Why does OSPI list Woodland's per-pupil cost at $17,986, a much higher cost when compared to our neighboring districts? The reason is that KWRL, the transportation cooperative that provides bus services, is headquartered in Woodland.
The KWRL Transportation Cooperative provides school bus services for four school districts: Kalama, La Center, Ridgefield, Woodland. However, since Woodland Public Schools oversees the entire cooperative, all of KWRL’s funding goes through our budget.
As part of Washington State requirements for all school district cooperatives, the funding must funnel through a single district. That means the transportation funding for all four school districts funnels through the single district where the service is based, in this case, Woodland.
In other words, Woodland Public Schools' per-pupil cost includes the transportation funding for Kalama, Ridgefield, and La Center in addition to the funding Woodland Public Schools pays to transport its own students.
When you remove all of the transportation funding for the other three districts, the actual per-pupil cost for a student in Woodland Public Schools is $16,078, 6.52% lower than the state average of $17,199 per pupil.
Woodland Public Schools