What is an ESD?

Educational Service District 105 supports the learning success of more than 66,000 students who attend the 25 public school districts and more than 20 state-approved private and tribal schools we serve in South Central Washington. As a service agency, our purpose is to meet the expressed needs of local school districts by coordinating and conducting cooperative programs that benefit the educational needs of the young people in the four counties we serve.

Through our cost-effective uses of leveraging resources and creating cooperatives, ESD 105 brings this region about $43 in services to schools for every $1 in state core funding our agency receives.

As one of nine ESDs in the state of Washington, ESD 105 carries out liaison activities between local school districts, the Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, and the State Board of Education. ESD 105 has approximately 300 employees, and our agency is governed by a seven-member lay board of directors.

ESD 105 implements and manages several programs and cooperatives that help schools save money while providing access to services they may not be able to offer on their own. Programs are developed based on the needs of our school districts.  Our effective resource leveraging capabilities allow us to pool public and private support to secure new resources for our region.Educational Service Districts are public entities that were created by the state of Washington in 1969 to provide cooperative services to local school districts. The expressed purpose of ESDs, as defined in statute (RCW 28A.310), is to assure equal educational opportunities for all by: providing services to school districts to ensure equity in educational opportunities; assisting the Legislature, State Board of Education, and OSPI in the performance of their duties; and providing cooperative and informational services to local school districts

ESDs are one of four pillars in Washington’s K-12 education system, which also includes local school districts, the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and the State Board of Education. 

ESDs are largely self-supporting organizations.  Unlike school districts or government agencies, which receive the majority of their funding directly from the state, ESDs are public entities that operate in a highly entrepreneurial fashion. The majority of ESD funding is actually derived from grants, cooperatives and other self-directed initiatives. Direct legislative appropriations account for only 3 percent of total ESD revenue. The remaining 97 percent is generated through other means, including federal and foundation grants, fees for services, and cooperatives.