Cascade approves $22 million budget amid enrollment decline

LEAVENWORTH —- Cascade School District (CSD) approved a $22 million budget for the 2026-2027 school year during its July 20 meeting.

The district is continuing to budget for declining enrollment, a trend that Director of Business & Finance Brenda Bartelme says is driven by lower birth rates seen across the country. Although this budget shows a bump in enrollment compared to last year, Bartelme said the increase is only a recalibration of her highly conservative estimate for the 2025-2026 school year.

“Honestly, that conservative budget saved our bacon all year long because we had those horrible storms,” said Bartelme. “We were able to weather those storms, and we were able to move ahead on our plan to come out sooner with our fund balance policy.”

While this year’s budget is still conservative, she explained, having a more precise estimate helps with managing funding from the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI).

The district is projecting about a six percent increase in overall revenue, growing from around $21.4 million to $22.6 million. While state and federal allocations rose around two to three percent, the largest increase is coming from local funding.

“The increase we're getting does not take into consideration the increase that we have for our staff…or for fuel, or for the rising cost of inflation, or for rising cost of insurance or utilities. So the increase of revenue is not keeping pace with cost of living,” said Bartelme.

Bartelme’s budget breakdown also highlighted some of the limitations and challenges of state requirements. 

Recent changes to state law increased allocations for materials, supplies, and operating costs (MSOC), but districts must now provide a more detailed breakdown of how the money is spent. Though she characterized the restructured reporting as an "unfunded mandate,” Bartelme was hopeful that it would help legislators better understand education costs.

“I don't mind going to this level because I think knowledge is power, and if we can let our legislators see what things are actually costing us, I'm hoping it will create change in some of those categories,” said Bartelme.

Special education also remains underfunded and structurally complicated. Bartelme explained that special education funding was moved into the basic education line item to better reflect its partnership with ESD 112. While the change was simply administrative, it revealed a broader challenge smaller districts face in addressing special education.

Officials explained that the district receives a small amount of state and federal funding, but it's often not enough to adequately meet student needs. While the state offers additional “safety net” reimbursements, it is only available when the district has met a specific threshold of spending, according to CSD Superintendent Dr. Tracey Edou.

“It's like your insurance saying it won't pay for your broken arm because you didn't break a leg as well,” said CSD Board member Zachary Miller.

While the district's year-end financial report will provide a clearer picture, Bartelme suggested that the district was ahead of schedule in meeting its fund balance goals of having 10 percent of expenditures on hand. The district has been working to rebuild its reserve after facing unexpected increases in expenditures, compounded by decreases in revenue, in the 2023-2024 school year. 

CSD also celebrated a lower debt service due to a bond refinancing in June, which officials previously said is expected to reduce existing debt and save taxpayers $3.77 million over the next 10 years.

“Those are the bonds that built the new high school…and the new elementary school. So being able to say thank you for voting for this…and being good stewards of your money is a good thing,” said CSD Board Chair Trey Ising.

Taylor Caldwell: 509-433-7276 or taylor@ward.media