Schools budget: Big money, big stakes

At $293 million it’s the largest school district budget in Eastern Washington and tops the money spent by most cities and counties.

Yet the budget for Spokane Public Schools often doesn’t get as much public scrutiny as does spending by other local governments like Spokane city and county. It’s only natural, after all, to focus on how well a school performs its vital functions of teaching kids and keeping them safe, rather than how dollars are spent in the process.

A school district budget is a complex maze of small funds: a mix of state and federal money and programs.

There are buses to run, teachers to pay, band instruments to purchase and more than 3.8 million square feet of buildings to maintain. Most of that happens each year without much inquiry – until a crisis comes along.

And seemingly, that’s where things stand now.

The Spokane School Board is expected Wednesday to adopt a budget for 2007-08 that shaves spending by $10.8 million. Most of the unpopular decisions have already been made: Pratt Elementary School is definitely closing, for instance, and some employees are losing their jobs.

But the district isn’t bankrupt.

“We still have nearly $300 million; we forget that we’ll still have a very robust program,” said Superintendent Nancy Stowell.

There is also $14 million in savings for rainy days. Such reserves are required by the same state that educators say is unfairly requiring districts to spend increasing amounts of money on a growing list of mandates, without full compensation. That has Spokane Public Schools and other districts in a lawsuit against the Legislature.

Educators wage similar complaints against the federal government for such requirements as the No Child Left Behind Act, the impetus for the WASL.

At the same time, Spokane’s enrollment is dropping, which doesn’t lower costs much but does reduce the state compensation for basic operations.