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New Haven Unified approves first interim budget report after finance chief flags structural deficit
Summary
At its Dec. 9 meeting the New Haven Unified board received a first interim budget update showing enrollment of 9,946 and a projected ADA of about 93.5%. Assistant Superintendent Kevin Franklin warned of a structural deficit despite a near‑term LCFF revenue increase and an unexpected $1 million liability invoice; trustees approved the interim report.
Kevin Franklin, the district’s assistant superintendent for business, presented New Haven Unified’s first interim budget update, using data through Oct. 31 and warning trustees that the district remains in structural deficit despite near‑term revenue gains.
“This is our latest LCFF revenue calculation,” Franklin said, noting an increase of about $3.3 million driven largely by a TK add‑on. He told the board the district’s October CALPADS submission showed enrollment of 9,946 — roughly two students above the projection — and that average daily attendance remains about 93.5 percent. “We’re still well over our 3 percent requirement, but I do wanna caution that we are deficit spending and do have a structural deficit that we will have to address in the future,” Franklin said.
Franklin reviewed revenue and expenditure drivers: the Legislative Analyst Office’s current estimate for cost‑of‑living adjustments (COLA) is about 2.51 percent (down from 3.2 percent used earlier), PERS employer contribution rates were adjusted slightly downward for the out years, and the district absorbed an unanticipated approximately $1,000,000 invoice from Self (an excess liability insurer) tied to statewide settlement true‑ups. He also said the state’s TK add‑on and a full year of expanded TK eligibility accounted for the bulk of the LCFF increase recorded in the first‑interim comparison.
Trustees asked how the district plans to improve ADA. Franklin described new attendance‑recovery options in the governor’s budget that allow hourly increments of make‑up attendance (not limited to Saturday school) and can be delivered through after‑school, intersession or summer programs — but he cautioned those interventions must be supervised by certificated teachers and can be complicated to implement and to document.
After the presentation trustees approved the 2025–26 first interim report and multiyear budget projections for 2026 in a voice vote. Franklin said the board will receive the second interim update in March, which will incorporate COLA finalization in April and updated ADA figures through Jan. 31.
The board directed staff to continue monitoring enrollment and ADA recovery efforts and to return with updates at the March interim presentation.
