Redondo Beach Unified reports positive certification on first interim budget; reserves steady despite $6.55 million change

Dr. Annette Alpern, Deputy Superintendent for Administrative Services, presented Redondo Beach Unified School District’s first interim budget report, telling the board the document covers transactions from July 1 through Oct. 31 and updates projections the district adopted in June. “There was a change in $6,550,000 in our ending fund balance,” Alpern said, noting that $6.8 million of additional expenditures came from restricted, one-time funds.

Alpern walked trustees through how restricted dollars are excluded from the district’s operating reserves and showed the district’s ending fund balance of $32.3 million. After subtracting roughly $17 million in assigned and restricted funds, she said the board’s available reserve is about $15.3 million, or roughly 10.77% of the operating budget. Projected reserves were estimated at 9.95% and 10.08% in the following two fiscal years, she said. Alpern also cautioned that labor agreements have not been signed and therefore were not included in the projections.

Board members pressed for clarification about how transitional kindergarten (TK) and attendance figures affect funding. Alpern said although TK can generate more revenue per student at 100% attendance, actual TK attendance is typically lower and therefore tempers that benefit. The board also asked for a follow-up on assumptions tied to upcoming state COLA and the governor’s January budget proposal.

The board approved submitting the first interim report to the county and gave the district a positive certification, indicating the district is not in financial distress. The action was moved, seconded and recorded with a student advisory vote; the motion passed 5–0.

Next steps: staff will provide additional detail as the governor’s budget is released in January and will present the second interim report in March, reflecting updated revenue and expenditure estimates.