Buena Park CFO outlines proposed 2025–26 budget, warns of enrollment decline and reserve erosion
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Summary
Chief Financial Officer Sandra Poteet presented the proposed 2025–26 budget in a public hearing, highlighting projected enrollment decline of 79 students, a 2.3% COLA for 2025–26, the elimination of Title III for 2026–27 and estimated reserve declines across the multi-year projection; the district will return to adopt the budget on June 23.
Sandra Poteet, the district’s chief financial officer, presented the proposed 2025–26 Buena Park School District budget at a public hearing and warned trustees that state and federal economic uncertainty and declining enrollment are pressuring future reserves.
"We are dealing with a lot of economic uncertainty at the state level," Poteet said, citing federal and state revenue volatility and the governor’s May revision. She said the 2025–26 cost‑of‑living adjustment (COLA) had been finalized at 2.3%, and the district projects a decline of 79 students for 2025–26.
Why it matters: The proposed budget frames staffing, programs and reserves; trustees must adopt a final budget by July 1 after the public hearing and any revisions.
Key figures and projections cited by Poteet:
- Projected enrollment decline: 79 students for 2025–26. - 2025–26 COLA: 2.3% (district staff noted this lowered earlier estimates and reduced funding compared with prior projections). - Revenue composition: Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) ~67% of general fund, federal revenues ~3%, state revenues ~18%, other local revenues ~12%. - Unrestricted personnel costs: ~79% of unrestricted expenditures. - Fund balances and reserves: total ending fund balance reported at $31,400,000; restricted ending balance just over $17,000,000; assigned/committed amounts and an identified reserve for economic uncertainties of $2,500,000. - Multiyear projection: reserve as a percent of total beginning fund balance estimated at 16.68% for the current year, falling to 12.72% in 2026–27 and 7.57% in 2027–28 under current assumptions. - Program impacts: staff noted Title III elimination would reduce funding by approximately $152,000 in 2026–27; a federal proposal to merge 18 grants could reduce total funding but details were not available.
Poteet described other fund balances: child development (Fund 12) projected to end at about $1.2 million, cafeteria fund (Fund 13) about $4.8 million, building bond fund (Fund 21) about $17.4 million, and a special reserve for capital outlay (Fund 40) about $7.7 million for June 2026. She cautioned that some one-time funds in the state budget make out‑year planning tenuous.
Legal/procedural note: the board held the hearing "pursuant to Ed Code section 42127," as read at the meeting. The CFO said adoption is scheduled for the June 23 board meeting and that a 45‑day revision would be presented in August if required by the state budget.
Board members thanked the budget team; no adoption vote occurred at the hearing. The presentation will return for formal adoption at the June 23 meeting prior to the July 1 statutory deadline.
