Washington ESDs Collaborate to Create Centralized and Accessible Financial Data Tool for School Districts
During the 2025 Legislative Session, state education associations, school districts, and other education partners have focused advocacy efforts on the full funding of basic education—specifically Special Education, Pupil Transportation, and Materials, Supplies, and Operating Costs (MSOC).
Recognizing the need for a centralized and accessible data tool, the nine Washington State Educational Service Districts (ESD) collaborated to compile, analyze, and visualize key financial data across these three major funding areas impacting districts across the state.
“We leveraged expertise across multiple ESD teams to pull financial and legislative data into a central dashboard while ensuring accuracy and relevance,” said Trisha Schock, North Central ESD Assistant Superintendent of Administrative Services. “The goal was to create a resource that would help districts, policymakers, and advocates quickly assess financial trends to drive informed discussions.”
How to Use the Dashboard
The dashboard is designed for ease of use, with interactive visuals that allow users to filter by district, funding category, and year. Users can explore trends, compare funding levels, and export reports to support advocacy efforts.
Explainer Video
Here is a quick video that might be helpful in understanding how to use the dashboard.
Data Sources
- 2022-23 FY data is pulled from the Apportionment Summary (1191) and the F-196
- 2023-24 FY data is pulled from the Apportionment Summary (1191) and the F-196
- 2024-25 FY data is pulled from the October 2025 Apportionment Summary (1191) and the F-195
School districts can use this dashboard to strategically plan and advocate for necessary resources by accessing financial insights and overall funding. Additionally, the dashboard serves as a transparent, data-driven tool for legislators, helping them understand how funding policies impact schools at the local level. This information can guide decision-making to ensure it aligns with the actual needs of the districts.
The dashboard is the result of a unified effort by the ESDs to ensure school funding data is not only accessible but also actionable, Schock said.
“By providing a clear, visual representation of the funding challenges districts face, we hope to drive meaningful conversations and policy changes that result in equitable funding solutions for all students,” she added.
Schock identified several trends and challenges arising from the data, highlighting the necessity for urgent policy discussions and adjustments. Some of these include:
SPECIAL EDUCATION GAP PERSISTS
Many districts are nearing their state allocation caps for special education, yet actual student needs far exceed those caps. This places additional strain on local budgets, forcing districts to cover the shortfall with local levy dollars, which was never the intent of state funding formulas.RELIANCE ON LOCAL LEVIES
Across all three funding areas, the data confirms that many districts must supplement state funding with local levies to cover actual basic education costs. This creates disparities, as districts with lower property wealth struggle to generate the same revenue as higher-wealth districts.TRANSPORTATION FUNDING MISALIGNMENT
The current Student Transportation Allocation (STARS) formula does not fully account for key cost drivers such as rural distance, student density, special education needs, and McKinney-Vento student transportation. Many districts report actual costs significantly exceeding their state allocations.REGIONALIZATION INEQUITIES
Some districts receive significantly different regionalization funding percentages than neighboring districts despite similar staffing cost challenges. This makes it difficult to recruit and retain staff in areas where cost-of-living adjustments are not accurately reflected in funding formulas.GROWTH VS. FUNDING LAG
Districts experiencing rapid student growth or shifting demographics (such as increases in multilingual learners or students requiring additional support services) are struggling because funding models do not adjust quickly enough to reflect these needs.LEGISLATIVE IMPLICATIONS
The data supports the need for immediate policy changes to:- Revise the special education formula to align with actual costs.
- Revise the transportation formula to better fund rural and special needs transportation.
- Update regionalization adjustments to reflect modern staffing costs and cost-of-living disparities.
If you want to learn more about school funding issues in Washington state, head over to WASA’s website: Issues at the Core of Washington State’s School Funding Dilemma
If you have questions about the dashboard created by the ESDs, please reach out to North Central ESD at info@ncesd.org or call Trisha Schock at 509-667-3632.
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