Tacoma Public Schools has closed a $10 million budget gap without cutting a single job.

Tacoma families face larger class sizes and more split-grade classrooms this fall if the school board approves a 2026-2027 budget Thursday that closes the $10 million deficit by freezing vacant positions rather than laying off current staff.

The Tacoma Public Schools Board of Directors is scheduled to vote on the balanced budget on Thursday, June 25, at 6 p.m. in the fourth-floor auditorium of the Central Administration Building, 601 South 8th Street.

TPS Chief Financial Officer Rosalind Medina told the Tacoma News Tribune the district mitigated the shortfall without a reduction in force. "We're just not filling positions that become vacant," Medina said.

The teachers union says that approach will squeeze schools. Union president Angel Morton said the vacancy freeze will produce high class sizes and an increasing number of split classes, where one teacher instructs two grade levels simultaneously, leaving buildings with little staffing flexibility heading into fall.

The $10 million deficit is a significant improvement over the $30 million gap TPS faced in 2025-2026, when the district cut 105 provisional staff positions and eliminated elementary counselors and bilingual specialists.

The budget also sets aside $9 million to begin rebuilding reserves the district depleted last year.

Still, Medina warned the district remains financially fragile. She said TPS is less at risk of state-imposed "binding conditions" than last year but is "so close to zero that one mistake, one unexpected bill, one crazy scenario could be the nail in the coffin."

Binding conditions would require TPS to meet state financial benchmarks under oversight from the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. As of June 24, TPS does not appear on OSPI's list of districts under that status.

Roughly 82% of the district's general fund covers salaries and benefits. Insurance costs alone are budgeted at $10.7 million for the coming year. Medina said her insurance costs were "300% more than what I got from the legislature" in the most recent session, and called the funding gap "an ongoing problem."

The board meeting is open to the public. Agendas are posted at tacomaschools.org/about/school-board/meetings.