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District to run three-year Programs, Operations levy in February
NEWPORT — The Newport School District Board passed a $22.32 million district budget for the 2025– 2026 school year, a decrease of about $40,000 from the 2024–2025 school year’s budget of $22.36 million, at their Tuesday, July 16 meeting.
The budget passed as the district prepares to run its Educational Programs and Operations levy in February 2026 for another three years.
The district is also considering an estimated $48.4 million bond levy to fund construction at Newport High, Sadie Halstead Middle and Stratton Elementary schools. About $60,000 in the budget is funding a consultant to create conceptual designs of that construction.
“We have a balanced budget. Things look really good,” district business manager Debra Buttrey said at the meeting. “We’re doing levies in the winter and a bond, hopefully.”
Salaries and benefits are 71% of the general fund budget, a 2% increase from 2024–2025. They make up most of the proposed spending at $19.84 million budgeted, followed by $2.76 million in contracted services and $1.46 million in supplies.
The district is budgeting for more staffing than the state is expected to fund. There will be 90.66 full-time equivalent staff, including 3.1 FTE counselors, 3.4 FTE certified administrative staff, 13.74 FTE classified staff, 2 FTEs in technology, 2 FTEs in facilities, maintenance, grounds and labor, .9 FTE in district administration, 3.2 FTE district classified staff and 9.84 FTEs in the middle and high school career and technical education program. Another 13.25 FTEs are funded by the levy.
Of the 90.66 FTEs, the state is expected to fund 86.48. Certified instructional staff are the only ones the district is underbudgeting for in 2025–2026, with 1.39 FTE less than what the state is expected to fund at 39.23 FTEs.
Average salaries from 2025–2026 are $78,208 for certified staff, $116,092 for administrative staff and $56,105 for classified staff. They are projected to increase by the 2027–2028 school year to $82,248, $122,088 and $59,002.
Salaries increase each year due to rates of inflation, which are included in the budget.
“Included in the budget, we have the IPD [Implicit Price Deflator] passthrough of 2.5%, which is the inflationary increase,” Buttrey said.
The state funds the district based on enrollment, with an average of 21 students funding one teacher.
Each student equates to about $10,291 to $11,156 from the state. However, the district expects enrollment and FTE counts to decrease over the next four years.
Next school year’s budget is based on a projected enrollment of 908 FTEs, with 15 FTEs in Running Start, 198 in the Alternative Learning Experience/ Homelink Program and a combined 126 in the middle and high school career and technical education programs. This has decreased from about 940 FTEs last school year and is projected to continue decreasing to 864 by the 2028–2029 school year.
“I don’t want people to panic quite yet because we are as conservative as we can (be) on our student counts,” Buttrey said. She’s not expecting a significant drop. “I actually feel like we’re staying pretty stable.” Revenue and spending are also expected to decrease.
The district projects that revenue will increase between 2026–2028 before decreasing by the 2028– 2029 school year. Similarly, spending will increase in 2026–2027 before decreasing in 2028–2029, with unspent surpluses of up to $282,483 between 2026–2029.
“Based on our current operations and ratcheting down if that were necessary, we do not have deficit budgets moving forward,” Buttrey said.
Revenue for the district’s general fund is proposed to increase by 2.1% from 2024–2025, despite decreases in funding from Titles II, IV and IV, child nutrition, transportation, local tax and the state Learning Assistance Program. The district expects state funding to make up 62.2% of proposed revenue, federal funding 6.87% and the supplemental levy 9.92%, a 0.35% decrease from 2024–2025.
The district’s supplemental levy rate is projected to be $1.50 per $1,000 in assessed property value.
The levy will fund additional staffing and support services above state-reimbursed staffing, student engagement, student extracurriculars, facility improvements and other district operations and programming.
Meanwhile, spending is proposed to include $8.9 million in basic education, most of which funds staffing, as well as $2.21 in the supplemental levy, $2.62 million in state Special Education funding and $295,438 in federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act funding.
Another $1.05 million is proposed for the Alternative Learning Experience/ Homelink Program.
The state is also expected to fund $1.32 million in materials, supplies and operating costs, though the district proposes spending more than that — $1.75 million — on supplies, professional services, travel and capital outlay. MSOC funding has increased, but not by enough to fund utilities and liability insurance at the district; instead, the district uses funds from the Alternative Learning Experience Program.
Decreasing enrollment also affects MSOC funding.
“We no longer receive LEA [Local Effort Assistance] funds,” Buttrey said.
“But may become eligible in the future.”
