Cartwright board approves revised 2025–26 budget after public hearing

At its September 2025 meeting, the Cartwright Elementary District Governing Board approved a revised 2025–26 annual expenditure budget after a public hearing on state funding changes and enrollment declines.

District business official Dr. Derek Etheridge told the board the state added a 2% increase to the base support level and a $75 million state aid supplement, and that those changes required the district to file a revision by Sept. 15 under state statute. "This is a public hearing for our first budget revision from the adopted budget that we adopted in June," Etheridge said, explaining the district had adopted an initial budget before the Legislature finalized the state budget.

The revision reflects three main forces: new state-level additions, lower-than-expected student attendance and an improved carryforward position. Etheridge said enrollment was lower than projected: the district was "down about 350 students" from the June adopted estimate and about 700 students compared with the prior year, which he said equates to roughly 430 weighted average daily membership (ADM) fewer than budgeted. "So that's a big…