The Lakeside Union Elementary School District presented its 2024‑25 second interim financial report and warned trustees that continued reliance on one‑time state and federal funding could force cuts to classroom supports.

Assistant Superintendent Lisa Davies told the board the state budget outlook is uncertain and that the district remains in “Tier 1” (Test 1) funding for now, but that factors such as delayed tax receipts, stock‑market volatility and pending decisions on cost‑of‑living adjustments and transitional kindergarten funding pose risks to next year’s budget. “There’s some risk to next year’s state budget,” Davies said during her presentation.

The report projects about $71 million in general fund revenue and anticipates roughly $82 million in general fund expenditures this year, with salaries and benefits comprising the bulk of expenses. Davies said the district’s unrestricted ending fund balance meets the state reserve requirement and is currently projected at about 3.42 percent, but that the figure could shift depending on how much of planned expenditures actually occur before year‑end.

Trustees pressed staff on how to avoid cutting positions that target student learning. Several trustees and members of the public urged the board to prioritize keeping the district’s learning‑loss and learning resource teachers, which trustees said have supported academic recovery after the pandemic. A trustee who spoke at length called the potential reduction of roughly 34 full‑time learning support staff — including six classroom learning resource teachers — “a big hit” and asked the board to explore options to retain those roles before adopting the budget.

Board members and staff discussed constraints on funding sources. Several speakers noted that restricted funds are tied to specific programs and cannot be repurposed for general classroom staffing without meeting statutory requirements. Davies and other staff recommended a district study session to set clearer board priorities and budget assumptions — for example, a target reserve percentage, ordering of program cuts, and which LCAP goals should be protected as staff prepare the adopted budget in June.

Trustees voted to accept the second interim financial report as presented and directed staff to return with refinements and to schedule a budget study session to align board priorities and LCAP commitments with budget scenarios.

The board will continue monitoring the governor’s budget, proposed one‑time discretionary grants and changes to TK funding that could affect Lakeside’s staffing and classroom plans before the district adopts a final 2025‑26 budget.