy equalization and legislative changes to the funding formula result in a net 2.7% growth in overall revenue.  The major factors influencing this growth are:

• • Enrollment (primary driver of the state funding formula):  Post-COVID, we saw a decline of students below 2016-17 levels, and as of 2022-23 we had returned to just above where we were in 2017-18.  Looking ahead, our demographer's report indicates a modest growth rate at approximately half of a percent annually. 

  • Special Education:  The state funding formula for special education was modified by the legislature and entitles Camas to additional funding.  State and federal funding of special education will still fall short of being fulling funded, but the states changes have closed the gap by approximately one-third. 

  • Regionalization and experience factor: The state applies a multiple to the funding formula to account for local cost of living variations, as well as for the effect of more experienced certificated staff (to account for their higher salary levels).  For 2023-24, Camas will see the regionalization factor reduced by 3.0% for certificated and 1.5% for classified & certificated admin, while the experience factor of 4% will be added to certificated staff.  Camas will see a second 1.5% regionalization reduction for classified & certificated admin in 2024-25.

  • The expiration of one-time funding:  State and federal aid monies totalling over $11.6M were received from 2020 to 2023.  For 2023-24, there will be approximately $250k remaining of those funds.  This will result in a significant loss of revenue and represents a return to the pre-covid "normal" funding model.

  • Loss of Levy Equalization:  Levy Equalization (LEA) is state funding meant to offset differences in property tax collections across different localities.  In 2022-23, the LEA projection was $1.1M.  Due to significant increases in assessed value within the CSD boundaries, the district is projected to not receive future LEA amounts.

Expenditures:  87 percent of district expenditures are contained within salaries and benefits, meaning that uncertainty in future salary increases have the greatest effect on future expenditure budgeting.  Although the district concluded approximately 5% in RIF reductions for 2023-24, the district is currently engaged in labor negotiations with its four largest labor groups throughout the summer of 2023.  This presents significant uncertainty around the final negotiated salary & benefits.  The budget as presented represents an amount that reflects known staffing levels and benefit rates plus a risk contingency to account for future uncertainty. Specific assumptions which inform expenditure budgeting are:

• Use of Fund Balance:  $8.5M in planned use of fund balance over 3 years, including $2.7M in 2023-24

• Cost Containment:  Limit future expenditure growth commensurate with the need to limit fund balance usage as described above

• Budget Cuts:  5% targeted reduction for 2023-24 (Reduction in Force plus cuts in non-personnel costs as described in the budget objectives)

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.