Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Banning Unified reports improved enrollment, positive second-interim certification
Summary
District staff reported enrollment above projections and an unrestricted general fund surplus after excluding one-time items; the board approved the second interim financial report and heard projections tied to state COLA forecasts and potential one-time funds.
Banning Unified School District finance staff told trustees on March 13 that enrollment and average daily attendance had improved and that the district is in a stronger financial position than a year ago.
In the second interim financial update, staff reported actual enrollment of about 4,290 students (exceeding a June 2024 projection of 4,275) and said average daily attendance (ADA) rose from 91.5% to 92.4%. Finance staff presented combined general fund figures that included $88 million in revenues and $96 million in expenditures; the higher expenditures largely reflect spending down restricted, one-time carryover funds. When one-time revenues and expenditures are excluded, staff said the unrestricted general fund showed a $700,000 surplus for the current year.
Why it matters: The second interim certification signals the board that the district expects to meet its financial obligations. Staff also described multiyear projections that reflected enrollment gains and assumed a normalization of the state cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) over the next three years; the board approved the second interim report by a 5–0 vote.
Staff noted several one-time items in revenue and expenditure lines (including $2.6 million in one-time interest earnings and about $6.4 million in one-time expenditures) and said upcoming state actions (the governor’s May revision) will clarify final COLA assumptions. The district reported carrying forward restricted balances while also using some one-time revenues to settle labor negotiations and to fund technology and textbook adoption plans.
The board asked clarifying questions about where interest income may be spent (staff said unrestricted interest is one-time and may be used broadly) and about next steps; staff said the district will return with the preliminary budget in June after the May revision and continuing the LCAP development process.
What’s next: The board approved the second interim financial report and staff will bring budget updates in May and a preliminary budget in June as state budget assumptions firm up.
