A Message from Superintendent Dr. James Everett
As we prepare to head into spring break next week, I want to share a brief budget update.
You may have heard that the Washington state legislative session ended earlier this month. Despite advocacy efforts highlighting how inadequate funding impacts our students and schools, the adopted state budget includes reductions for education.
Most notably, the state is reducing funding for Transition to Kindergarten (what we refer to as Transitional Kindergarten or TK).
We are currently reviewing what this reduction means for Meridian. Many families have already registered, and we are eager to welcome our TK students. We know the value of early learning and are disappointed by the state’s decision to reduce funding for this important program.
We remain committed to sharing regular budget updates. Our budget website is regularly updated with monthly budget status reports, and the school board receives a budget report at the second board meeting each month. Board meetings are livestreamed and recorded, and recordings are available anytime on our YouTube channel. If you have questions or want to learn more about school finance in general, the WA School Funding website has been updated and is a great resource.
Our budget planning for next year is ongoing. We continue to assess our needs while awaiting final numbers from OSPI to provide a clearer picture of our outlook for the upcoming school year. We will share another update when we know more later in April.
Thank you for your continued partnership. We wish you and your family a restful and enjoyable spring break.