School District Financial Health

PSESD supports schools not only with academic and educator services, but also with financial, operational and administrative services. Strong financial systems assist schools to focus resources on students, educators and school staff, in service of eliminating opportunity gaps.

Substitute House Bill 1431, passed in 2011, directed the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to work with educational service districts to develop a tool that would provide information about the financial health of school districts.

Aligned with OSPI’s model, PSESD is using a modified version to support districts in the Puget Sound region. In addition to assisting districts with the annual budget and financial statement submission to OSPI, PSESD is piloting the modified version of the tool this year.

The PSESD fiscal indicators as of 2020 are as follows:

  1. Fund Balance to Revenue Ratio: Measures the percentage of a district’s revenues it currently has “in reserve.”
  2. Expenditure to Revenues: Measures whether expenditures were greater or less than the amount of revenue the district brought in.
  3. Days Cash on Hand: Measures the number of days a district could operate if all funding were ceased.
  4. Salary and Benefits to Total Expenses Ratio: Measures the balance between employee compensation and non-employee costs.
Image of an education savings jar