Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the District Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
District finance staff report a tighter outlook; board asked for deeper scenarios
Summary
Margaret Lam presented a second interim showing $1.17 billion in general fund revenue, $1.26 billion in projected unrestricted expenditures and a three-year structural gap that still requires further cuts (staff cited a $40 million next-year need and a roughly $122 million three-year gap without additional actions).
At the meeting the district’s finance team presented its 2025–26 second interim financial report and answered detailed questions from board members and public commenters.
Margaret Lam told the board the district's general fund revenue is approximately $1.17 billion and projected general fund expenditures approximately $1.26 billion. She said roughly 70% of revenue comes from the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), with state revenue about 21%, federal 6% and local about 3%. Lam emphasized the district has lost over 16,000 students since 2015–16, a decline she said is similar to losing a small or midsize district within LBUSD.
Lam said the second interim reflects fiscal stabilization actions and the use of one-time restricted funds to mitigate general fund costs; under the assumptions presented the ending balance for 2028–29 was projected at about $42 million, which would meet the statutory 2% reserve. However, she told the board that to sustain that path the district would still need about $40 million in additional reductions for 2027–28 and that, absent other changes, the three-year cumulative gap could be on the order of $122 million.
Board members pressed for additional scenarios showing deeper cuts sooner and clearer breakdowns of which positions are funded by restricted programs (for example the Expanded Learning Opportunities Program, which staff said provides roughly $50–53 million annually) versus the general fund. Member Otto and others asked for a spreadsheet linking central-office staffing counts to their funding streams; staff committed to returning that detail.
Members also questioned contracting practices. Dallas Emerle (CSEA) said the district could save significant money by converting contracted 3.8-hour paraprofessional positions to district employees and criticized apparent shifts in how some budget lines have been reported. Lam and other staff explained comparisons are complex because restricted programs, grant-funded initiatives, and program implementation requirements affect how positions are counted and funded.
The board did not adopt a final set of additional cuts at the meeting. Staff said they will present more refined scenarios ahead of the May revise and June budget adoption process so the board can weigh trade-offs before launch dates for fiscal stabilization actions.
