Daly City School Board approves unaudited actuals showing $2.4 million net deficit for 2024–25

The Daly City School District Board of Trustees on an unanimous vote approved the district's unaudited actuals for the 2024'25 fiscal year, which show a net decrease in the general fund of about $2.4 million and an ending fund balance of just over $22 million. Deputy Superintendent of Business Services Tina Van Rapphorst summarized the report to trustees: "Before you tonight is our unaudited actuals report submitted for your approval. This report is called unaudited actuals because it reflects our actual spending for 2425 school year, but it has yet to be audited." She said the district began the year with about $24.5 million, recorded roughly $86 million in revenue and spent about $88.5 million over the course of the year. Van Rapphorst provided a fund-by-fund breakdown, saying the district has about $6 million in restricted carryover, roughly $1.8 million in multi-year commitments and over $14 million in reserves; about $7 million of the reserves represents the 8% reserve required by board policy and roughly $7.3 million is unassigned. "Our revenue came in slightly higher than budgeted, and our expenditures came in slightly lower than budgeted," she said, noting the combined result left the district with a smaller-than-budgeted net change. The deputy superintendent warned that two programs will likely need reductions: adult education and the cafeteria (child nutrition) program. She said the district contributed more than $641,000 from the general fund to adult education this year, including about $400,000 because of federal funding shortfalls and the remainder due to overstaffing. She said the cafeteria program ran about a $560,000 deficit, roughly $300,000 of which was tied to staffing levels and the rest to one-time equipment grants that have been exhausted. "We'may need to consider layoffs in the spring for both the adult education program and the food service program," she told the board. Van Rapphorst described other funds: Fund 17 (special reserve) ended with about $1.2 million (about 1.38% toward the board policy target), and fund transfers will be considered at first interim; Fund 21 (building fund) shows an ending balance of about $104 million earmarked for the Jefferson gym and pool project; Fund 25 (capital facilities) is funded by developer fees and typically collects roughly $300,000'$400,000 annually, though that varies; Fund 603 contains the Daly City Youth Health Center (ending balance about $847,000) and employee housing (about $5 million). Van Rapphorst said the district will submit the unaudited actuals to the county office of education for review and then to the state department of education. In discussion trustees asked clarifying questions about food sourcing and inflation; Van Rapphorst said the district already prioritizes local sourcing and monitors prices. Trustees then moved and approved the unaudited actuals; Van Rapphorst said the next formal budget update will be the first interim report in December. Ending: The board's approval of the unaudited actuals completes the year-end close process; potential staffing reductions in adult education and food services were identified as a budget-management step to address ongoing operating deficits and will return to the board in future budget reports.