North Thurston Public Schools Budget
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Each year, NTPS leaders create a budget, which the School Board reviews and adopts in August. The budget includes all district costs, such as employee salaries and benefits, supplies, facilities, information technology, transportation, and more.
The NTPS budget is designed to achieve the goals described in our strategic plan and ensure we are good stewards of public dollars. View our 2022-23 school year budget and 4-year forecast report.
2023-24 school year budget planning
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We have begun planning for the 2023-24 school year. The district has worked throughout the 2022-23 school year to manage costs. Some of the ways we are doing this include reducing building and district supplies spending, limiting staff travel, and keeping some positions vacant when employees leave. These decisions have touched every school and department in the district.
Many Washington state school districts are experiencing similar issues. There are several reasons for constrained budgets:
- Enrollment: Our enrollment is slow to get back to our pre-COVID counts. We are still down by more than 520 students from 2019-20. Most school district funding is related to student enrollment.
- Materials, supplies, and operating costs: Inflation and supply chain issues have led to higher costs to maintain district and building operations.
- Compensation: We offer competitive salaries; our salary and benefits package help to attract and retain quality staff.
- Benefits: The costs of offering benefits account for about 40% of our total staffing budget.
- Federal COVID-19 relief funding: These temporary funds have helped us balance our budget, but the money spent this year will not be replenished.
- State underfunding of special education: Our local levy picks up about $10 million of special education costs. For the 2023-24 school year, our costs are increasing by about $1.4 million, and our state funding is increasing by $2 million. Even with the increase, there is still significant underfunding.
- Loss of regionalization funding: The state reimburses districts for the average cost of an educator. Regionalization funding is funding in addition to that average cost to account for the cost of living in different parts of the state. We are currently at 1.04% and will drop to 1.015% next year, with another drop to 1.00% in the year following. This is a loss of $4 million.
NTPS monitored and weighed in on 2023 legislative decisions on key funding issues such as special education and transportation funding. The Legislature adjourned in April, and district leaders are reviewing the state budget as we prepare our 2023-24 school year budget. Read our 2023 NTPS Legislative Priorities.
District leaders are using several guiding principles when preparing our 2023-24 budget:
- Meet our contractual agreements
- Staffing levels aligned with enrollment at each school or special program
- Reduce staffing levels through attrition
- Fill necessary positions from within existing district staff
- Least impactful to student learning environment
- Least impactful to our short- and long-term strategic plan goals
- Strive for equitable reductions across employee groups
- No reduction in force
- Continue to strive for efficiencies across all areas of operations
- Improve efficiencies in delivering special education services (which are significantly underfunded by the state)
Budget Process Timeline
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January / February
- Enrollment Projections - how many students are enrolled at NTPS?
- The legislative session begins - we watch this closely as they make decisions that affect our funding.
March / April
- Analyze Certified staffing with principals & directors - teacher staffing needs
- Analyze Classified staffing with principals & directors - other staffing needs
- Analyze Department budgets - initial projected budget amounts given to departments
May / June
- Once all departments and schools communicate staffing needs, we send this total personnel budget to Human Resources.
- All departments and schools send us their final budgets based upon amounts given in March/April.
- Finalize the fee schedule (lunches and other fees) and send the schedule to the Board.
July / August
- Budgets from all departments and schools, including staffing, are compiled and sent as a draft to the Board.
- The Board reviews the draft, and a presentation of the draft budget is held in July.
- In August, the Board holds a public hearing and adopts the budget.
September / December
- Current year budget monitoring through monthly reporting to the Board of Directors.
- Current year budget monitoring by principals and directors.
Budget FAQ
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Q: How do the different budget funds work in NTPS?
A: The NTPS Budget is made up of 5 different Funds. What money goes to what fund is tightly controlled by state and board rules.
- General Fund: This is our main fund that covers everything else! All school districts are required to have one, and the revenue for this fund comes from local, county, state, and federal sources. It includes the rest of the operating expenses, including salaries, maintenance, printing, other transportation costs, and everything else. The Board requires we have 6% of this in reserve for financial stability.
- Capital Projects Fund: This is our building fund. This covers school buildings, equipment, energy audits, grounds, remodels, purchasing lands, technology, and even carpets and roofs.
- Debt Service Fund: This is the money set aside to pay off debt – bonds are debt to the county – we have to set aside money every year to pay down the voted debt (bonds).
- Special Revenue Fund: This is where ASB fee money goes. When you pay a fee for athletics, purchase tickets to a play, or other student function, that money goes into a closely-monitored, strictly-controlled fund. See ASB Fund Balance sheets for your school here.
