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Monrovia Unified outlines options to cut roughly $12 million over two years to meet county fiscal directives
Summary
Superintendent Dr. Hart Rodis told the board that county guidance requires $3.8 million in reductions by 2025–26 and about $6.2 million more by 2026–27 (roughly $10 million additional), pushing the district to consider rightsizing staff, program consolidation, benefit restructuring and school consolidation; staff described steps already taken and promised a November plan.
Monrovia Unified district leaders on Oct. 9 told the school board they must make substantial budget reductions to meet county requirements and preserve minimum reserves, laying out options the board will consider ahead of a November reporting deadline.
Superintendent Dr. Hart Rodis said the county's most recent guidance increased the district's required cuts from an initial $3.2 million projection to roughly $3.8 million by 2025–26 and an additional roughly $6.2 million by 2026–27, meaning multi‑year reductions in the neighborhood of $10 million beyond recent reductions already taken.
District staff attributed the pressure to three structural forces: steadily declining enrollment (about 2% per year over the last decade), the end of COVID hold‑harmless aid that temporarily propped up funded ADA and a rise in fixed employer costs — notably STRS and PERS pension contributions and health benefit increases. Staff estimated STRS employer costs near $6.0 million this year and PERS employer costs at roughly 27.5% of payroll, with health benefit cost increases adding materially to the general fund burden.
To close gaps, staff presented steps already executed: limiting replacements for resignations, administrative position reductions, shifting appropriate personnel costs to categorical grants (for example, portions of after‑school staff to ELOP), reducing professional development contracting and scrutinizing extra hours and summer program offerings. District leaders said hiring classified personnel to reduce reliance on higher‑cost agencies was another source of savings.
To reach the larger multi‑year reductions, staff offered a menu of potential actions for board consideration: a formal reduction in force aligned to enrollment (rightsizing certificated/classified staffing), combining or consolidating programs at the high school, grade‑span reconfiguration (TK–6 or TK–8), school consolidation, capping or restructuring health benefit contributions, and limiting district‑funded transportation to only legally mandated routes for special education.
Many of those options would require bargaining with unions or a year‑long public process; staff stressed the district must present LACOE (county) with a plan framework by the November board meeting but that specific site closure or program cancellation decisions would follow extended processes if the board chose those paths.
Board members asked for clear, public communication ("roadshows") to explain the fiscal drivers and tradeoffs. The superintendent and finance team said they would provide detailed cost estimates, scenario modeling and an LACOE template enumerating reductions and timelines at the Nov. 13 meeting. The board extended the meeting to continue questions and indicated urgency in public education about the fiscal realities.
