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Valley Center board reviews budget workshop, proposes flat mill levy for fiscal 2026
Summary
District finance staff presented a multi-fund budget overview and recommended keeping the district’s total mill levy flat at 58.252 for fiscal 2026; presenters outlined fund structures, a projected enrollment near 3,209, an assessed-valuation increase, and cost pressures such as rising insurance and bus prices.
District finance staff presented a budget workshop outlining the district’s multi-fund structure and recommended keeping the total mill levy flat for fiscal 2026.
Susan (district finance staff) walked trustees through the main operating funds — the general fund (state aid and salaries), the LOB/supplemental fund, the special-ed coop fund, capital outlay, and several special-revenue and federal funds — and explained the account and function coding used in board reports. She said the general fund remains the district’s primary operating account and described how state aid, weightings (at-risk, CTE, ESOL, transportation), and local option budget authority feed into the fund structure.
Susan and Greg Lear noted enrollment reporting currently at about 3,209 students and that the largest kindergarten class ever enrolled 212 students. The presenters said assessed valuation for the district rose roughly 11.8% compared with the prior year and that the state base per-pupil amount is projected at about $5,618, an increase tied to the consumer-price-index adjustment.
On costs, staff emphasized rising operating pressures: property-casualty insurance premiums in the region have increased substantially in recent years, district staff wages and benefits have risen, and vehicle and equipment prices (including buses) and some food-service costs have jumped. Susan explained capital outlay budgeting practices and said the district is using bond proceeds and excess bond funds to reduce the capital outlay mill levy while keeping the total levy flat.
No formal budget adoption occurred tonight; trustees will get published notices and hold required hearings before the board is scheduled to adopt the budget at the September meeting. Susan said certain fund projections are intentionally budgeted high to avoid republishing and to maintain spending authority.
Trustees asked clarifying questions about contingency reserves, the virtual-education fund, and how transfers are handled; staff said the district typically budgets conservatively and will publish required notices ahead of the formal adoption process.
What’s next: required public notices and a revenue-neutral hearing will be published; the board is expected to consider budget adoption at its September meeting.
