School Board Meeting Recap: Aug. 8, 2023

The Issaquah School Board held a regular meeting Tuesday, August 8, at the Issaquah School District Administration Building. The meeting was open to the public, broadcasted live on the ISD YouTube channel, and a recording of the meeting is available.

Today we’re sharing a summary of a few of the topics the board and district staff discussed and action the board took at the meeting. It is not an official record or meeting minutes. To review official minutes from all board meetings, please visit our board meeting archive webpage. Or, for other board information such as upcoming meeting dates, times and agendas, and more, visit our School Board page.

Public Hearing:  2023-24 Budget

The School Board conducted a hearing to obtain public input on the 2023-24 Budget. Martin Turney, Chief of Finance and Operations, and Moriah Banasick, Executive Director of Finance and Budget, gave a brief presentation and responded to questions regarding the budget for the upcoming school year.

Turney shared that last school year, we sustained an average enrollment above what was projected. This sustained enrollment was due to an increase of more than 200 students at the elementary level, no changes at the middle level and a small decline in our high schools’ student enrollment.

As we look forward to the coming school year, major budget factors for the 2023-24 school year include a state revenue increase of approximately $10.8 million, which includes:

• Salary and benefit allocations comprised of a 3.7% IPD (Implicit Price Deflator) inflationary adjustment: $6.1 million.
• Adjustment to the prototypical funding allocation model ratios for counselors, nurses, social workers and psychologists: $2.2 million.
• Special education revenue increase: $1.6 million.
• Materials, Supplies, and Operating Costs (MSOC) increase: $900,000.

Other factors include:

• Additional local levy revenue: $3 million.
• Reductions in expenditures of $9 million, primarily from our central Administration and Operations teams.
• Local cost of IPD salary increase: $3 million (Because the state only funds a certain number of each position based on enrollment, but the district funds additional positions out of local levy dollars. So, the district pays for the increase for those levy-funded positions out of levy dollars.).
• Projected enrollment decline of 210 students: $2.4 million (Based on October count – year over year).
• Increase in non-employee related costs such as insurance, fuel, commodities and general inflation: $1.7 million.
• Estimated negotiated salary increases above IPD: $4.6 million.

Turney also shared that a new trend developing includes an increase in special education student enrollment of approximately 11% over the past two years. The implication of this is that the state does not fully fund Special Education, so the district covers additional Special Education costs out of local levy dollars. When the number of students receiving special services increases, a larger percentage of local levy funds are spent to fund the gap between what the state allocates and the complete cost of those services.

Our projected ending fund balance for the 2023-24 General Fund is $36,500,00. To see further details on various budget categories, review the budget hearing presentation.

Please note that state statutes require the board to hold a public hearing on the budget and adopt the budget by resolution, which also establishes the tax levies necessary to support the General Fund, Capital Projects Fund, Transportation Fund, and the Debt Service Fund. The final budget will be presented for adoption at the August 24 board meeting.

For additional information, review the 2023-24 Guide to Understanding the Budget.

To view the 2023-24 Budget Hearing, watch our YouTube channel.

 

Works in Progress - Update on Planning for the Start of the 2023-24 School Year

Superintendent Heather Tow-Yick updated the School Board about plans for the beginning of the upcoming school year, including cleaning and painting parking lots, preliminary food planning, hiring for the fall and streamlining our Finance Department systems. We anticipate that the fiscal audit will be completed by the end of August, with results ready to share sometime in September. School level sectionals have resumed, professional development is underway and our offices are open as we begin to welcome students and families!

Tow-Yick also shared a friendly reminder to log in on Family Access and complete the Enrollment Verification Process (EVP) for the 2023-24 school year.

To view the Works in Progress, watch our YouTube channel.

 

Capital Projects Updates

Director of Capital Projects Tom Mullins shared a status update on the Issaquah High School stadium update including:

1. Athletic Field Turf Replacement

• Funding: 2018 Capital levy
• Status: Complete

2. Track Replacement

• Funding: 2018 Capital Levy
• Status: Complete

3. Stadium Lights Replacement

• Funding: a combination of funds from the 2012 Bond Stadium Improvements project, the 2018 Levy Turf Replacement project and Board Reserves (approved by the Board 05/23/23)
• Status: underway and expected to be complete by August 31, 2023

4. Stadium Sound System Upgrades

• Funding: 2012 Bond Stadium Improvements project
• Status: underway and expected to be complete by August 31, 2023

Next steps include:

• Finishing projects.
• Continuing written email communication with the IHS stadium community until projects are complete.
• Following up with the IHS stadium community to solicit feedback as to how the stadium is functioning and possibly have another in-person listening session if deemed necessary.

For information on other Issaquah School District construction projects, please refer to the ISD Capital Projects webpage. To see further details from the presentation, review the capital projects updates presentation.

To view the Capital Projects Update, watch our YouTube channel.