Central Union holds public hearing on 2025–26 budget; projects $9.34 million deficit and declining reserves

The Central Union High School District held a public hearing June 10, as required by the California Education Code, on its 2025–26 adopted budget and multi-year projections. District staff presented revenue, expenditure and enrollment assumptions that produced a projected general-fund deficit of $9,342,721 for 2025–26 and declining reserves in the multi-year projection.

The presenter outlined planning factors used to prepare the budget: a statutory COLA of 2.3% for 2025–26 (down from an earlier 2.9% estimate), projected enrollment of about 4,055 students and an estimated funded average daily attendance (ADA) of 3,849.83. Those assumptions produced an LCFF (Local Control Funding Formula) projection and a general-fund plan that includes contributions to special education, migrant education and routine restricted maintenance (the district must match routine restricted maintenance at roughly 3% of general-fund expenditures).

On the restricted side of the budget, staff projected decreases in federal and state restricted revenues, reflecting declines in one-time grants and carryover funds. The presenter also described staffing and expenditure adjustments: modest increases in certificated salaries to reflect step-and-column adjustments, reductions in classified-salary budgeting aligned to vacancies, and cuts to services and operating expenditures (an estimated $916,927 reduction) where projects did not materialize in the prior year.

The staff presentation summarized that the district’s estimated reserve would be 10.49% for 2025–26, decline to 7.87% for 2026–27 and to 4.10% for 2027–28 — above the state’s minimum 3% but trending downward. The presenter advised continued monitoring and actions to increase ADA and control expenditures. Trustees and staff discussed outreach to increase attendance and earlier site-level budgeting adjustments, including reduced site and athletic budgets for 2025–26.

The board opened and closed the public hearing during the meeting. The transcript documents discussion and questions between trustees and staff but does not record a formal roll-call vote adopting the budget within the provided excerpt; the hearing was held as required under Education Code 42127.

The budget presentation and multi-year projections are included in the board packet. Staff emphasized the need to raise ADA (the difference between headcount enrollment and funded ADA was discussed) and to prioritize cost-saving measures before they affect staffing. The district also noted availability of one-time learning-recovery/emergency block grant funds to pay for some programs in the near term.

Next steps noted in the presentation included continued monitoring of enrollment in July and August (when ADA is finalized), regular interim budget updates to the board and site-based outreach to reduce chronic absenteeism.