WSSDA OnBoard

Untangle the complexity of state funding, which is the primary financial support for Washington’s K-12 schools. Explore the primary categories of general apportionment funding, expand your knowledge about funding of the six Basic Education programs, and gain an overview of the four Basic Education categorical programs. The knowledge you gain will be immediately applicable to your work in guiding, approving, and reviewing district budgets.

Prerequisites: None
Available: January of 2021
(NOT offered at the 2020 Annual Conference)

Expand your knowledge of local and federal funding for school districts; review the different types of levies and bonds and the state’s approach for determining levy limitations; learn about Local Effort Assistance; get familiar with aspects of federal funding provided through the Every Student Success Act (ESSA) and the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA). This knowledge will help you plan for levies and bonds and guide the development and adoption of the district budget.

Get to know the structure and basic terminology used in the district budget. Become familiar with the five funds used in district accounting and learn about the system used to code district revenue and expenditures. Making sense of “Section A” of a district budget and unlocking the basics of the budget coding system will allow you to decipher many types of information. The knowledge you gain will help you ask key questions when the board is involved in developing and monitoring the district budget.

Prerequisites: None
Available: Currently offered as part of the 2020 WSSDA Annual Conference.

Learn about the key budget drivers for districts and the Financial Health Indicators developed by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI). Examine the concepts underlying each indicator, identify how district profile scores are determined, and learn to navigate OSPI's website to access your district’s profile. All this information will help you provide board-appropriate guidance for financial soundness when developing and monitoring the district budget.

Prerequisites: Step 3 or instructor permission.
Available: Currently offered as part of the 2020 WSSDA Annual Conference.

See the significant connection between the allocation of resources and progress toward your district’s vision. Explore three board commitments that research shows to be essential in the development of budget guidelines that are aligned with the board’s vision. These guidelines, along with financial soundness guidelines, are central to developing, monitoring and when necessary, adjusting the district budget.

Review legally required budget status reports and customized district budget supplements that specifically support the board’s responsibility for monthly monitoring. All this information will help you provide board-appropriate guidance in budget development, ask key questions during monthly budget monitoring, and maintain the district’s vision through the budget.

Prerequisites: Steps 3 and 4 or instructor permission.
Available: Currently offered as part of the 2020 WSSDA Annual Conference.