2026-27 Agendas, Minutes, & Recordings

The 2026-2027 Capital Projects Budget has been developed to address critical facility asset preservation, life-safety, infrastructure modernization, clean building initiatives, long-range planning efforts, and educational program needs throughout the district. The proposed budget supports Shoreline School District’s commitment to maintaining safe, functional, and sustainable learning environments while planning for future investments.

The proposed budget includes, but is not limited to, fire alarm and sprinkler evaluations and replacement, roof restoration at the transportation facility, building envelope and infrastructure improvements at Briarcrest, synthetic turf replacement at Shorewood, solar panel design at Shorecrest, districtwide playground and field upgrades, and Clean Building performance efforts. The budget also includes funding for development of long-range capital facilities and capital levy planning. Reference Exhibit A for additional project(s) details.

The total proposed Capital Projects Budget for fiscal year 2026-2027 is $12,123,600.

Note: The proposed budget represents a Rough-Order-of-Magnitude (ROM) estimate and will
be fully reconciled by project with actual costs upon final adoption. 

This presentation was informational only; the full five-funds budget will be presented for recommended adoption at the Board’s August 25 regular meeting.

Presenters: Director Capital Projects Minh Le and Executive Director of Business, Finance, Maintenance, & Capital Projects Art Clarke

Presentation | Capital Projects 2026–2027 Project Overview and Narrative  | Recording

The Shoreline School District General Fund (Fund 10) is projected to end FY 2025-2026 with an estimated fund balance of approximately $12,100,000, which is $7,100,000 above the adopted budget estimate of $4,949,946. The primary driver of this favorable result is the beginning fund balance, which opened the year at $13,997,864 — $4,800,000 above the budget assumption — reflecting stronger-than-expected results from FY 2024-2025. On an operating basis, total revenue and transfers are estimated at $191.2 million against expenditures of $193.1 million, producing a net operating result of approximately ($1.9 million). The August 2025 supplemental levy contributed $5.0 million in additional revenue, significantly narrowing what would otherwise have been a ($6.9
million) operating deficit. The District thanks Shoreline voters for their support of the supplemental
levy, which provided critical bridge funding this year.

The FY 2025-2026 operating result reflects a structural gap between how revenue and costs grow. State general apportionment — the district's largest revenue source at 56% of total revenue — grows with the Implied Price Deflator (IPD) and enrollment, both of which were modest this year. Enrollment was essentially flat and the state IPD adjustment was 2.5%. Expenditures are driven by state law, bargaining agreements, and market conditions that operate independently of the IPD formula. Certificated salaries grew 9.6% due to contract steps, with the state funding only 40% of that increase through the Basic Education Allocation — Instruction (BEA-Instruct). The locally funded BEA-Instruct gap grew by $3.8 million this year and now totals $25.9 million annually. Special Education staffing grew in response to IEP mandates with no corresponding state revenue increase, and Property and Liability insurance rose 15% independent of any formula.

A fund balance of this size is not a surplus in the traditional sense — it is a working requirement of Washington's school funding model. The state's monthly apportionment payments are lowest in May and June, creating a period each year when the district must meet payroll and vendor obligations before adequate state revenue has been received. In FY 2025-2026, the district's June fund balance dropped to approximately $7.7 million as a result of this timing gap, demonstrating that the full fund balance was actively deployed to sustain operations. In addition, the District fronted approximately $3.9 million in Special Education Safety Net costs, which OSPI reimburses only in August — funds the district must have on hand without any guarantee of the exact reimbursement timing. Without an adequate fund balance entering the year, the District would have faced a cash shortfall during these months. At 6.3% of expenditures, the current fund balance is below OSPI's recommended healthy range of 8–12%, meaning the District has limited cushion against enrollment fluctuations, unexpected expenditures, or further compression of state payments relative to costs.

This presentation was informational only; no action is required.

