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School board hears budget committee options to close a $9M gap; no closures ordered
Summary
Superintendent Sandy Mikulik presented recommendations and "considerations" from a Budget & Facilities Advisory Committee that identified a roughly $9 million structural deficit tied to declining enrollment and outlined possible steps — from trimming software licenses to consolidating schools — with no formal closures decided tonight.
Superintendent Sandy Mikulik told the Jefferson Elementary School District board that a Superintendent Budget & Facilities Advisory Committee spent the year reviewing district finances and produced a set of “considerations, not recommendations” aimed at closing a structural deficit estimated at about $9,000,000 per year.
Mikulik said the committee grouped ideas into four “buckets”: reduce expenditures, adjust staffing levels, consolidate or merge schools, and find new revenue. She cited a long-term decline in district enrollment, noting a large eighth-grade cohort moving out of the district and smaller kindergarten cohorts entering, and said funding follows average daily attendance.
The presentation listed potential savings including calendar adjustments (converting two pandemic-era student days back into professional-development days to reduce substitute costs), trimming underused software licenses, protecting some parcel-tax–funded programs while considering others for reduced funding, and exploring in-house special-education transportation. Mikulik said the largest projected savings would come from consolidating or closing schools but stressed that closures are only a last-resort consideration.
On school staffing, Mikulik said the district expects to need fewer classroom sections next year as cohorts shift and described planned reductions through attrition rather than layoffs where possible. She emphasized the need to preserve instructional capacity and warned against over-reducing district administration because “the work still exists” and could fall to principals.
Trustees pressed for more clarity on how proposals would affect specific programs and families, including questions about the treatment of site discretionary carryovers, the mechanics of trimming software licenses, and the legal criteria the California Department of Education uses to review potential school closures. Several trustees urged robust communication with families and staff and formation of a neutral, outside-led committee to study consolidation options before any decisions. Mikulik said she will bring a contract to form that committee back to the board for consideration on June 10.
Mikulik framed the process as deliberative: “While shifting priorities and budget constraints sometimes require difficult staffing adjustments, JESD remains dedicated to a transition process defined by compassion and integrity. We are actively engaging with union leadership to explore all avenues for reducing the impact of layoffs on our workforce and maintaining the strength of our organization,” she said.
No action was taken tonight; the board heard the report for discussion and directed staff to return with a contract to form the study committee and with LCAP-related budget hearings where final decisions would be made.
What’s next: The board will receive a proposed contract for an outside facilitator and the public hearing on the Local Control Accountability Plan in upcoming meetings, and the district plans additional outreach to school sites and families as it develops formal options.
