Shelton schools set budget

The Shelton School Board on Tuesday evening passed a $78.3 million budget for the 2023-24 school year.

Instruction is the largest expense in the budget at 57.50%, followed by instructional support at 13.46%, central administration at 6.50%, maintenance and operations at 6.07%, the principal's offices at 5.64%, pupil transportation at 4.52%, food services at 2.80%, utilities and insurance at 2.25%, other services at 1.15% and public activities at 0.11%.

That translates to $45,058,755 for instruction, $10,548,702 for instructional support, $5,095,732 for central administration, $4,421,817 for principal's office, $2,194,632 for food services, $3,538,436 for pupil transportation, $4,754,424 for maintenance and operations, $1,763,525 for utilities and insurance, $900,670 for other services, and $86,230 for public activities. The district's 2022-23 budget was $78 million.

The district projects enrollment of 4,150 students this school year at its three elementary schools (Evergreen, Mountain View and Bordeaux), Olympic Middle School, Oakland Bay Junior High School, and three high schools: Shelton, HOPE and Cedar.

The school year begins Sept. 6. A Back to School Festival is hosted from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at Olympic Middle School.

Everyone is invited to attend an Open House Tailgate Party to help kick off the school year at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 8 in the courtyard behind the A building at Shelton High School. The event includes music by DJ Tye, food, and information about clubs, athletics, teachers, classes, district services and strategic plans. At 7 p.m., the Highclimbers football team plays Bremerton High School at Jack Stark Field at Highclimber Stadium.