Public School Funding FAQ
Public School Funding FAQ
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Our District Budget
Public School Funding FAQ
Public Schools Funding Sources
Washington's public schools manage their finances through five distinct funds. The majority, roughly 80%, is directed towards daily operations and maintenance, tracked within the General Fund. Typically, these funds cannot be mixed. Each fund has its own rules for spending money. There are exceptions, but, it's important to note that mixing funds without proper authorization or violating legal restrictions can lead to financial mismanagement, audit findings, and potential legal consequences.
This is money that comes from taxes collected by the state, like income and sales tax. The state decides how to distribute this money to schools using certain formulas. This is a critical source of school funding, usually covering the biggest part of their budget. It pays for things like teacher salaries, classroom supplies, and keeping the school running.
Homeowners in the school district pay these taxes. The collected money goes to the local government, which then gives it to schools for educational purposes. How much comes from property taxes can change based on how much properties are worth and the tax rates decided by local officials.
Levies are for learning and bonds are for building.
These two types of voter-approved funding sources are often used by districts to fill gaps where state funding does not fully fund public education, as well as to make needed improvements to our facilities.
This is money from the national government, given to states and schools through grants and specific funding programs. It supports certain educational initiatives and programs, like helping schools with a lot of low-income students or funding special education and school meals. Federal funds usually add to what state and local funding provides and come with specific rules from the government.
Our district actively seeks grant funding available through federal and state government entities as well as and private programs in order to supplement our budget. Doing so allows us to make the most of our budget by leveraging our current resources with money offered for specific areas or projects.
- A Regional Challenge Grant managed by the Washington Student Achievement Council funds student achievement initiatives such as the Cornerstone Partnership
- Solar panels added at W.F. West High School in 2026 to make us compliant with clean building regulations were funded through a Washington State Department of Commerce grant
Our students benefit greatly from financial support from numerous local booster clubs, organizations and individual supporters. Local organizations such as the Bearcat Athletic Boosters, Chehalis Music Booster Club, Activators and Chehalis PTO work tirelessly each year to raise money to help causes that directly benefit our students and schools. Additionally, the Chehalis Foundation manages funds given by community members who wish to support our schools, students and programs. Community donors have:
- Funded a state-of-the-art STEM facility and learning materials and continue funding its operational costs
- Converted the W.F. West Baseball field to all-weather turf and hope to do the same for the football field at Bearcat Stadium
- Provided more than $2 million in scholarships annually to W.F. West graduates
- Provided scholarships for language students to study abroad during the summer
- Created a summer humanities lab and STEM Camps at Chehalis Middle School and Orin Smith Elementary to complement the University of Washington Summer STEM camp already offered at W.F. West High School
- Provided industry-standard technology, tools and learning environments for our career and technical education programs
- Committed to building an indoor tennis/wrestling facility that will benefit both the community and our students
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This is money that comes from taxes collected by the state, like income and sales tax. The state decides how to distribute this money to schools using certain formulas. This is a critical source of school funding, usually covering the biggest part of their budget. It pays for things like teacher salaries, classroom supplies, and keeping the school running.
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Homeowners in the school district pay these taxes. The collected money goes to the local government, which then gives it to schools for educational purposes. How much comes from property taxes can change based on how much properties are worth and the tax rates decided by local officials.
-
Levies are for learning and bonds are for building.
These two types of voter-approved funding sources are often used by districts to fill gaps where state funding does not fully fund public education, as well as to make needed improvements to our facilities.
-
This is money from the national government, given to states and schools through grants and specific funding programs. It supports certain educational initiatives and programs, like helping schools with a lot of low-income students or funding special education and school meals. Federal funds usually add to what state and local funding provides and come with specific rules from the government.
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Our district actively seeks grant funding available through federal and state government entities as well as and private programs in order to supplement our budget. Doing so allows us to make the most of our budget by leveraging our current resources with money offered for specific areas or projects.
- A Regional Challenge Grant managed by the Washington Student Achievement Council funds student achievement initiatives such as the Cornerstone Partnership
- Solar panels added at W.F. West High School in 2026 to make us compliant with clean building regulations were funded through a Washington State Department of Commerce grant
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Our students benefit greatly from financial support from numerous local booster clubs, organizations and individual supporters. Local organizations such as the Bearcat Athletic Boosters, Chehalis Music Booster Club, Activators and Chehalis PTO work tirelessly each year to raise money to help causes that directly benefit our students and schools. Additionally, the Chehalis Foundation manages funds given by community members who wish to support our schools, students and programs. Community donors have:
- Funded a state-of-the-art STEM facility and learning materials and continue funding its operational costs
- Converted the W.F. West Baseball field to all-weather turf and hope to do the same for the football field at Bearcat Stadium
- Provided more than $2 million in scholarships annually to W.F. West graduates
- Provided scholarships for language students to study abroad during the summer
- Created a summer humanities lab and STEM Camps at Chehalis Middle School and Orin Smith Elementary to complement the University of Washington Summer STEM camp already offered at W.F. West High School
- Provided industry-standard technology, tools and learning environments for our career and technical education programs
- Committed to building an indoor tennis/wrestling facility that will benefit both the community and our students
Funds Within Our Budget
This fund caters to daily operations and maintenance expenses. It's primarily utilized for operating costs such as salaries, supplies, utilities, and anything not recorded in another fund.
