With the school year just around the corner, the Bellingham Public Schools board approved the 2022-2023 school year budget on Aug. 10. The district budgeted $213,315,141 in revenue from local, state and federal funding and have budgeted $219,508,900 in general fund expenditures for its 22 schools.
From the 2021-2022 school year, revenue increased by $16.7 million (8.5%) and expenditures by $14.5 million (7.1%).
School districts nationwide are dealing with declining enrollment, fluxes in revenue and other issues surrounding funding in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. For the 2022-2023 school year, Superintendent Greg Baker said the district is financially stable due to the remaining federal funding from Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) I, II and III.
“With the budget we’re presenting tonight, I feel really good about where we’re at, the investments we’ve made,” Baker said at the Aug. 10 meeting. “The fund balance is in a good spot. We’re going to have a good year.”
But the future of the budget is less secure.
With an expected drop in enrollment, a decline in federal funding, inflation and impending contract negotiations with Bellingham Education Association in the spring, the school district expects some strain on the budget next year. Baker said the district may need to reduce expenditures from areas like travel and equipment and staff as a last resort.
Baker said the writing is on the wall and hopes that the government is paying attention to how the end of federal funding will impact schools across the country.
“One of our best bets is to hope that our legislators are aware of this and are thinking about how to not have public education go on this rollercoaster of money, hire and then layoff,” Baker said. “My hope is that they’ll help soften the end to federal dollars.”
ESSER funds comprise $14.8 million or 6.9% of the $213 million in total revenues, said Assistant Superintendent of Finance Simone Sangster in an email. Overall, the district has more than $18 million of the nearly $24 million in total allotted ESSER funding to be used by September 2024, according to the Washington Office of Superintendent Instruction database updated in July 2022.
A majority of the general purpose funding — 52.7% — comes from the state. It allots revenue based on student enrollment and other considerations.
Last year, across all 22 schools, the district reported 10,897 enrolled students and a combined local and state revenue of $15,864 per pupil, which was $80 less than the state average. Bellingham ranks 191 out of 314 districts statewide for pupil spending.
Baker attributed the lower funding per pupil to Bellingham’s lower poverty rate compared to other school districts across the state. Local taxes from levies bring in a lot of funding which helps bridge the gap. The district has budgeted more than $32 million in revenue from local taxes and an additional $10 million in local non-tax funding from “foodservice sales, fees, investment income, donations and revenues from other districts and entities.”
This year, with approximately 10,500 students expected to enroll, the district is budgeted to spend $124 million on regular education, $32 million on special education, $7 million on vocational education and $17 million on “other” education. Additionally, $26.5 million goes toward districtwide support, $6 million toward foodservice and $5 million toward transportation. Nearly 75% of the $219 million specifically funds “teaching and teaching support activities.”
“These dollars fund people,” Baker said.
At the Aug. 10 meeting, the school district allowed for public comment but received no written or spoken comments.
A 400-page, detailed copy of the 2022-20323 Bellingham Public Schools budget is online.
