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Perris Union superintendent says district closed last year with $6 million surplus but faces roughly $4 million shortfall for 2025–26
Summary
Superintendent Jose Arauks told the Perris Union High School District its financial controls turned a projected shortfall into a $6 million surplus for 2024–25, but officials now project a roughly $4 million gap for 2025–26 and plan cost and revenue actions including a SERP expected to yield about $1.6 million annually.
Superintendent Jose Arauks said the Perris Union High School District closed the 2024–25 school year with a $6,000,000 surplus after earlier projections had shown a $4,000,000 deficit, and warned the district faces a projected $10,000,000 shortfall for 2025–26 that the prior surplus reduces to a roughly $4,000,000 gap.
“That didn't happen by accident or by chance,” Arauks said, attributing the turnaround to “disciplined planning, careful monitoring of expenditures, and thoughtful prioritization of our resources,” and adding the district will continue to protect classroom instruction and essential student services.
Arauks told the audience the district will pursue both expense-management and revenue strategies. One revenue tool he cited is a supplemental employee retirement plan (SERP), which he said is projected to generate about $1,600,000 per year over the next five years while also supporting long-serving employees as they transition to retirement.
The superintendent said the district is addressing the coming shortfall through collaborative planning that includes a superintendent's budget advisory committee and consultation with staff, parents, students and union partners. Arauks also announced the district reached agreements this year on compensation and health-and-welfare arrangements with four union associations, which he characterized as reinforcing stability.
Attendance gains are part of the district's financial and instructional strategy, Arauks said: attendance rose from 88.5% in 2023–24 to 90.65% in 2024–25, and the district has set a 94% attendance goal for the current year. Arauks linked attendance to both student opportunity and fiscal health.
The address closed with a reiteration of student-centered priorities and a pledge to steward public resources responsibly as the district works through difficult trade-offs.
The district did not present a detailed line-by-line budget in the address; projected figures and the SERP estimate were presented by Arauks as part of his State of the District remarks.
