Richland Schools Seek $13.5 Million ‘Emergency’ Funding Advance

Richland receives about $137 million annually from the state in revenue apportionment, which makes up over half of its $235 million budget

  Now, the District is asking for an advance

Richland has asked the state for the advance, it’s not a loan but a modification to its allotment schedule.

Under state law, schools  can only request 10 percent of their allotments for emergency purposes.  Without the cash, Richland would be operating with a $12 million deficit.

  According to AOL:

“Similar to other Washington school districts, Richland’s expenditures are “front-loaded” toward the beginning of the school year, despite OSPI delaying larger payments to the end of the fiscal year after school has concluded, Belisle says.

Nearly 36% of Richland’s current budget has been expended so far, but the state has distributed just 31% of the district’s apportionment revenue. Roughly 23% of the district’s apportionment comes during the months of July and August alone.”

As schools began to emerge from COVID, some officials said its presented more financial challenges, including those from enrollment drops.

However, Richland has expanded its operations since 2018, having added 12 percent more staff by 2023, despite student enrollments only increasing  2 percent.

According to AOL:

“In addition to millions of dollars worth of cuts Richland recently implemented — which included buyouts to more than a dozen paraeducators — it also approved last month a $10 million interfund loan to cover its rising general fund costs.”