Hacienda La Puente USD staff outline $10.8M correction and multiyear savings as trustees demand more detail

District staff on Wednesday laid out an update to the Hacienda La Puente Unified School District's fiscal stabilization plan, saying the plan was required by the Los Angeles County Office of Education to address a $10,801,500 projected unallocated expenditure in 2027–28.

The presentation, delivered after superintendent John Roach introduced the item, noted the district's second-interim positive certification but warned of operating deficits in the unrestricted general fund over the next three years. Presenter Miss Risco said the plan, approved by the board in November, included revenue enhancements, expenditure reductions and staff alignment and that some committed funds had been expended and recorded as expenditures, reducing the committed fund balance.

"The fiscal stabilization plan was required by LACOE as part of the approval of the district's 25-26 adopted budget," Miss Risco said during the presentation. She highlighted differences between the plan's assumptions and more recent second-interim numbers and explained that the district restored certain balances after identifying past practice inconsistencies.

Trustees pressed staff on details. Board member Stephanie Serrano said she was "shocked" to learn the district had moved from an earlier surplus to the current deficit and asked for practical, on‑the‑ground concerns staff were seeing as the plan is implemented. Serrano also asked the district to schedule a more in‑depth study session. Miss Risco and the superintendent responded that staff are analyzing expenditures, centralizing costs where feasible and looking for alternative funding sources to avoid using the unrestricted general fund for all projects.

Staff cited concrete savings in the plan: the district has taken actions tied to an early retirement incentive, returning some teachers on special assignment (TOSAs) to classrooms and estimating an additional $617,000 in savings beyond the $1.9 million already included in multi‑year projections. "With what we did with the early retirement incentive, the TOSAs, and that work...we will be adding additional savings to reach a total of 2.5 million," the presentation said.

Board members also sought clarity about the use of COVID-era (ESSER) funds, summer school continuations and whether some district programs would need to be redesigned if restricted funding sources disappeared. Miss Risco said some positions were paid with ESSER previously and some contracts have carried over; staff will provide a clearer breakdown of which programs and positions are funded from which buckets.

Trustees asked staff to bring back a budget study session and additional materials, including: a clearer breakdown of funding sources for district programs; a report on savings from terminated contracts; and monthly board expense totals when appropriate. The superintendent said the district would schedule a study session and continue discussions about aligning staffing with revenues.

What happens next: trustees pushed to continue detailed deliberations in a dedicated study session and requested follow‑up materials from staff. The district will present a successor resolution at the second board meeting in June if it elects to uncommit any portions of the general fund balance to restore reserves.