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Robla board certifies second interim budget as enrollment declines and federal funding lags
Summary
Trustees unanimously approved the 2024–25 second interim report with a positive certification while staff warned of declining enrollment, federal funding uncertainty and planned deficit spending in restricted programs.
Robla School District Board President DeLuis and district business staff presented the district’s 2024 second interim report and recommended a positive certification for the general fund. Board members voted unanimously to approve the report.
The presentation summarized key budget drivers, enrollment trends and program funding. The staff presenter said the district’s total unrestricted general fund is about $28.9 million, of which roughly $27.1 million comes from the Local Control Funding Formula. Combined district revenue was presented at about $37.9 million, with combined expenditures around $41.8 million and unrestricted expenditures near $23.3 million. The presenter said staffing accounts for about 83% of unrestricted expenditures.
Business staff told trustees the district has been in declining enrollment for the last several years and that the district lost 28 students from last year to this year — a decline the presenter said reduces revenue by more than $400,000. The presenter said federal CARES funding ended Sept. 30, 2024, and flagged uncertainty about future federal funds. The presenter told the board that the district expects to use some restricted one-time funds (for example, learning recovery and student support block grants) during 2024–25 and that those one-time funds are not included in baseline assumptions for 2025–26.
Staff described other specific items that are not in the 2025–26 budget assumptions: one-time block grants for student support and learning recovery, a transitional-kindergarten staffing ratio change, and bargaining outcomes that remain unsettled. The presenter also said the city of Sacramento will transfer management of an After School Education and Safety (ACES) grant to the district; the presentation listed that ACES grant at about $750,000 pending transfer.
Board members asked about the need for additional meetings if the May Revise produces significant budget changes and about statutory deadlines (for example, March 15 notices) that limit some personnel steps. Business staff said the district will attend a May Revise workshop and that the 2025–26 budget and Local Control Accountability Plan will be prepared on the May Revise assumptions.
The board then voted to approve the second interim report with a positive certification, meaning staff concluded the district can meet its financial obligations for the current and following two years under the assumptions presented. The motion carried unanimously.
