OLYMPIA, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – The state’s system that disperses funding for public schools is “outdated” and “at risk of failure.”
That’s according to a new report from the Washington State Auditor’s Office released on Tuesday, May 19, that inspected the computer system used to allocate funding for K-12 school districts.
The audit found the critical system lacks strong oversight, relying on a single vendor and a small group of employees. It also discovered minor coding discrepancies within the system, which doles out $30 billion to school districts in a biennium.
In a separate report from 2024, a third-party firm concluded that the system was at a high risk for “catastrophic failure.”
The auditor said the Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction needs to significantly upgrade the 17-year-old system.
Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal said in his response that his office plans to replace the system by the 2028-29 school year. But the auditor warns that timeline will expose the system to various risks for potentially three years or more.
