Monrovia Unified board affirms positive first-interim, presses for clearer budget breakdowns

Monrovia Unified School District trustees approved a positive certification of the district's first interim financial report after a lengthy presentation and follow-up questioning from board members.

The report, presented by the district's chief business officer, showed a multi-year picture the board must use to "meet our financial obligations," and highlighted a 16% enrollment decline since 2016'17 and a projected erosion of unrestricted fund balance without continued rightsizing. The presentation said the district's ending fund balance is higher than originally projected due to increases in restricted revenues and reimbursements, but staff warned unrestricted reserves will decline over the next two years unless actions are taken.

Why it matters: enrollment and revenue changes drive staffing and program choices; trustees sought clearer accounting before moving forward on difficult choices such as school consolidation and workforce adjustments.

Board members pressed district fiscal staff for more transparent line-item detail and asked for specific answers about several large swings in the interim figures. Trustee Celine Lockerbie asked for a plain-language breakdown of the $6 million listed as "other committed funds," saying she needed to know where those dollars sit in Fund 1. Trustee Daniel Gomez Tagle pressed for the same, noting the board is being asked to approve commitments totaling millions.

The board also focused on recent payroll fluctuations. Trustees asked why payroll-related expenditures in a recent 30-day window were nearly $1 million higher than the comparable period last year. Fiscal staff and the director of fiscal services explained that three factors are responsible: (1) retroactive salary payments issued this year, (2) step-and-column and negotiated salary increases, and (3) replacement of several agency-contracted positions with internal hires that carry different salary/benefit profiles. Glenda Herrera, director of fiscal services, said the district will provide payroll-cycle detail and the specific retroactive amounts upon request.

"We will provide you with a breakdown of those salaries," Herrera told the board. Trustees asked staff to produce a short supplemental report that lists where the other committed funds are recorded (object codes and fund subaccounts), the total value of retroactive payroll checks by cycle, and a comparative cost analysis of internal hires versus agency contracts.

Staff also described how the district uses restricted funds and reimbursements (for example, insurers or state grants) and why those show up as local revenues when money is returned to the district. The report showed the district has earmarked funds to protect against federal or state changes and to maintain reserves for economic uncertainty; trustees said they wanted clearer, accessible reporting for board members and the public.

Next steps: the board adopted the interim with a positive certification (4-1; one abstention). Staff committed to providing the payroll and fund-location reports requested by trustees, an analysis of the fiscal impact of converting contracted positions to district employees, and a clearer explanation of which reserves and assignments are committed versus unassigned.

Context: The first interim report is used by county and state officials to certify a district's near-term fiscal health. Monrovia Unified officials said they will continue multiyear projections and bring a second interim after the governor's initial budget in January.

Ending: The board agreed to keep the items under review and directed staff to return with the requested supplemental reports before major staffing or consolidation decisions were finalized.