School board adopts 2026-27 district budget at meeting

Published 12:30 pm Friday, June 26, 2026

The Mercer Island School District board adopted the 2026-27 district budget at its June 25 regular meeting. The board voted 5-0 and the student representative voted yes to approve the budget.

According to a district document, the final appropriation level of expenditures for each fund are: General Fund ($82,338,066), Capital Fund ($8,929,000), Debt Service Fund ($10,562,000), Associated Student Body Fund ($2,199,424) and Transportation Fund ($1,500,000).

The budget includes all salaries, benefits, positions, personnel, projects, purchases, student and district fees, the four-year budget plan summary, and the four-year enrollment projection as so finally determined.

• Also at the meeting, the board and student representative unanimously voted to approve district Superintendent Dr. Fred Rundle’s contract extension for an additional year through June 30, 2029.

• In another unanimous board and student rep vote, they approved the John Stafford Memorial “Student B” Award Trust Fund and Rundle recognized Mercer Island High School (MIHS) English teacher and award benefactor Jane Stafford.

“As executor of the John Stafford Estate, she has generously committed funding to award a $1,000 scholarship to a MIHS senior each year for the next 10 years,” the district said, adding that Jane’s brother, John, was a beloved social studies and economics teacher who died last year.

Jane and MIHS Class of 2024 graduate Asha Woerner spoke to the board about John, and Woerner discussed the positive impact he had on all his students, according to the district.

• Rundle also recognized district Wellness Coordinator Stephanie Boyer for “coordinating board meeting meal contributions for the 2025-26 school year and for the many other ways she supports staff and students in the district,” according to the district.