Royal schools 2020-21 budget approved

ROYAL CITY — The Royal School District is projected to start the 2020-21 school year with the equivalent of 13 fewer students than was projected at the start of the 2019-20 school year.

Business Manager Greg Pike said the 2020-21 budget was built on a projected enrollment of 1,686 students. State funds for basic education are allocated based on the number of students.

Royal School Board members approved the 2020-21 budget at the July 28 meeting. Pike cautioned that nothing is guaranteed in light of the efforts to fight the COVID-19 outbreak and the effect of that on the state’s economy and state revenues. Board chair Craig Janett said he expected everything about school operations, including the budget, to change during the school year.

Royal’s enrollment declined slightly in the last two school years. It’s difficult to predict enrollment, especially for 2020-21, Pike said – in fact, state officials still are trying to determine how they’re going to track enrollment.

The district’s general fund, which pays staff salaries and for most school operations, was budgeted at $26.1 million. The Associated Student Body fund budget is $296,500. The debt service fund, which pays for previous construction bond issues, was budgeted at $1.4 million.

District officials are contemplating some construction projects, so the capital projects fund budget is $12.4 million.

The transportation vehicle fund was budgeted at $167,704; that money can only be spent to buy school buses. Pike said district officials plan to buy one bus in the next school year.

Pike said the state revenues for 2020 and 2021 are expected to be far below earlier projections, and the Washington Legislature will have to take that into account. Most of the discussion about budget cuts revolves around the 2021-22 school year, he said, rather than 2020-21.

But while basic education funding appears to be protected, other education programs may be considered for cuts, Pike said. Levy equalization is among those. Levy equalization provides additional funding paid to districts whose voters have approved a levy, but where property values are lower relative to other districts.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at education@columbiabasinherald.com.