Pierce County Schools are projecting a balanced budget and a rosier outlook than first thought as it adopted a final budget for 2027 Monday night.
The school board approved the $44.47 million spending proposal, which is about $124,000 higher than last year’s $44.3 million budget.
Public hearings were held last Thursday and again Monday night. No citizens were present at either hearing to comment on the budget.
Finance director Melanie Helms said the system should receive low wealth funding to offset the roughly $1 million loss in state funding due to a drop in enrollment during the 2025-26 school year.
Helms gave that update as she presented the final draft of the budget.
The first draft, presented in April, had projected revenue and expenses of about $43.8 million.
The system’s enrollment declined from 3,647 in 2025 to 3,480 in 2026, a net loss of 167 students. Special education enrollment also declined by 20 students to 523 from 2025-2026.
State funding is calculated using a formula based on student enrollment numbers and additional funding is provided for special education students.
Helms projects the system will lose about $1,055,000 in state funding. However, the local system’s share of low wealth funding increased, offsetting the loss.
Meanwhile, there were changes to projections on the amount the system’s would have to pay for employee health care coverage and retirement, resulting in cost savings.
Helms pointed out salaries and benefits make up over 89 percent of the school system’s annual budget.
Those adjustments allowed the school system to maintain the budget at last year’s spending levels.
