Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
As part of the effort to make the school district financially solvent, the district has listed the teachers' cottage property.
PRESCOTT - The Prescott School District is at risk of dissolution after ending the 2022-23 school year in a deficit. Since then, the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction has placed Binding Conditions on the district, allowing OSPI and ESD 123 to help restore financial health within two years.
After additional liabilities were identified, the district was unable to meet year-end requirements for the 2024-25 year.
At a school board meeting in September 2025, Shawn Lewis from OSPI informed the district that its financial situation was worse than previously thought. To avoid the possibility of dissolution, the district would need to find nearly $1 million in additional funding.
The board has identified three paths to raise the funds by selling surplus property (including the Teachers Cottage), passing a levy, and successfully lobbying the state legislature to provide funds to the district.
The Prescott and Walla Walla Valley communities have stepped up to help raise money with a variety of fundraisers. The most recent is a partnership with the College Place Panda Express for a fundraising event on Sunday, November 16, 2025.
The Panda Express restaurant in College Place will donate 20% of the proceeds from meals purchased by Prescott's supporters on November 16. Diners can order at PandaExpress.com or on the Panda Express app and enter "3850796" in the fundraiser code box.
Diners can also participate by bringing a paper flyer or showing a photo of one on their phone. Flyers are available on the Prescott School District Facebook page.
More ways to donate to the "Save the Prescott Schools" fundraising efforts:
Write an email to Shawn Lewis at the OSPI financial department at shawn.lewis@k12wa.us.
Send a donation check, marked for the general budget, directly to the Prescott School District at P.O. Box 65, Prescott, WA. 99348
Claim a Brick for display at the school for a minimum donation of $100. Checks should be mailed to the United Way, P.O. Box 1134, 13 1/2 E. Main St., Ste. 212, Walla Walla, WA.
Enjoy a meal at Panda Express anytime on Sunday, November 16. Bring a flyer or order online at PandaExpress.com and enter "3850796."
Attend the spaghetti feed on December 8 at the Prescott School multi-purpose room, beginning at 5 p.m. Admission is by donation. There will be a raffle and a Christmas ornament sale. Donations of ornaments and raffle basket items can be arranged with Joan Helms at (509) 386-2552.
Fundraising results to date total $60,000:
Prescott Education Association silent auction – $12,000
Prescott PTO-Fall Festival –$5,000
Prescott PTO-Tuxedo Restaurant and Bar band and silent auction – $11,000
Prescott Education Association Brick Sale – $22,000 and still open
Direct donations and the sale of property – over $10,000
The Prescott School Baord meets on the fourth Thursdays of the month at the Prescott School Multi-Purpose, room 401.
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