EVERETT — The Edmonds school board unanimously passed its budget Tuesday for the 2025-26 school year.
After facing an estimated $8.5 million deficit earlier in the year, the school board passed a balanced budget. This year, the state Legislature passed three bills that helped the district bridge its gap.
One increased special education funding, providing the district with about $1.8 million. Another provided about $750,000 in additional funding for materials, supplies and operating costs. The third allows the district to collect the full, voter-approved amount of its levy, an increase of about $6.3 million.
Still, the board had to make about $10 million in cuts, finance director Lydia Sellie said at a June 24 meeting. These included changes to the sixth grade music program, some staff positions and a reduced educational program, which allowed the elimination of up to 12 certificated staff positions.
“I realize this budget does not meet all of our students’ needs, and I wish we could do better, but the situation that we’re in, this is the hand we’re being dealt by the federal government, by the state government, we’re gonna have to just do our best to stay above water as long as we can,” school board member Thom Garrard said.
The budget leaves about $2 million for the district’s reserves. Sellie estimated the total reserves will be about $2 million over the required 4% of the budget by the end of the 2026 fiscal year.
On June 30, the U.S. Department of Education announced its decision to withhold funding for a number of federal programs in school districts. School board member Thom Garrard said it’s helpful for the district to have more than necessary in its reserves as federal funding remains uncertain.
“I was willing to look into how that money might be spent,” he said. “Now it’s a good thing we have that money, because we can continue to provide the things that were funded by the feds in those categories.”
Board President Nancy Katims said she is already beginning advocacy with the state for next year’s funding. While specific areas of funding increased, Katims said the state did not do enough for public education funding as a whole this session. She said she is meeting with state legislators this week.
“They’re quite aware that while at the moment some districts, like us, are doing okay, many districts are not, and we won’t be doing okay if they don’t step up more than they did last year,” she said. “But at the moment, I think we’re pretty comfortable with this budget.”
Jenna Peterson: 425-339-3486; jenna.peterson@heraldnet.com; X: @jennarpetersonn.
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