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SFUSD superintendent warns trigger cuts will force millions in reductions, transportation hit singled out
Summary
Superintendent Carlos Garcia told the board that California's budget 'trigger' means the district must plan for roughly $50 million in cuts over two years, including about $3.6 million from transportation. CSBA leaders called for distributing cuts per ADA to reduce disproportionate impacts on districts with home-to-school transport.
Superintendent Carlos Garcia opened the board meeting by laying out the district’s immediate fiscal challenge after the governor enacted a budget 'trigger.' Garcia said the trigger makes an already difficult budget picture worse and that the district must plan to absorb roughly $50 million in cuts over the next two years. He specifically flagged an estimated $3.6 million reduction in transportation funding as especially consequential for students who rely on school transport.
Garcia said the district expects to survive the current year without dramatic midyear shifts but will need to plan deeper reductions in the following two-year budgeting cycle. He thanked partners and labor for their cooperation in the district’s recent fiscal work that produced a positive first interim fiscal certification despite the statewide squeeze.
Commissioner Jill Wins, speaking in her capacity as president of the California School Boards Association, reported from a statewide coalition that the CSBA opposes further K–12 cuts and advocated distributing the $330 million in K–12 trigger cuts on a per-ADA basis. That, she said, would reduce the disproportionate burden placed on districts with substantial transportation obligations — including San Francisco Unified — and could reduce this district’s projected $5 million cut to roughly $2–3 million if enacted.
Board members expressed concern and asked staff to keep the board informed as budget forecasts evolve. Deputy Superintendent Myung Lee later provided an update in the budget committee summary (distributed to commissioners) noting a modest improvement in the state forecast but reiterating that the district remains in a difficult position.
