White Salmon Valley School District plans next year’s budget

“Our budget is built upon the priorities I heard from the input gathering sessions this school year,” he said. “We have built budget capacity to add teaching positions at WPSIS (Wallace & Priscilla Stevenson Intermediate School) to prioritize low class sizes and better meet the needs of our students in fifth grade. We are adding back a CTE (Career and Technical Education) position at Columbia High School and a music position at WPSIS / Henkle that were not replaced last year.”

Two librarian positions will also be added back, meaning libraries will be open at all three buildings, as well as a custodial position. Polkinghorn said that additionally, budget capacity has also been built in for ongoing technology refreshes, curriculum adoption and transportation and maintenance needs.

Salaries and benefits make up 71% of total expenditures, he said. This total does not include costs for special education, as the district contracts for special education services through ESD 112.

“We’ve done all this and managed to maintain a budgeted minimum fund balance as per Policy 6022 [Minimum Fund Balance],” he said.

Policy 6022 says the district recognizes the importance of “[setting] aside resources for known obligations and to help protect against unforeseen circumstances … Annually, the superintendent or designee will present a general fund budget that includes a commitment of at least 6% of the current year budgeted expenditures towards a minimum fund balance” (go.boarddocs.com/wa/wsvsd/Board.nsf/Public).

Polkinghorn and Jim Brittain, substitute business manager, walked the board through legislative changes impacting the budget — including some monetary increases — and looked at enrollment history spanning the last six years: 1,253 students in 2018-19 compared to 1,065 in 2023-24. State dollars received by the district are enrollment-dependent, and Polkinghorn said enrollment is expected to continue to decline in the coming years.

The final budget will be brought before the board for approval in July.