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Budget

Budget Planning Update - July 14, 2023

A preliminary 2023-24 budget update will be presented at the School Board meeting on Tuesday, July 18. This presentation will include information about the draft budget that was submitted to the state on July 10. 

While the budget for the 2023-24 school year is still in draft form, we are happy to share that it appears we will be projected to end the coming school year with a positive fund balance, which is approximately the targeted 2% ending fund balance that has been directed by the School Board. These numbers will fluctuate and change throughout the school year, as they are budgeted and not actual.

Final budget adoption to meet the August 31 state submission deadline will take place during the August 22 School Board meeting.

Those who have participated in the budget planning process are to be commended for their contributions, including students, staff, and community members who shared their input and feedback in various forums throughout the 2022-23 school year. As a community, we have worked on this process together, and we thank everyone who has engaged in this work with us.

While there will be future reductions and changes in coming years to continue to develop a sustainable budget for our evolving school district, we are grateful that we are able to restore some of the valued services that our students and community rely on as we continue to move toward financial health.

School Board regular meeting agendas, presentation topics, action items, Zoom link, and an online public comment form are posted on this page no later than Friday preceding a Tuesday meeting.

2023-24 School District Budget Outlook

Shoreline School District is engaged in proactive budget planning work in light of declining revenues and decreased enrollment in recent years.

Since a high point in 2019-20, the district student enrollment has decreased by more than 400 students due to COVID and other factors. Declining enrollment is generally anticipated in our near future, due to declining birth rates in King County and limited housing affordability. School districts both nearby and across the country have seen similar enrollment declines.

Along with a decline in enrollment, the District has experienced declining regionalization revenue from the State at a time when costs have increased. Ultimately, like our families, with declining resources we must rebalance our budget to live within our means.

For the 2023-24 budget year, based on very early indicators of what our resources and expenses may be, the district faces a significant overspending of estimated available revenue and a depletion of our fund balance (or "savings account”). Mitigation measures will be necessary to reduce expenditures enough to balance the budget and ensure we have adequate fund balance for unexpected expenses.

To address the shortfall, the district is making both short- and long-term plans to rebalance revenue and expenditures and enter the next school year as financially stable as possible. In addition to work by the Shoreline Schools Business and Operations team, the district has assembled a Budget Advisory Team to develop recommended budget priorities, adjustments, and reductions to present to the School Board on March 21, 2023.

“Student learning and growth are at the forefront of our work to establish effective and sustainable fiscal management of Shoreline Schools,” said Superintendent Susana Reyes. “We are committed to transparent communication and active community engagement throughout this challenging process and the difficult decisions that lie ahead. Together, we will remain dedicated to achieving our mission: Provide a collaborative learning community which engages all students in learning the academic and work-life skills needed to achieve their individual potential and become responsible citizens.”

These resources are available to learn more about the Shoreline Schools budget situation:

Budget Survey Reports Now Available

The 2023-24 District and Community Budget Survey sought feedback from members of our school district and community about priorities to help guide planning for reductions to balance our budget.

The survey results were presented at the March 7 School Board meeting, with the following documents:

Shoreline School Budget Survey Executive Summary

Budget Survey Report (presentation slides)

Watch the presentation from the March 7 School Board meeting