San Ramon Valley Unified board accepts third interim showing $38.5 million deficit as county flags certification "qualified"

The San Ramon Valley Unified School District Board of Education unanimously accepted the district's 2024–25 third interim budget report after staff warned reserves are at historic lows and the Contra Costa County Office of Education has reclassified the district's certification as "qualified."

Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Danny Hillman told trustees the county invoked its authority under Education Code 42131(a)(2) after finding the district had not achieved required budget reductions and risked depleting reserves. Hillman said the district must now submit additional financial projections and a study of internal controls as part of next steps.

"We're still projecting that this year we will have a total revenues of $459 million" and "expenditures of $497 million," Hillman said, summarizing the multi-year projection that shows roughly $38.5 million in deficit spending for 2024–25. He added that the gap narrows in later years — a projected $6.3 million deficit in 2025–26 and about $3.1 million in 2026–27 — but emphasized that the district's unrestricted cushion is tiny. "We will end this year with $17.9 million," he said, noting that about $17.2 million of that amount is legally restricted, leaving roughly $600,000–$700,000 unrestricted.

Superintendent CJ Kamik and staff framed the third interim as a required, focused report on the current fiscal year; the district will still present estimated actuals and an adopted budget in June. Staff also said revenue shifts since the second interim include roughly $1.8 million in net gains driven by restricted grants (including a California Youth Behavioral Health Initiative grant) and nearly $620,000 in local revenue increases. On the expenditure side, benefits adjustments, special education costs and a CalSHAPE energy grant for plumbing and ventilation work accounted for much of the spending changes.

Hillman emphasized that many funds are restricted and cannot be used for general operations: "The lion's share of that number is from CalSHAPE," he said of a multi-million-dollar restricted grant. Trustees asked for conservatism in assumptions — in particular confirmation of average daily attendance (ADA) at P1/P2 before relying on any upward trend — because thin reserves give the district little room for error.

The board was not asked to self-certify at third interim; the county has already assigned a "qualified" rating. Trustees moved to "accept" the third interim report for submission to the county. The motion to accept the report was made by Trustee Rachel Herd and seconded by Trustee Jesse Vanzy; the roll call vote was recorded as Student Trustee Travis Hodgees: yes; Trustee Laura Brat: yes; Trustee Rachel Herd: yes; Trustee Jesse Vanzy: yes; Trustee Susanna Ordway: yes; Trustee Shelley Clark: yes. The motion passed 5-0.

The district will present estimated actuals and the proposed adopted budget at the board's June meeting and will monitor state budget actions (the governor's May revision and subsequent legislative work) before finalizing next year's plan.