Area resident Larry Roe says the Vancouver School District’s financial woes are due to ‘continuously spending more than our elected state representatives allocate for public education’
Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are those of the author alone and may not reflect the editorial position of ClarkCountyToday.com
Our Vancouver Public School Board meeting (10/14/25, Youtube) has provided a good review of how we have become short on cash to pay our teachers and operate our schools: by continuously spending more than our elected state representatives allocate for public education. Over the last three school years, our spending exceeded tax receipts by $9 million, $15 million, and $7 million. We now forecast a deficit of $8 million for the current school year.
Our state government has created a system that enables the state to use school district reserves to fund other state activities, by holding back money for our school districts until the State fiscal year closes at the end of June and then delivering over 40% of the school district annual appropriations in July and August.
VPS has no operational reserves and no credible plans to raise them. This has caused us to ask for pay-day loans from the state in January of ’24 ($15M) and October of ’24 ($18M). Because we forecast minimal reserves at the end ’25-’26, we will need to apply again for an early appropriation. Other districts have noticed and added their requests for more millions in early appropriations. The State has chided districts by pointing out that this cannot be a normal part of school district budgeting.
If the State does not grant our full request we will be required to reduce our employment and accept operational “guidance” from the State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Our current VPS School Board points out that the requirements for spending are based on Federal and State law. Unfortunately, the mismatch between the language of these legislative mandates and the appropriations provided by the same legislatures to implement them requires action on our part. If we interpret the language of these laws without regard to the economics of our community, we are left begging distant governments for more money. Our VPS Board recommends that we all participate in these appeals.
In practice, we used money raised locally for “enrichments to basic education” to fill the gap: our local levies.
At the October VPS school board meeting, we recognized our two District National Merit Semi-Finalists. After the meeting, one of them lobbied the superintendent to slow the elimination of many Advanced Placement (AP) options from the District school of choice for AP classes. Apparently, we are running out of levy funds to support academic enrichment at the high school where we committed to focus on enrichment. Imagine how well we support the majority of students in the moments when their teachers connect them with opportunities to excel.
We cannot stunt the growth of our next generation with overspending on priorities from Olympia and Washington D.C. We need to carefully word our levy requests to our local community to support what we need locally. We need stable, secure, and nurturing places of employment for the educators that prepare our students for their future. This requires reserves. We also need to align the social and intellectual growth of our students with our best vision of the challenges that they will face.
Our current school district’s focus on “belonging” is good, but “preparation” is essential. Our local property tax (in our household tax bills or included in our rent) to support our public schools is the single largest state government support that we provide. Don’t write blank checks. Talk with your neighbors. Make your voice heard. Vote.
Larry Roe
Clark County
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