Issaquah School Board begins review of new budget

Issaquah School Board members last week got their first official glimpse into next year’s financial plan in the first reading of the 2008-2009 budget.

The 2008-2009 budget is up almost $10 million from last year’s budget of $141.9 million, and is now at $151.6 million.

The budget is scheduled to be approved on Aug. 27 at the regular board meeting.

The district is very confident in their budget, District Spokeswoman Sara Niegowski said.

“Our Business Office is very conscious of making ‘conservative’ budgets,” Niegowski said in an email response.

The budget is split into several parts, including what the state will provide and what the district provides.

Gaining funding from the state has historically been an issue for Issaquah, as well as many other schools.

The state provides 68 percent of the district’s budget each year.

The next-largest source of budget funds are levies, at 17 percent.

The largest expense for the district is classroom expenses. This includes teachers, counselors, librarians, principals, education assistants, teaching supplies, materials, textbooks, extra curricular programs, staff development, curriculum development and technology support. All of these items combined take up about 62 percent of the more than $151 million budgeted expenditures.

The remainder is comprised of classroom support, special education, Echo Glen (Issaquah School District is contracted out by the state to run the education program for the state juvenile detention center at Echo Glen), food service, transportation and other programs.

State legislation approved this year increased the funding per student from $450 to $458.10 per student, gave a salary increase of 4.4 percent for state-funded employees, grandfathered salary equalization and gave an increase in non-employee related funding.

The district will provide salary and benefits for all non-state funded positions at a cost of almost $1.9 million, as well as another almost $400,000 in increased pension costs.

For more information on the budget process, visit the school’s Web site at www.issaquah.wednet.edu.

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