Auditors found the 17-year-old system relies heavily on manual workarounds, outdated infrastructure and a small group of longtime employees to keep it functioning.
OLYMPIA, Wash. — A new audit from the Washington State Auditor’s Office warns that the decades-old computer system used to distribute billions in school funding across the state is outdated, vulnerable and at risk of failure.
The audit examined the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction’s (OSPI) apportionment system, which calculates funding for more than 300 school districts, charter schools and tribal schools serving roughly 1 million students. Auditors found the 17-year-old system relies heavily on manual workarounds, outdated infrastructure and a small group of longtime employees to keep it functioning.
State Auditor Pat McCarthy said the system’s complexity and age create significant risks while OSPI works toward a replacement, expected around the 2028-29 school year.
“They determined that the system is extremely vulnerable to the point that they use the term catastrophic failure,” McCarthy said, referencing a third-party review commissioned by OSPI.
Among the audit’s findings:
– The core system is supported by eight feeder systems operating on the same infrastructure
– Funding calculations require 128 “input values” and 119 layers of “calculation detail”
– OSPI lacks some controls designed to prevent accidental or intentional data modification
– Much of the system’s operation depends on institutional knowledge rather than documented procedures
Auditors said the state has already provided funding for OSPI to begin replacing the system but warned the agency should improve documentation and cross-training in the meantime to reduce the risk of disruptions.
“This is how … over 300 school districts, if you add the tribal schools and charter schools into the mix, get their money,” McCarthy said. “There are some things that we think they should do while they’re in the process of getting a new system.”
The State Auditor’s Office said the full report includes recommendations aimed at improving reliability and reducing the risk of system failures before a replacement is completed.
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