Beverly Hills Unified presents 2025–26 budget, launches plan for districtwide tutoring after state test results

The Beverly Hills Unified School District held public hearings June 10 on the 2025–26 Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) and on the proposed 2025–26 budget and used the session to flag a districtwide academic support initiative.

Dr. Dustin Hasty, chief business officer, presented the district’s estimated actuals and proposed budget. Hasty told the board the district is “basic‑aid” in property tax revenue and reported estimated property tax receipts of roughly $72 million for 2024–25, with a conservative projection of about $75 million for 2025–26. He said the district’s combined general fund revenues are projected at about $102 million and that the projected deficit spending is shrinking: estimated deficit spending for the current year is down from earlier projections to about $6.3 million, and the 2025–26 budget adoption projects deficit spending of about $4.6 million.

The budget presentation outlined multi‑year projections and reserves and noted both the possibility of a 45‑day revision if state actions cause material changes and the district’s plan to monitor property tax receipts when August figures are final. The board held the required public hearings on the LCAP and the budget and took public comment; no members of the public addressed the LCAP at the hearing and the budget hearing likewise closed with no public testimony on specific budget items.

Superintendent Dr. John Chernis used the meeting to outline a new district tutoring initiative aimed at students not at grade level in English and math. The district’s state測 (California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress) data, Chernis said, show about 68% of students at or above grade level in English and about 57% in math districtwide; more than 1,000 students across the district were identified as below grade level. Chernis said the district plans to present the board with a budget request and a program plan in late summer. The proposal’s core points: prioritize paid after‑school tutoring by district teachers (small groups or one‑on‑one), supplement with vetted vendors (for example SWING substitute/provider services and remote tutoring services such as AIR Tutors) where staffing or scheduling demands require it, and focus initial interventions on grades 3–8 with an October launch and programming through May.

“We will provide at least one hour a week of free tutoring for every student not at grade level,” Chernis said, and added the district will request funding and return to the board with a detailed plan and estimated costs. The district said teachers would be paid for after‑school instruction when possible and that summer‑school and before/after‑school programs would be coordinated to avoid duplication.

Why it matters: the budget shows the district is managing down a projected deficit while planning a targeted instructional investment to address below‑grade‑level performance in core subjects. The tutoring initiative will require a supplemental budget request and district‑school coordination if approved.

Next steps: the board will adopt a final budget by the statutory July 1 deadline (the meeting materials said board approval would occur the next scheduled meeting), and staff will return with a costed tutoring plan for board consideration and possible funding approval.