Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
El Rancho Unified presents 2024-25 unaudited actuals, flags $4M net decrease and declining enrollment
Summary
District staff presented unedited 2024-25 actuals showing full LCFF funding but a roughly $4 million net decrease in unrestricted ending fund balance and continuing enrollment declines; trustees asked for demographic study results and interim budget updates.
The El Rancho Unified School District presented its 2024-25 unaudited actuals on Tuesday, showing the district can meet near-term obligations but is facing a net decrease in its unrestricted ending fund balance.
Assistant Director of Fiscal Services Laura Lucio told the board the district will give a "positive certification" that it can meet its financial obligations for the current and next two years. Lucio said LCFF was fully funded for 2024-25 and then laid out the major revenue sources: LCFF $107 million, federal revenue about $14.197 million, other state revenue about $25.581 million and other local revenue about $10.862 million. She also said special-education contributions and restricted-program transfers affected the net figures.
The nut graf: district staff described a roughly $4 million net decrease in combined fund balance for fiscal year 2024-25 that left an unrestricted ending fund balance of about $18.123 million, and they signaled that declining enrollment is a key risk to future budgets.
Lucio explained that the district closed the books and removed contributions to restricted programs from the combined revenue totals. The presentation noted increasing pension costs (PERS projected around 27.05% for 2024-25 with an expectation near 26.81% for 2025-26) and one-time costs (for example, a $610,000 variance related to expanded learning program costs and a $34,000 kitchen infrastructure expense). She said auditors will review these unaudited actuals once the formal audit begins.
Trustees pressed for next steps. Trustee Sedra and others asked how the district is responding to continued enrollment declines; district leaders said an enrollment committee has convened, a demographic study is expected to be finalized for the next meeting and the first interim budget report will be presented in December. Dr. Viegas told the board staff are preparing meeting dates for enrollment and budget committees and plan outreach to families to help sustain and recruit students.
Board members also asked for specific counts and timelines. Trustee Mia asked for the official ADA count to be confirmed after the district's day-10 submission; staff said the attendance certification to the state will be based on the October 4 or 5 count and agreed to provide that number to the board.
What this means: while the district retains healthy reserves and is in a position to certify near-term solvency, trustees indicated they want tighter monitoring and a clear plan to address enrollment trends and expenditure drivers. Administrators said they will send the demographic study and committee meeting schedules to trustees and will return with the first interim in December.
Ending: The board took no immediate budget-cutting action during the meeting; staff said they will continue to prepare budget revisions and report back with specific enrollment and fiscal projections at upcoming committee and board meetings.
