Vancouver Public Faculties is the one Clark County district to obtain a monetary warning from the state for the 2023-24 faculty 12 months.
The Washington Workplace of Superintendent of Public Instruction created the Faculty District Monetary Well being Indicators Mannequin to measure the monetary well being of college districts by assigning a rating from zero to an ideal 4.0. Districts with scores beneath 1.75 obtain a warning.
Within the 2023-24 faculty 12 months, the 2 smallest Clark County districts — Mount Nice with 67 college students and Inexperienced Mountain with 169 college students — acquired good scores. Vancouver, with 22,014 college students enrolled, is likely one of the largest faculty districts within the state to obtain this warning.
Vancouver’s first warning prior to now decade was for the 2022-23 faculty 12 months with a well being rating of 1.90. The district’s rating fell to 1.50 the next faculty 12 months.
Clark County faculty district monetary well being scores
An ideal rating is 4.0. Districts with a rating beneath 1.75 obtain a monetary warning from OSPI.
Faculty district2022-232023-24Mount Pleasant4.04.0Battle Ground3.053.35Camas3.352.6Evergreen2.252.6Green Mountain3.754.0Hockinson3.352.95La Center2.32.6Ridgefield2.953.3Vancouver1.91.5Washougal1.552.6
“Last year, our school board and administration made difficult decisions to cut our overall budget for this year by almost $35 million dollars to address our financial situation and the trajectory we were on,” Roberts mentioned.
OSPI assigns monetary well being scores to every district within the state primarily based on 4 benchmarks: ending fund balance-to-revenue ratio, expenditures-to-revenue ratio, money available and four-year funds abstract plan.
Roberts attributes Vancouver’s low rating to the district’s continued use of reserves within the 2023-24 faculty 12 months for scholar helps, regardless of the decline in revenues. The district anticipates that the 2024-25 rating will improve as a result of reductions, bringing expenditures nearer according to the reductions, she mentioned.
“We used federal pandemic relief funds to maintain positions for as long as possible before having to make reductions,” Roberts mentioned. “We have also tried to find efficiencies in our service models.”
The district minimize administrative and workplace workers, counselors, in addition to elementary, secondary and library academics, based on the district’s Could 2024 reduction-in-force desk.
“Reductions were felt across all basic education categories,” Roberts mentioned.
Prices have elevated, however state funding has not, based on a presentation at a July board assembly earlier than this faculty 12 months’s funds was set.
For instance, Vancouver’s particular training program has skilled a $31.4 million funds deficit over the previous 5 years. The state’s funding will increase alongside this system’s bills annually however at a slower fee, based on the presentation.
Faculty districts’ state funding is generally depending on the variety of college students enrolled, and enrollment has inconsistently declined since 2018, based on OSPI’s enrollment experiences.
“Large gaps remain in what it realistically costs to run a school in a way that is safe, effective, and welcoming and what the funding provides,” Roberts mentioned. “We eagerly await the outcomes of this year’s legislative decisions as this will also impact what may be in store for the future.”