- Transportation Vehicle Fund: Buses and transportation costs are completely separate. There is a mixture of Levy money (we have strict rules on what levy money can be used for what parts of transportation) and state money (the state helps with vehicle aging and depreciation costs).
NTPS Investments of Federal relief funds
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What are ESSER funds?
The American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) Fund provides school districts with short-term federal funding to help them safely reopen and sustain the safe operation of schools while meeting the academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs of students resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
If you have a suggestion or input about ESSER funds, please email us at communityrelations@nthurston.k12.wa.us. Please put “ESSER FUNDS” in the subject line.
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How much has NTPS received so far?
NTPS has been allocated the following support for COVID-related costs incurred since March 2020:
Program
Allocation
Status
ESSER I (CARES Act)
$2,107,760
Expended 2019-20
ESSER II (CRRSA Act)
$7,461,593
Expending 2020-21 through 2021-22
ESSER III (ARP Act)
$13,417,404
Expending 2021-22 through 2022-23.
ESSER III (ARP Act) Learning Loss
$3,354,351
Expending 2021-22 through 2023-24 (Summer Scholars)
ARP Homeless Youth
$76,500
Expending 2021-22 through 2023-24
TOTAL
$26,417,608
NTPS receives the funds from OSPI on a reimbursement basis. To date, North Thurston Public Schools has received nearly $6 million in ESSER funds.
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ARP-ESSER Spending Plans
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How is NTPS investing these dollars?
ESSER I Award $2,107,760
Expended 2019-20 & 2020-21
Technology $1,250,756.52 PPE / Sanitation $398,550.89 Teaching & Learning $270,328.29 DIRECT $1,919,635.70 INDIRECT $188,124.30 2019-20 / 2020-21 TOTAL CLAIMED $2,107,760.00 ESSER II Award $7,461,593
Expended 2020-21
Technology $774,000.00 PPE / Sanitation $155,000.00 Summer School $900,000.00 Benefits due to Executive Order $616,000.00 Remote Teachers $757,000.00 Start Up Costs for SVA & IFA $75,000.00 Other COVID related $171,203.00 DIRECT $3,448,203.00 INDIRECT $337,923.89 2020-21 TOTAL CLAIMED $3,786,126.89 Expended / Planned in 2021-22
2 Registered Nurses $214,500.00 32 HSK & Integrated Paras $1,184,920.00 35-Day Paras $8,000.00 Power Up $1,130,000.00 Start Up Costs for SVA & IFA $810,000.00 DIRECT $3,347,420.00 INDIRECT $328,047.16 2021-22 TOTAL $3,675,467.16 ESSER III Award $13,417,404
Expended 2021-22
Social Worker $50,000.00 Mental Health Specialist $50,000.00 2 Credit Retrieval Teachers $215,000.00 PPE / Sanitation $75,000.00 Recovery Services for Special Education $120,000.00 Technology $609,000.00 DIRECT $1,119,000.00 INDIRECT $154,870.00 2021-22 TOTAL $1,273,870.00 Future Plans
Power Up 2022-23 / 2023-24 $2,261,224.00 HVAC Upgrades for air quality 2022-23 / 2023-24 $1,000,000.00 2 Registered Nurses 2022-23 / 2023-24 $429,000.00 36 HSK, FRK, Integrated Paras 2022-23 / 2023-24 $2,910,000.00 35-Day Paras 2022-23 / 2023-24 $17,000.00 2 Credit Retrieval Teachers 2022-23 / 2023-24 $450,000.00 Technology 2022-23 / 2023-24 $2,500,000.00 Social Worker 2022-23 / 2023-24 $250,200.00 Mental Health Specialist 2022-23 / 2023-24 $250,200.00 PPE / Sanitation 2022-23 / 2023-24 $150,000.00 Restorative Practices 2022-23 / 2023-24 $227,900.00 Other COVID related 2022-23 / 2023-24 $221,670.00 DIRECT $10,667,194.00 INDIRECT $1,476,340.00 2022-23 / 2023-24 TOTAL $12,143,534.00 ARP Relief Fund ESSER III Award $3,354,351.00
Summer School 2021-22 $930,000.00 Summer School 2022-23 $1,000,000.00 Summer School 2023-24 $1,016,549.00 DIRECT $2,946,549.00 INDIRECT $407,802.00 2021-22 / 2022-23 / 2023-24 TOTAL $3,354,351.00