How are Schools Funded?

An essential step in legislative advocacy, communicating budget details with key stakeholders, or setting the stage for levies and bonds is explaining the basics of school finance. The following list of resources, made available by school districts across the entire state, may be helpful as you educate and inform staff, union leadership, parents, community patrons, and legislators about the fundamentals of school funding. Thank you to WASBO for sharing resources they have gathered as well as the school districts and other partners who graciously made available these materials for the benefit of others.

2022–23 Citizen's Guide to the District's Budget (Edmonds)
A Citizens Guide to Washington State K-12 Finance 2022 (Deer Park / Olympia)
ABC Slides (Tahoma)
Bond-Levy FAQs (ESD 112, ESD 189, ESD 114, ESD 123, and ESD 105—ESD School Communications Consortium)
Budget 101 (Wenatchee)
Consolidated Program Review | Fiscal Guidance (OSPI / Olympia)
Financing (Mead)
Funding Education (WSSDA)
Funding Sources (Royal)
Levy Infographic (Mead)
Levy Series (Mead)
Levy Trifold Brochure (Cascade)
Organization and School Financing of Schools—2020 Edition (OSPI)
Prototypical Presentation (WSSDA)
Sample Social Media Posts  (ESD 112, ESD 189, ESD 114, ESD 123, and ESD 105—ESD School Communications Consortium) 
School Construction Assistance Program (SCAP) 2021 (OSPI / Olympia)
School Funding  (Lake Washington)
School Funding Primer (ESD 113)
Staff Enrichment Workgroup Recommendations—2019 Edition (OSPI / Olympia)
Using Data Tools to Understand Finance Equity in Washington (WSSDA)