Where does Federal Way schools spend money?
Education requires involvement of a lot of people, primarily teachers. Approximately 85% of our budget goes toward paying people to ensure that we have high quality teachers and staff. In the past year, personnel costs have risen by 9% due to increases in health benefits and pension contributions, contract negotiations and state-mandated wage levels. For each 1% increase in labor costs, approximatley $750,000 is unfunded. The other 15% is spent on everything else: books, technology, building maintenance, supplies, bus fuel, liability insurance and paper. As every family in the district knows, the cost of food, utilities, fuel, and supplies has risen dramatically. State education funding simply has not kept pace.
