The supplied agenda describes a Richland School District Board of Directors special and regular meeting scheduled for Tuesday, August 11, 2026. Although the authoritative configuration identifies the meeting date as August 6, the packet itself identifies August 11 as the date for the budget workshop, executive session, public budget hearing, and regular business meeting.
Budget matters are a central focus. The board is scheduled to hold a 4:00 p.m. special meeting for a budget workshop and later conduct a formal budget hearing during the regular meeting. The accessible agenda does not provide the proposed budget totals, individual fund amounts, tax assumptions, or expenditure changes, so those details cannot be established from the supplied source.
The board also expects to discuss and make a decision concerning a superintendent search firm. That item could shape the process used to identify the district's next superintendent, although the agenda does not identify the firms being considered, their proposed costs, or the anticipated search schedule.
Other business includes review of Policy No. 5401 on sick leave and Policy No. 6910 on construction financing. The consent agenda includes personnel actions, meeting minutes, the 2026 Hanford High School ASB Constitution, a cash grant from Partnership for Learning, and payroll and warrant approval.
Major Discussion and Action Items
Budget Workshop and Public Budget Hearing
The board's August 11 schedule begins with a 4:00 p.m. special meeting devoted specifically to a budget workshop. Budget deliberations continue during the regular meeting through a formal budget hearing.
The combination of a workshop and hearing indicates that district finances are a significant part of the meeting. The hearing provides an opportunity for the budget to be considered in a public setting before board action or subsequent steps. The agenda references supporting budget material and "F195," but the supplied text does not contain figures from those documents.
Students, families, employees, and taxpayers may want to follow the discussion because district budgets determine how available resources are allocated among educational programs, staffing, facilities, operations, and other priorities.
Superintendent Search Firm Decision
The board has scheduled a "Superintendent Search Firm Discussion and Decision," explicitly indicating that formal board action is anticipated.
A search firm can play an important role in recruiting and evaluating superintendent candidates and structuring the broader search process. The agenda does not identify the firms under consideration or provide pricing, scopes of work, selection criteria, community-engagement plans, or a target date for selecting a superintendent.
The board's decision will therefore be important for residents and employees interested in district leadership and how the superintendent selection process will proceed.
Policy No. 5401 — Sick Leave
The board will consider Policy No. 5401 concerning sick leave. This is potentially significant for district employees because sick-leave policies govern an important employment benefit and related administrative procedures.
The agenda does not reproduce the proposed policy language or indicate what provisions are changing. Community members should therefore avoid assuming that a particular benefit, eligibility rule, or procedure is being added or removed based solely on the agenda.
Policy No. 6910 — Construction Financing
Policy No. 6910 concerning construction financing is also scheduled for board consideration.
Construction financing policies can establish governance and financial procedures surrounding district capital projects. This can be relevant to taxpayers and school communities when the district undertakes construction, renovation, or other facility investments. The accessible agenda does not describe the proposed revisions or identify a particular construction project tied to the policy.
Hanford High School 2026 ASB Constitution
The consent agenda includes the Hanford High School 2026 ASB Constitution. ASB generally refers to the Associated Student Body, and its constitution provides a governance framework for student organization activities.
Because the item appears on the consent agenda, it is scheduled for approval together with other consent items through a single board vote unless handled separately.
Partnership for Learning Cash Grant
The board is scheduled to consider a cash grant from Partnership for Learning as part of the consent agenda.
The available agenda does not state the grant amount, restrictions, purpose, or program that would receive the funds. Those details should not be inferred from the organization name alone.
Personnel Actions and Routine Board Approvals
Personnel actions are included in the consent agenda along with approval of the July 14 and August 6, 2026 meeting minutes and payroll and warrants.
The accessible text does not provide the underlying personnel list or payroll and warrant totals. These matters are scheduled for approval through the board's single consent-agenda vote.
Financial Matters
The most consequential financial matter is the district budget. A dedicated 4:00 p.m. budget workshop will precede a budget hearing during the regular meeting. The source references budget documentation and F195 material but provides no dollar amounts, fund balances, revenues, expenditures, enrollment assumptions, tax information, or proposed reductions or additions.
The consent agenda also includes payroll and warrant approval, representing district payments and payroll obligations. No totals or individual transactions are contained in the supplied text.
A cash grant from Partnership for Learning is another financial item, but neither its amount nor intended use is provided. Policy No. 6910 on construction financing may also affect the district's financial governance for capital work, although no specific project cost or financing proposal is identified.
Policies, Ordinances, Resolutions, and Governance
Two numbered district policies are explicitly before the board: Policy No. 5401 on sick leave and Policy No. 6910 on construction financing. The source does not contain the proposed policy text, so the specific changes and their effects cannot be determined.
Governance matters also include the Hanford High School 2026 ASB Constitution and the superintendent search firm decision. The former concerns student-body governance, while the latter will help determine how the board conducts a major district leadership search.
The board also has an agenda item for old business, board discussion, and future agenda items, providing an opportunity to identify matters requiring additional consideration.
The communications portion of the regular meeting includes reports from the board, student representatives, and superintendent. The agenda does not specify the subjects or findings that will be presented.
