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Milpitas Unified staff present $4M plan of savings and revenue to avoid deep cuts
Summary
A cross‑staff collaboration team proposed a two‑year cost‑management plan for Milpitas Unified that identifies $1.2 million in recurring savings and $1.6 million in potential new revenue, and recommends vacancy review and revenue strategies such as grant writing and site sponsorships to avoid more drastic reductions.
A collaboration team of Milpitas Unified staff presented a set of recommendations to the school board aimed at identifying savings and generating new revenue so the district does not resort to large layoffs or school closures.
The team estimated $1.2 million in budget reductions and $1.6 million in revenue opportunities across 2026–28, saying those proposals together with identified reductions would approach roughly $4 million if fully realized. "We estimate, for achieving the savings ... including reducing our EdTech tool contracts and all of the schools working to have a 10% savings in the budget, that we could achieve a savings of 1,200,000," a presenter told the board.
The proposals fall into three buckets: reduce or renegotiate vendor contracts and noncontract stipends; redesign positions and limits on filling vacancies to realize savings through attrition; and expand locally controlled revenue streams. Concrete examples included eliminating noncontract stipends, halving professional development costs, reusing Chromebooks for early grades instead of buying new devices, and cutting the practice of offering "floater" substitute positions. Revenue ideas included hiring a dedicated grant writer to pursue state, federal and private grants; selling advertising or sponsorships on marquees and field fences with site‑level revenue sharing; charging for parking at weekend events where outside groups use district facilities; expanding fee‑based adult or summer classes; and a districtwide donation portal with a QR code.
Board members pressed staff on implementation detail and timing. Presenters said many recommendations are near‑term and meant to become recurring practice (vacancy review and a "position vacancy analysis"), while some revenue options will require policy changes and site‑level agreements. The team emphasized protecting direct student supports, saying they prioritized options intended to "do the very least disruption" to the learner support ecosystem.
Next steps: staff will bring a set of recommended actions to the next board meeting for formal approval and provide follow‑up details on the vacancy analysis and how revenue pilots would be structured.
