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ABC Unified trustee: district faces $6.5 million deficit after AB 218 settlements
Summary
Francisco Noyola, vice president of the ABC Unified School District board, told the Hawaiian Gardens City Council on Feb. 26 that the district faces a structural budget deficit after settling cases tied to Assembly Bill 218 totaling $6,500,000, and said declining enrollment and state budget volatility have compounded the shortfall.
Francisco Noyola, vice president of the ABC Unified School District board, told the Hawaiian Gardens City Council on Feb. 26, 2025, that the district is facing a structural budget deficit after settling legal cases tied to Assembly Bill 218 that totaled $6,500,000.
Noyola said the district's shortfall is driven by the settlements, declining student enrollment and state budget volatility. The trustee described the change as a factor that will shape the district's coming fiscal-year budget deliberations and said district leaders are reviewing spending and marketing efforts to attract students back to neighborhood schools.
Noyola highlighted recent school achievements and programs as examples of what the district is trying to preserve. He reported that boys basketball, girls soccer and boys soccer teams reached postseason rounds in CIF competition, and that elementary schools continue to run STEM labs, visual-arts programs, literacy supports, parent workshops and family nights. Noyola also thanked the City of Hawaiian Gardens for ongoing partnerships that provide students with outside-the-classroom opportunities, including the city’s student government day.
Scott Smith, identified in the meeting as the district’s director of communications, attended the council session. Noyola said he and Smith were available to answer questions from council members after the presentation.
The district gave dates for upcoming elementary events: Hawaiian Elementary’s diversity book fair on April 17; Melbourne Elementary on March 3; and Ferguson Elementary on March 25. Noyola said the district is continuing to develop its budget in light of the financial pressures he described and will provide further updates as planning proceeds.
