Washoe County School District adopts balanced $1.4 billion budget; trustees preserve kindergarten assistants while fund balance dips

The Washoe County School District board unanimously approved the district's FY2026–27 final budget on May 26, approving a $1.4 billion spending plan for all district funds and completing the required public hearing.

Chief Financial Officer Mark Mats told trustees the district closed a multi-month budget process that included a hiring freeze, contract reviews and targeted reductions after staff modeled a preliminary $10 million shortfall driven mainly by state per-pupil funding that rose well below inflation and by enrollment declines. Mats said a flat-enrollment scenario produced only $4.2 million in increased revenues while contractual and inflationary costs raised expenditures by roughly $14.2 million.

The district used a combination of actions to balance the budget. The board preserved 79 kindergarten early learning assistant positions through FY27 by applying a state grant that funds 36 positions and using general-fund balance and weighted funding to cover the remaining 43 positions. Deputy Chief of Finance Jeff Bazo noted the budget also includes a one-time $1,000 stipend for certified staff at a total cost of $3.6 million.

Mats described the FY27 budget as structurally balanced—ongoing revenues matching ongoing expenditures—but said the district plans a planned drawdown of just under $5 million in general fund balance, leaving a projected ending fund balance of $65.7 million, or 9.7% of expenditures. That level falls short of the board’s 12% policy target, and staff cautioned that future state funding below inflation could force deeper adjustments.

Public comment at the hearing raised technology and student-data concerns: John Epalito of Protect Nevada Children questioned extensive spending on educational software and device use in classrooms and urged stronger consideration of data privacy and low-tech approaches; Kayn Evans, president of the Washoe Education Association, praised negotiated employee protections including COLAs and slot-pay increases awarded during the budget process and urged continued advocacy for full state funding of weighted categories.

Mats and Bazo told trustees they expect to close fiscal-year accounting and report final actuals later this summer; they said there is modest potential for slightly higher ending balance due to local revenues such as interest earnings but emphasized the budget relies in part on one-time funds and that long-term stability depends on state funding decisions.

What’s next: The district will implement the approved FY27 budget and return audited results after year-end close; staff said they will monitor fund balance and report budget performance to the board.