State eliminates funding for free lunches for all
The budget for the upcoming school year, approved by the Methow Valley School Board on Thursday (July 30), preserves key programs and even enables the district to expand opportunities for students — despite some cuts.
But tough decisions lie ahead for district officials as they confront declining enrollment and uncertain funding sources in the coming years, Superintendent Grant Storey told the board at last week’s meeting.
“A common question that comes up is, ‘are we in a financial crisis?’ … The answer is ‘no,’” Storey said during his budget presentation. Then he acknowledged that the district is “facing some serious long-term challenges.”
“Our goal is not to pretend that the reductions have no impact,” Storey added. “Our goal is to make measured changes that minimize disruption while preserving the strongest educational program that we can sustain.”
The board’s budget vote was unanimous, with Director Ben Avery absent. Two community members attended the public hearing that came before the vote — at least one of them a parent — but no one spoke at the hearing.
The budget calls for a reduction in staff equivalent to 2.8 full-time employees, including in shop and music instruction at Liberty Bell Junior/Senior High School. The district also dipped into its reserves in the amount of $130,000 to balance the 2026–27 budget.
Storey maintained that the reduced ending fund balance was still “healthy.”
“We’re remaining in compliance with board policy” on the district’s cash-reserve levels, Storey said.
The state requires school districts to include four-year budget outlooks with each annual budget. The Methow Valley’s outlook shows continued enrollment declines, from 737 this upcoming school year to a projected 698 in 2029–30. Lower enrollment generally means less money from the state.
“Over time, we have to make more significant choices about program design and organizational structure,” Storey told the board. “We’ll be continuing to monitor enrollment, staffing, and revenues and expenditures throughout this year, and we’ll continue to evaluate how programs and services can be delivered sustainably.”
“We’ll continue to try to communicate as best we can and as transparently as possible with staff, families and the community as this work develops,” he added.
In addition to the $18.13 million general fund budget, the school board approved four other funds set aside for transportation, debt service, the Associated Student Body and capital projects. The capital projects fund includes local technology levy dollars that support equipment and other technology-related costs. The majority of this fund, with revenue from state grants, is applied to building improvements.
No free lunch
The school budget’s finer details show the district will no longer receive state assistance to provide free lunches for all students at Methow Valley Elementary School (MVES).
A new state law passed in 2023 provides free meals to students in kindergarten through fifth grade at schools where more than 30% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches. MVES qualified the past two years but fell just short for the upcoming year.
“We reached out to everybody as best we could, and we just didn’t hit that 30% threshold,” Storey said.
All MVES students will continue to receive free meals for the first 30 days of school. After that, income-eligible families must apply for free or reduced-price lunches.
“We’ll try again next year to see if we can offer free meals,” Storey said.
State falls short
Board member Judith Hardmeyer-Wright took the opportunity during the budget discussion to criticize the state for shorting the school district on its funding of materials, supplies and operating costs, often abbreviated as MSOC in school-finance circles.
The state is giving the Methow Valley School District $1.09 million for MSOC, although the district budget says it anticipates spending nearly $2.7 million in that category — everything from pencils and paper, to utilities and insurance.
Hardmeyer-Wright cited Washington’s constitution, which says it is the state’s “paramount duty” to “make ample provision for the education of all children” — including MSOC.
“That, to me, just throws a wrench into everything we do, when we’re $1.5 million behind just to operate,” Hardmeyer-Wright said.
Praise for budget
Kara McMillan, an incoming Liberty Bell senior and one of the school board’s new student representatives, praised school leaders for preserving several programs and even expanding commitments in areas such as career and technical education and “College in the High School,” where students can earn college credits in certain classes. The district is adding physics to its College in the High School program this year.
“I think it’s great that those were some of the things … that were protected because those are all things that, I think, impact almost every student,” she said.
Hardmeyer-Wright also praised the district’s budget writers, saying they could have opted to raise revenue by charging fees to families whose students participate in sports but decided to keep participation in athletics free.
Almost 85% of Liberty Bell students participate in the district’s athletic offerings, according to its website.
“We have the trust of the community, that we’ve said there wasn’t going to be any fees, and we continue to deliver that on this very shoestring budget,” Hardmeyer-Wright said. “I’m just really proud of all of our work.”
