Beaumont Unified explains how LCAP and LCFF channel state funding into classrooms

A presenter for Beaumont Unified explained how state school funding flows into district classrooms and how community feedback shapes the district’s spending priorities.

The presenter said California’s Local Control Funding Formula, or LCFF, provides three main streams— a base grant for every student, a supplemental grant that adds roughly 20% per high-need student, and a concentration grant for districts with many high-need students. The presenter framed the district’s Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) as a three-year, public roadmap that connects those state dollars to goals set with parents, staff and students.

"That plan is called the Local Control and Accountability Plan or LCAP for short," the presenter said, adding that the district treats the LCAP as "our 3 year road map, a public commitment that connects every single state dollar directly to the goals we set together as a community."

The presenter defined high-need students as English learners, students from low-income families and foster youth, and said nearly 69% of Beaumont’s students fall into that group. Because of that student makeup, the presenter said the district uses supplemental and concentration funding to target supports for those students.

As an example of how community input becomes budgeted work, the presenter said parents, students and staff repeatedly called for more mental-health and social-emotional services. "Because you identified that need, the district created a specific action in the LCAP. And look at that number. The district dedicated over $1,700,000 for the upcoming school year to provide things like behavioral health therapists and support specialists," the presenter said.

On accountability, the presenter pointed to recent results the district ties to LCAP-funded programs: a 10.2% decline in chronic absenteeism last year and a reported high school graduation rate of 94.5%. The presenter framed those figures as examples of how the plan’s funded actions are evaluated for impact.

The presenter also described the public process used to shape the LCAP—parent advisory committees, school site councils, community forums, districtwide surveys and direct conversations with students and staff—and urged continued participation. "Every single voice adds value to the conversation," the presenter said, and the presenter noted the LCAP is reviewed and updated each year.

The video closes by inviting community members to join school site councils, attend advisory meetings, watch for surveys or speak with principals to influence future budget and program decisions.