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Newark Unified presents midyear LCAP report as community raises questions about restricted funds
Summary
District staff delivered the required midyear LCAP monitoring presentation highlighting modest metric gains and ongoing work on actions and expenditures; community commenters asked whether more than $452,000 in LCAP funds were used to backfill programs and requested confirmation that the funds have been restored.
District staff presented Newark Unified's midyear Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) monitoring report on Feb. 3, describing progress across the district's 39 metrics and a plan to return to the board in June with revisions.
The presenter said the district has seen gains on several measures: the math baseline rose from about 35.17% to 39% and ELA results improved 5 percentage points in 2023-24. Reclassification of English learners improved modestly (from 7% to 8.5% reported for the current year), and the district noted areas that remain below targets and require further action. The presenter explained color-coding on slides to indicate metric status and outlined which LCAP actions are in progress, completed or planned.
During public comment, Cindy Parks raised a specific fiscal concern: she said a warrant and district financial reports indicate more than $452,000 of supplemental and concentration (LCAP) funds were used to backfill other program costs rather than ELOP grant funds, and she asked the board to confirm restoration of those funds. "To date, neither this midyear update nor the 25-26 LCAP, which included a recap of the 24-25 expenditures, addresses the use of the over $452,000 in LCAP funds and where there is a plan to restore those funds," Parks told the board.
Board members asked for clarifying data on A–G eligibility, which courses students are failing, and bilingual staffing for LPAC testing; district staff said assistant principals and LPAC testers are supporting ELPAC administration now and pledged to provide more detailed analysis in subsequent reports. The superintendent noted the state budget timing affected district allocations and that the midyear presentation was prepared to reflect those changes.
What happens next: the district said the LCAP committee will review and revise actions this spring, and staff will return with a revised LCAP to the board in June. Board members asked staff to provide additional detail on the alleged use of LCAP funds and to confirm whether funds have been restored or otherwise accounted for.
Speakers quoted in this article include the LCAP presenter and Cindy Parks, who requested documentation of fund restoration. The board asked for follow-up analysis on course-level A–G outcomes and bilingual staffing for testing support.