This fund is exclusively reserved for constructing or renovating school facilities. It cannot be utilized for daily operations or other unrelated purposes.
Funds in this category are solely allocated for repaying debt, typically bonds, incurred by the school district for capital projects or other approved endeavors.
These funds are designated for purchasing or maintaining school buses or other transportation vehicles and cannot be repurposed.
The Associated Student Body (ASB) fund is managed by students. This fund supports student-related activities and expenses like clubs, events, and student organizations. These are non-curricular, optional activities. They are cultural, athletic, social, or recreational.
It is important to note that educational programs supplied by the Chehalis School District at the Green Hill Academic School and Lewis County Juvenile Detention Center are funded through restricted state and federal funding that is tracked separately from the funding for the rest of the Chehalis School District's programs. These funds cannot be used for any other purpose within the school district. Conversely, the district’s main budget funds cannot be used to support the Green Hill Academic School or Lewis County Juvenile Detention Center. Bond and levy funds also cannot be used for Green Hill Academic School or Lewis County Juvenile Detention Center.
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This fund caters to daily operations and maintenance expenses. It's primarily utilized for operating costs such as salaries, supplies, utilities, and anything not recorded in another fund.
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This fund is exclusively reserved for constructing or renovating school facilities. It cannot be utilized for daily operations or other unrelated purposes.
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Funds in this category are solely allocated for repaying debt, typically bonds, incurred by the school district for capital projects or other approved endeavors.
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These funds are designated for purchasing or maintaining school buses or other transportation vehicles and cannot be repurposed.
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The Associated Student Body (ASB) fund is managed by students. This fund supports student-related activities and expenses like clubs, events, and student organizations. These are non-curricular, optional activities. They are cultural, athletic, social, or recreational.
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It is important to note that educational programs supplied by the Chehalis School District at the Green Hill Academic School and Lewis County Juvenile Detention Center are funded through restricted state and federal funding that is tracked separately from the funding for the rest of the Chehalis School District's programs. These funds cannot be used for any other purpose within the school district. Conversely, the district’s main budget funds cannot be used to support the Green Hill Academic School or Lewis County Juvenile Detention Center. Bond and levy funds also cannot be used for Green Hill Academic School or Lewis County Juvenile Detention Center.
School Funding Q&A
Providing accurate, transparent and helpful information to our community is important to us. If you have a question you don’t see answered here, please drop us a line using THIS LINK and we will get you the information you want.
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As of last year, Washington ranks 40th in the nation in K-12 education investment as a percentage of the state’s total economy. Despite the “McCleary fix,” the state is still not covering the full cost of education. Staff pay and benefits, special education, transportation, teacher training, counselors, school nurses, and other critical educational needs are all underfunded. Student athletics and extracurricular activities are not funded at all. This leaves local communities to fill the gap.
96% of school districts across the state (WA levy status map) do this through a local Education Programs and Operations (EP&O) levy. EP&O levies typically provide 12-18% of a school district’s total budget. Yelm Community Schools has been operating without a local EP&O levy since 2024. If the proposed levy is approved November 3, 2026, it would account for just under 12% of our local school budget.
In addition to the challenges of chronic underfunding, state and federal school funding must be spent in specific ways. Without a local levy, those state and federal restrictions eliminate much of our local control for local educational programs and services.
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- The state does not provide any funding for student athletics and extracurricular activities. This includes all sports and any student activities beyond the school day, including: marching band; choir, theater, and arts programs; student clubs; and many other activities.
- The majority of school teachers and other staff positions are not fully funded by the state.
- The state uses what’s called an Implicit Price Deflator (IPD), formerly called a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) to adjust school allocations, but does not provide enough funding to cover the actual staffing and operational costs associated with this rate.
- Special education, transportation, teacher and staff training, counselors, school nurses, student technology, safety and security, and student behavioral support services are not fully funded.
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Lottery
The lottery goes to the state general fund, not to local schools. Some money is earmarked for schools, but the state long ago supplanted that money by reducing other allocations.
Cannabis
School districts in Washington State do not see any direct financial support from cannabis sales. Unlike Colorado, which spends most of its cannabis money on schools, in Washington State, the majority of cannabis tax dollars go to the state’s Basic Health Plan Trust Account. (Source: WA State Office of Financial Management)
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Every state handles revenue (taxes) and allocations (paying for services) differently. Here is a guide to Washington’s Tax Structure.
A portion of the property taxes that used to go directly to local schools now goes to the state. The state redistributes those dollars back to school districts according to a formula referred to as the “prototypical school model.”
In 2018, the state legislature increased the state-controlled portion of property taxes and lowered the limits for local school levies accordingly. Levies remain essential to pay for local educational needs and priorities that are not fully funded by the state or federal sources.
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There are many different funding sources for public schools in Washington state, each with their own rules and oversight. We are fortunate in the Chehalis school district to benefit from the generosity of our community through public giving campaigns. The Chehalis Foundation manages many funds dedicated to scholarships, student achievement efforts and projects that directly benefit the Chehalis School District. These donated funds are dedicated to a cause that has meaning to the giver. We cannot choose to use those funds for another purpose because the donors designate what they want to support and we are required to account for every expendature of those funds to ensure that we are following their wishes.