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Students and Staff:
Invested in Our Future
Every day, our students walk into classrooms where they are challenged, supported, and cared for. Behind every lesson, every activity, and every bus ride home lies a financial commitment — a commitment that the Parkway community has made to provide the very best for its students.
Parkway is currently implementing year two of our five-year Strategic Plan to ensure success for every student in school, life, and beyond. This plan was shaped alongside our community and reflects our shared vision.
The plan is comprehensive, detailed, and focused on our future. Its success depends on our investment in students and staff, and maintaining fiscal health to support our goals.
How We Invest in Our Future
School finance can feel complicated. But at its heart, Parkway’s budget has always been a story of investing in people. The vast majority of every dollar goes directly to the teachers, staff, and programs that shape student lives and prepare them for an ever-changing world.
Where the Money Comes From
Most of Parkway’s funding — more than 90% — comes from local taxes, primarily taxes on personal property and real estate. This local support is what keeps our schools strong and stable. State and federal funds also contribute, but they represent a much smaller share of our budget.
Where the money goes
School district budgets have multiple funds that can only be spent in certain ways.
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Operating Fund: Dedicated to the day-to-day running of our schools - includes salaries and benefits for teachers and staff, services, and supplies
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Capital Fund: Funding for maintenance and smaller-scale facility improvements
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Debt Service Fund: Pays back debt from bonds
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Bond Fund: Pays for major capital improvement projects, construction, and renovations
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Self-Insurance Fund: Pays employee health insurance claims.
Laws require that our funding go into specific “buckets.” Each bucket has its own rules.
Capital, debt service, and bond funds, for example, must be used only for the projects approved by voters. This means that a bond issue for facility improvements could not go toward staff salaries and benefits.
The operating fund has the fewest restrictions. It may be used to help other buckets at risk, such as the health insurance fund.
Parkway annual budgets and monthly statements are always available on our website.
How we invest the operating fund
Our biggest investment is in people. More than 80% of Parkway’s operating budget goes to salaries and benefits, with the majority of those dollars supporting classroom teachers.
In addition to salaries and benefits, other expenses support:
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Programs that enrich and extend learning: college and career readiness, experiential learning, workforce development
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Safe, clean, and welcoming school buildings
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Counseling, athletics, fine arts, and extracurricular activities
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Instructional resources,
technology and supplies
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Safe, reliable bus transportation
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Nutritious breakfast and lunch for students
Our Commitment
We believe every financial decision should reflect our core values:
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Students first: Every choice is measured by its impact on student learning and well-being.
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Support for staff: High-quality, experienced teachers and staff are at the heart of Parkway’s excellence.
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Fiscal responsibility: We safeguard taxpayer dollars to ensure both excellent schools and strong community property values.
In short, Parkway’s budget isn’t just numbers in a ledger. It’s a promise and a commitment — to our students, our staff, and our community.