Soap Lake enrollment drop affects revenue, places staffing at risk
The Soap Lake School District is facing financial challenges as a result of unexpectedly low enrollment this year at its campuses. With state funding associated with enrollment levels, reduced enrollment may put jobs at risk.
R. HANS MILLER/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
SOAP LAKE — Enrollment in the Soap Lake School District dropped substantially from the 2021-22 school year to the current school year, and that brought with it a drop in revenue. The Soap Lake School Board declared a financial emergency at its March 25 board meeting, citing a drop in enrollment as one of the factors in their decision.
“The financial resources of the district will not be adequate to permit the district to maintain its educational programs and services at substantially the same level for the 2024-25 school year,” the SLSD resolution said. “In order to maintain the level of school district expenditures within the level of reasonably anticipated revenues, it may be necessary to make certain reductions in the district’s staffing levels.”
Average SLSD enrollment was the equivalent of 533.7 full-time students in 2021-22, according to information given to the board at the March 25 meeting. Average enrollment declined to the equivalent of 474.33 full-time students in 2022-23.
Average enrollment for the 2023-24 school year through February is the equivalent of 464.05 full-time students.
Most of the state funding for Washington schools is allocated based on the number of children in school, and Soap Lake lost funding because of the drop in enrollment. The loss is reflected in the district’s ending fund balance.
As of February 2022, the ending fund balance — what’s left after all expenses are paid — was just more than $875,000. By February 2024 the ending fund balance had declined to about $604,000.
The district’s financial policy recommends that SLSD maintain a reserve fund of 6-8% of expenditures, which for 2023-24 would be about $803,000. Soap Lake’s unreserved, undesignated fund balance is running a deficit of roughly $277,000.
Half the budget year had elapsed by the end of February, according to the information provided by Nikkie Maceda of the North Central Education Service District, the SLSD’s external business manager. As of February, the district had spent more from its general fund than it had received in revenue, with general fund expenses outpacing revenue by about $250,000.
School budgets are submitted to the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction prior to the school year, which means districts must estimate what enrollment is going to be before any children come to school. For the 2023-24 school year, district officials forecast an enrollment of the equivalent of 465 full-time students.
As of February, enrollment at Soap Lake Elementary School was the equivalent of 274.03 students in kindergarten through sixth grade, the equivalent of 92.03 full-time students in seventh and eighth grades, and the equivalent of 102.26 full-time students at Soap Lake High School.
The district’s capital projects fund is separate from the general fund, and several ongoing projects have received funding.
Soap Lake received almost $156,000 through a grant for urgent repairs, allowing district officials to upgrade the grade school boiler. The district also has received a $100,000 grant for upgrades to a door at SLHS, making it compatible with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The Soap Lake School District Board of Directors will meet tonight at 6 p.m. in executive session to discuss a personnel issue, but no action is to be taken according to the agenda for the meeting. Executive sessions are closed to the public and usually involve staffing or legal concerns.
Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at cschweizer@columbiabasinherald.com.