Dear staff and families,
Happy summer and Happy Juneteenth yesterday! As I share this budget message today, I also want to acknowledge yesterday鈥檚 holiday. We hope June 19 provided an opportunity for recognition, remembrance and celebration of the continued work toward freedom and rights for all in America.
Through this message, I want to keep our community informed about our ongoing budget process, as we have throughout this (and every) year.
First: You may have heard that proposed federal cuts to education funding will have widespread effects across the country and to all Washington school districts for the 2026-27 school year, if implemented. You can learn more about these proposed cuts in .
Second: At our recent June school board meeting, we shared important updates with the board regarding two proposed levies that will help support our district鈥檚 long-term needs and that we anticipate will be on the November ballot for our community to consider:
- a Supplemental Operations Levy. This is in response to the state legislature slightly increasing what is known as the 鈥渓evy lid,鈥 acknowledging that public education remains underfunded, and communities often want to help. We ran a similar levy in 2010. This would allow us to collect about $4 million per year to support ongoing operational needs and help stabilize our budget moving forward.
- a Facilities Maintenance Levy, a six-year capital levy focused on maintaining and preserving our school buildings, taking care of the important investments our community has made. A committee of staff and community members has been considering the levy this year and has submitted their proposal to me. This levy would fund essential projects such as replacing roofs, upgrading HVAC systems and installing new windows, because, as the committee noted, caring for our facilities today saves money tomorrow, and staying on top of repairs allows educators to focus on what matters most: students. Historically, we鈥檝e relied on bond funds or the general fund for these needs鈥攐r, in some cases, left them unaddressed. This is a new levy for our district, and one that is being used more and more across the state to support schools. It would provide around $11 million per year and would help focus future bonds more on the 鈥渂uilding鈥 or construction of new facilities vs. the maintenance of current facilities.
We appreciate your continued support and engagement as we work together.
Greg Baker