Like many school districts across Washington and the nation, Highline continues to face funding challenges. The state’s funding for basic education has not kept pace with rising costs for essentials such as insurance, utilities and other operating expenses.
To maintain long-term financial stability, Highline anticipates reducing its budget by about $8 million as it develops the 2026–27 budget. These adjustments will help Highline stay focused on students and learning even as costs rise faster than revenue.
Superintendent Ivan Duran shared this update with staff. These decisions will be difficult and we are committed to keeping the community informed throughout the process.
Like districts across the state, Highline is seeing state funding that doesn’t keep pace with increasing expenses for insurance, utilities and other essential operations.
In his message, Superintendent Duran also shared information about Highline’s local levy, which funds about 15% of the district’s operating budget. This levy supports programs and staff not fully funded by the state and is up for renewal this November. While the levy provides some local funding, it cannot make up for all areas of state underfunding.
For additional background, our May budget update detailed the impact of ongoing state underfunding—particularly in areas like special education, materials and operations, and transportation—and how those gaps continue to create challenges for districts statewide.
Read Superintendent Duran’s full message to learn more about Highline’s financial outlook, the planning timeline, and how we’ll continue to put students first.