Olympia School Board holds first 2023 worksession, discusses budget updates

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The Olympia School District (OSD) Board held its first 2023 work session on Thursday, January 5 to tackle the district budget and prepare for the upcoming legislative session.

Assistant Superintendent of Business and Finance Jennifer Priddy presented the district’s 2022-2023 budget by expenditure activitythat showed how the district’s $175.6 million budget is divided among projects and activities.

The breakdown of the funds are:

  • $110,454,000 for teaching activities,
  • $24,599,000 for support activities
  • $18,101,000 for teaching support
  • $12,814,000 for central administration
  • $9,680,000 for school administration

“When we built this budget, we were sticking to our minimum fund balance policy and created a budget that would only leave us with $5.3 million, that is third operating costs,” Priddy stated.

Priddy elaborated on the need to reserve operating costs saying, “This was truly the minimum that we can go, and would want to go, legally and ideally. From a fiscal officer standpoint, we would like us to have one month’s [worth] of operating costs for some reason unfortunate.”

Priddy also explained the notable $30,558,000 allocation to special education from the operating expenses.

Priddy mentioned that the district   spent about $30 million, which is close to $10 million more than state and federal levels.

“Special education is also legally required. [This is] the bare minimum for what we're doing, and also our commitment to students,” Priddy stated.

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