District finance chief presents November FY‑26 amendment, cites $177.6M budget reduction as state routes charter TISA payments directly
Summary
CFO Chief Langston presented a November FY‑26 amendment that lowers the district’s total budget by $177,615,007, largely because state TISA dollars are being routed directly to charter schools; staff outlined fund adjustments, grant true‑ups and the addition of targeted positions funded by federal and special grants.
Chief Langston presented a November FY‑26 budget amendment that would reduce the district’s overall budget from $2,018,542,823 to $1,840,927,816 — a $177,615,007 decrease. He told the Budget, Finance and Audit Committee the general fund is decreasing by $155,057,936 because the state portion of TISA is now being paid directly to charter schools rather than processed through the district as a pass‑through.
“Now that the state portion of TISA is going directly to charter schools... we’re decreasing the revenues and expenditures for the direct payment that goes to charter schools, not as a pass through anymore,” Chief Langston said. He emphasized the amendment reflects accounting and grant true‑ups after the district closed fiscal year spending and received updated state allocations.
Langston laid out fund‑level changes: a small increase in the capital improvement fund for planned use of fund balance, net decreases in special revenue funds after truing up grant expenditures, and a $17.6 million reduction in federal grant estimates tied to prior‑year spending and final awards (including ESSER and IDEA adjustments). He also confirmed the district received partial Head Start transition funds but not the full award originally budgeted.
The presentation listed new positions included as part of the amendment: additional attendance and discipline advisers, data analysts (including for exceptional children), safety and security monitors and staff for a planned real‑time safety center, plus homeless‑liaison positions funded from Title I set‑asides and other grant sources. Langston said the district plans to add the positions transparently and bring necessary fund‑1 positions to the board for approval.
Board members questioned whether the district will still receive some local charter funding and how true‑ups operate when charter schools close or gain enrollment. Langston said the local portion remains and that state true‑ups occur at the state level; if a charter closes, the next‑year funding rollbacks are handled in state calculations.
Langston answered multiple budget clarity questions and acknowledged the presentational nature of an amendment: “When we do our budget in June, we have to align our grants to the state… after October, we now know the true amount of what our grants are, and now we’re truing up those grants.” The committee did not record a final vote on the amendment in the meeting transcript; staff said amendments and any required resolutions will be presented in upcoming board sessions.
