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Oxnard Union previews budget stabilizer, warns of program cuts; board approves certificated reductions for under-enrolled CTE
Summary
Trustees were briefed on a second-interim budget showing declining enrollment and a lower COLA; the board approved Resolution 26-05 to reduce certificated positions tied to under-enrolled CTE programs (4-0). Superintendent McCoy said a bond refunding also delivered roughly $2 million in taxpayer savings.
The Oxnard Union High School District board on Feb. 11 heard a second-interim budget preview that warned declining enrollment and a reduced state cost-of-living adjustment are squeezing future revenue and may force program and staffing changes.
Superintendent Doctor McCoy told trustees the district’s recent G.O. bond refunding produced approximately $2,000,000 in gross savings for local taxpayers. "Our gross savings to taxpayers from these two refundings is $2,000,000," McCoy said, thanking district and bond staff for executing the sale.
Fiscal staff and the district’s budget team outlined a plan of “levels” to guide reductions: level 1 (core, legally required services), level 2 (important programs that may be redesigned) and level 3 (nonessential expenditures). Fiscal Director Anna Campbell said the district projects continued enrollment declines and noted two partially offsetting items — a CALPADS data correction that yielded about $300,000 in current-year revenue and an upward revision in average daily attendance from roughly 89.08% to 90.93%.
Campbell said the district’s enrollment projection shows a sustained decline into future years and that staff are modeling multiple scenarios to reduce impact on classrooms.
The budget presentation stressed stakeholder engagement before program changes: district staff said they will work with LCAP advisory groups, program stakeholders and labor partners to seek efficiencies and alternatives before proposing eliminations.
As part of that process, trustees considered and adopted Resolution 26-05 to reduce or discontinue certificated positions tied to under-enrolled career and technical education (CTE) programs, a change memorialized in a side-letter agreement with the Oxnard Federation of Teachers and School Employees. The resolution passed by roll-call vote, 4-0.
McCoy and staff cautioned affected employees that the action reflected program enrollment conditions; staff said some employees receiving initial layoff notices might be redeployed if budget or enrollment conditions change. McCoy reminded the board that final layoff notices (if any) must be issued by May 15 under current procedures and that employees receiving final notice retain rights described in the district’s agreements.
Trustees asked staff for more detail when the final stabilization plan returns in March, including specific proposed reductions, stakeholder engagement timelines, and alternatives to personnel reductions. The administration said it will return in March with a final second-interim report and a more detailed stabilization proposal for board review.
The board also asked staff to provide clear, accessible one-page materials explaining the budget roadmap and to show how community input from LCAP and other advisory bodies factors into decisions.