Presenter: Executive Director of Business, Finance, Maintenance, & Capital Projects Art Clarke

Presentation | Recording

Materials provided present the District's FY 2026-27 General Fund Proposed Budget, offered for Board review at this meeting with adoption scheduled for August 25. In summary, the budget projects $204.1 million in revenue and transfers against $213.5 million in expenditures — a structural operating deficit of $9.4 million. That deficit draws the fund balance down from $12.1 million to about $2.7 million, roughly 1.3% of spending and well below the state's healthy benchmark of 8–12%. Of that ending fund balance, only about $146,000 is truly unassigned; the remainder is restricted, non-spendable, or already assigned. In practical terms, the District enters the year with limited to no cushion, and a second deficit year would push the balance below zero.

The central point of the presentation is that this is a structural condition, not a levy shortfall or a matter of overspending. The state funds a set number of staff at a statewide allocation salary and grows that allocation only by the statutory inflator, while the District's actual costs rise faster — bargained compensation above the formula, benefits, special education, state mandates, and market-driven costs such as fuel and city surface-water fees. Any pay above the funded allocation is 100% local, and the local levy — though capped by law and voter authorization and now fully absorbed — backfills roughly $46 million across every program to keep operations whole. Because the levy is maxed and enrollment is flat to declining, the growing gap now falls to fund balance.

The slide deck walks the Board through the bottom line, revenue and expenditures, the fundbalance trend, and the program- and staff-level detail behind the structural gap. The purpose for this presentation is to give the Board a clear, shared understanding of the structural picture ahead of the August adoption, so that any decisions can be made deliberately rather than as emergency mid-year reductions forced by a cash shortfall.

This presentation was informational only; no action is required.

Presenter: Executive Director of Business, Finance, Maintenance, & Capital Projects Art Clarke

Presentation | Four-Year Budget Outlook | Recording

The Board of Directors will review and discuss the 2026-2027 Superintendent Draft Goals. The goals were drafted by Board Officers, President Sylvia Gil and Vice President Sara Betnel. The draft goals were developed based on feedback and discussion from the May 12 meeting with the District Cabinet Team and Superintendent Reyes and input from board members and student board representatives during the May 26 School Board Retreat.

The Board will discuss the draft goals with the intent of refining them before the Superintendent shares them with the Cabinet team for additional feedback. The goals will then be finalized for Board adoption at the August 11 regular meeting. For additional context and information, Sections 7 of the 2025-2026 and the 2026-2027 Superintendent Contracts are included below.

2025-26:

“The Superintendent and Board will have at least one meeting dedicated to reviewing the most recent performance evaluation of the Superintendent to establish specific goals, objectives, and timelines for the coming contract term, against which the performance of the Superintendent shall be measured and evaluated.. The Superintendent shall work with the Board to mutually agree and develop these goals, objectives, and timelines, in writing through at least one study session, subsequent to May 1 of each year and with sufficient time for the Board to finalize a written list of goals, objectives, and timelines by August 31. The Board may make additions, deletions, or modifications and shall, on or before August 31 of each year, adopt a final written list of the goals, objectives, and timelines containing such specificity as it deems reasonably necessary to measure and evaluate the performance of the Superintendent and to meet the needs of the public. The Board and Superintendent may, by written agreement, amend any goals, objectives, and timelines, in whole or in part, during each contract year.”

2026-27 [to start in 2027]:

“The Superintendent and Board will establish mutually agreed-upon specific goals, objectives, and timelines by August 1 for the coming school year, against which the performance of the Superintendent shall be measured and evaluated. The Board and Superintendent may, by written agreement, amend any goals, objectives, and timelines, in whole or in part, during each contract year. It is mutually agreed that the Superintendent's job performance will be formally evaluated at least once yearly by the Board in accordance with state law, with the  results of this evaluation to be made known to the Superintendent. The Board shall evaluate the Superintendent's job performance by acquiring monitoring data, in the form of reports, presentations, and briefings. The collection of monitoring data and updates on progress toward completion of agreed upon goals will occur during the year through board meeting agendas and communications.”

Presenter: Superintendent Susana Reyes

Presentation | Recording