District details 202526ndash;26 adopted-budget assumptions, flags state "settle up" and deferral risks

Fullerton Joint Union High School District officials reviewed the 202526ndash;26 adopted-budget assumptions and multiyear projections, telling trustees the plan relies on a three-year rolling average for average daily attendance and includes the recently negotiated tentative agreements with certificated and management groups.

Chief Business Official Ruben Hernandez said the district's LCFF (Local Control Funding Formula) revenue estimate is about $182.9 million and total revenues including other state and federal dollars are roughly $235 million. He reported an estimated combined ending fund balance near $77.9 million and described the adopted budget as a planned deficit driven in part by one-time federal funds being spent down.

Hernandez highlighted several fiscal risks: the governor's "settle up" approach to Proposition 98 funding, which withholds some dollars pending final true-ups; historical deferral practices; a SISC health-and-welfare update showing a roughly 9.5 percent increase in premiums; and state-driven pension (STRS/PERS) obligations that the district cannot control. He also noted declining enrollment projections used in the model (a projected drop of about 250 students moving into the next year and a -200 figure in out years) and the district's conservative ADA (average daily attendance) assumptions of about 95 percent going forward.

Trustees acknowledged the distinction between a planned deficit and an unmanageable structural shortfall and thanked staff for framing the assumptions. One trustee urged constituents to contact state representatives about funding maneuvers that reduce predictable local revenue.

Hernandez said the adopted budget will be recommended for board approval at the June 10 meeting; the district will submit the adopted budget to the Orange County Department of Education and continue to monitor the state budget process.