The budget workshop is the most substantial identified presentation or review session. It is scheduled separately from the regular meeting and precedes the formal budget hearing.
Personnel, Appointments, and Organizational Matters
Personnel actions appear on the consent agenda, but the supplied source does not identify employees, positions, appointments, resignations, retirements, or other individual actions.
The superintendent search firm decision is the most significant organizational matter. Selecting a firm would establish outside assistance for the superintendent recruitment and selection process.
An executive session is also scheduled before the regular meeting and cites personnel, legal, and real-estate matters under Washington law. The agenda does not provide details of the confidential matters to be discussed.
Projects, Facilities, Infrastructure, and Operations
No specific construction project is described in the accessible agenda. However, Policy No. 6910 on construction financing could affect how future or ongoing district construction is financially governed.
The executive session also references real estate as one of its authorized subjects, but the packet provides no property, transaction, location, price, or proposed action. No conclusions about a particular real-estate matter can therefore be drawn.
The regular meeting includes a formal budget hearing, giving community members an identified opportunity to follow and potentially comment on the district's budget.
The agenda also provides a general "Requests and Comments" period limited to two minutes per individual and 30 minutes overall.
The August 11 regular meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. both by Zoom conference and in person at 6972 Keene, West Richland, Washington, in Benton County. The district website is identified as the source for remote participation information. Community members may also send feedback to boardfeedback@rsd.edu.
Students and families may be most directly affected by decisions flowing from the budget, district leadership search, and school governance matters. The budget establishes the financial framework within which educational and operational priorities are carried out.
Employees have a particular interest in Policy No. 5401 on sick leave, the personnel consent items, and the superintendent search. The exact employee impacts of the proposed sick-leave policy cannot be determined without the policy text.
Taxpayers and residents have an interest in the budget hearing, construction-financing policy, payroll and warrant approvals, and any future capital or real-estate decisions. The superintendent search also has districtwide importance because the superintendent serves a central leadership role in administration and implementation of board direction.
Hanford High School students may be directly affected by approval of the school's 2026 ASB Constitution.
- What are the major revenue and expenditure assumptions in the proposed district budget?
- How does the proposed budget differ from the previous year's financial plan?
- Are staffing, programs, class sizes, or student services expected to change under the budget?
- What criteria will the board use to select a superintendent search firm?
- What will the selected superintendent search firm cost, and what services will be included?
- How will students, families, employees, and community members participate in the superintendent search?
- What specific changes are proposed to Policy No. 5401 on sick leave?
- What changes are proposed to Policy No. 6910 on construction financing, and why are they needed now?
- What is the amount and intended purpose of the Partnership for Learning cash grant?
- What substantive changes, if any, are contained in the Hanford High School 2026 ASB Constitution?
- What future board decisions will be required after the budget hearing?
- Are any public actions expected later concerning the real-estate matter discussed in executive session?
Important Dates, Deadlines, and Next Steps
- August 11, 2026, 4:00 p.m.: Special board meeting for the budget workshop.
- August 11, 2026, 6:00 p.m.: Executive session preceding the regular meeting, covering identified personnel, legal, and real-estate matters.
- August 11, 2026, 6:30 p.m.: Regular board meeting, available in person at 6972 Keene, West Richland, and via Zoom.
- August 11, 2026: Budget hearing scheduled during regular business.
- August 11, 2026: Board discussion and decision scheduled concerning a superintendent search firm.
- August 11, 2026: Policies 5401 and 6910 are scheduled for consideration.
- August 11, 2026: Consent agenda includes personnel actions, prior meeting minutes, Hanford High School's 2026 ASB Constitution, the Partnership for Learning cash grant, and payroll and warrants.
- August 25, 2026: Referenced in the future-agenda portion of the agenda, although the supplied text does not specify the business planned for that date.
Key Takeaways
- The packet schedules a special and regular Richland School District board meeting for August 11, 2026.
- A 4:00 p.m. special meeting is devoted to a district budget workshop.
- A formal budget hearing is scheduled during the regular meeting.
- The accessible source does not provide budget dollar amounts or detailed financial assumptions.
- The board expects to discuss and decide on a superintendent search firm.
- Policy No. 5401 concerning sick leave is on the business agenda.
- Policy No. 6910 concerning construction financing is also scheduled for consideration.
- Hanford High School's 2026 ASB Constitution is included on the consent agenda.
- A Partnership for Learning cash grant is scheduled for consent approval, although its amount and purpose are not stated.
- Personnel actions and payroll and warrant approvals are also on the consent agenda.
- Public comments are limited to two minutes per person and 30 minutes overall.
- The regular meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in West Richland with a remote Zoom participation option.
Official Sources
About the Public Body
- Name: Richland School District
- Organization type: school-district
- Government body: school-boards
- Location: Benton, washington
- County: Benton
- Provider: wordpress-documents
Keywords
Richland School District, Richland School District No. 400, school board, Benton County, Washington, West Richland, August 11 2026, district budget, budget workshop, budget hearing, F195, superintendent search, superintendent search firm, Policy 5401, sick leave, Policy 6910, construction financing, Hanford High School, ASB Constitution, Associated Student Body, Partnership for Learning, cash grant, personnel actions, payroll, warrants, executive session, public comment, student representatives, district governance, school finance
