Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the District Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board adopts budget guidelines as CBO warns of COLA, SELPA-driven pressures that could force general-fund cuts
Summary
Trustees approved budget guidelines for 2026–27 as the district's chief business official warned that a lower COLA and a county SELPA accounting shortfall could reduce revenues roughly $1.2 million and raise district contributions; staff said cuts would target central office supplies and travel before school-site programs.
Los Banos Unified trustees voted Feb. 11 to adopt budget guidelines and assumptions for 2026–27 after a presentation from the district's chief business official that outlined potential revenue pressures and a county SELPA shortfall.
The CBO said reductions to the state cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) have direct effects on general-fund revenue and cited a projected drop that translated to an estimated $1.2 million loss to the district under the scenario discussed in the meeting. The CBO said the district is planning for a worst-case scenario while trying to avoid cuts at school sites.
"With that COLA drop, we lost $1,200,000," the district finance lead said. He added that general-fund reductions would be focused on office supplies, conference/travel budgets and other central-office discretionary spending rather than site programs.
Trustees pressed staff about a county SELPA accounting revision that surfaced recently. According to the presentation and follow-up discussion, the county SELPA previously balanced budgets in part by counting unfilled positions; a recent change in county accounting and staffing meant the SELPA reported a larger deficit and announced a plan that could require districts to cover a share of the shortfall. The CBO described a projected district-level exposure that initially had an $730,000 estimate and was later revised to roughly $430,000 for Los Banos, although he said county leaders were exploring different approaches, including backfilling the cost this year and proposing multi-year repayment plans.
Superintendent Doctor Ritchie and trustees said they expected ongoing dialogue with the county and emphasized that the district would prefer to protect school-site budgets.
"This is the worst case scenario," the CBO said. "I'd rather bring that to you now than come to you at budget development and say, 'look I cut and I didn't tell you.'"
Board members asked for more detail on which budgets would be trimmed if the scenario holds. The CBO repeatedly emphasized that the school sites and direct student services would be preserved where possible and that proposed reductions would first target administrative supplies and travel.
Why it matters: School-district budgets depend on state COLA projections and county allocations for shared services like SELPA. Sudden changes at the county level or lower-than-expected COLA figures can force districts to reassign ongoing spending plans or reduce central operations to maintain site-level services.
What's next: Staff will present a second interim budget reflecting the latest COLA and SELPA information at future hearings and return with more specific development-level proposals if forecasts do not improve.
