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Board approves first interim budget certification after presentation showing enrollment decline
Summary
Finance staff warned of a larger-than-expected enrollment drop and multi-year deficit; the board approved the first interim report and filed a positive certification and approved related facility contracts.
The Murrieta Valley Unified School District Board of Education approved its first interim budget report and filed a positive certification for fiscal year 2024–25 after a presentation on enrollment and spending projections.
District finance staffer James Whittington told the board the district has seen a "significant dip in enrollment beyond what we were anticipating," a change that will reduce LCFF/TK funding and affect multi-year projections. Whittington said the district retains a "significant reserve" that will carry it for now, but he described projected deficit spending across the next three years and recommended steps to align staffing and spending with enrollment.
Whittington outlined planned near-term adjustments: pausing a 1% contribution to fund 14 for deferred maintenance, matching staffing to enrollment and offering incentives to staff who voluntarily notify of intent to leave by Jan. 31 so the district can plan accordingly. He also described restricted-fund increases in Title I, Lottery funding and a $1.3 million increase tied to the Golden State Pathways program.
After questions from trustees, the board voted to approve the first interim report and file a positive certification, a roll-call vote recorded as unanimous.
The board also approved several action items tied to operations: awarding a districtwide asphalt paving, seal coating and repairs contract to MPG Inc., and approving deductive change orders for the Murrieta Elementary new classroom building project. Those contract actions were approved without recorded opposition.
Finance staff emphasized that the governor's January budget proposal and updated attendance certification will inform future revisions, and the board scheduled the next substantive budget update for March 13, 2025.
