Lawndale board hears 2026–27 LCAP and budget plan as district flags achievement gaps and a projected deficit

Lawndale Elementary School District staff on Tuesday presented the district’s 2026–27 Local Control and Accountability Plan and related budget proposal, highlighting modest gains on state assessments while warning that enrollment declines and new state requirements will pressure finances.

Assistant Superintendent Dr. Howard Hall opened the presentation and turned the LCAP overview to Letty Varela, the district’s director of teaching and learning. Varela said the district is in year three of its three‑year plan and shared California SBAC results showing growth from 2021–22 to 2024–25 but continued shortfalls for several subgroups. “You saw growth in that table and you also saw gaps in language arts,” Varela said, noting low‑income students had moved from about 15 points below the state midline to 11 points below.

Varela also reviewed math scores, saying that districtwide scores improved from roughly 48 points below the midline to about 31 points below. She emphasized targeted classroom supports tied to LCAP Goal 1, including language‑arts specialists and partner teaching by TOSAs focused on essential standards. “Teams will identify essential standards… and that’s the part of teaching that happens around implementation of these standards,” she said.

On attendance and engagement, Varela said chronic absenteeism remains a red indicator for some groups, including foster youth, homeless students and multiracial students, and named Roosevelt, Smith and Anderson elementary schools as particularly affected. The presentation also described Goal 2 refinements for transitional kindergarten that prioritize oral‑language development through structured workstations and play‑based stations, and Goal 4 STEM expansions with coding and makerspace activities for younger grades.

On the budget, Dr. Hall walked the board through the state fiscal context, citing Governor Newsom’s May Revision and the district’s calendar for budget adoption. “We are legally required to present our 2026–27 LCAP and budget and to adopt a budget by July 1,” he said. He summarized the May Revision’s figures: the statutory cost‑of‑living adjustment (COLA) at roughly 2.87 percent and an additional 1.44 percentage points targeted to LCFF base funding, with those extra funds carrying spending contingencies.

Hall said the state lowered its earlier Prop 98 withholding from $5.7 billion to $3.9 billion in the May Revision, but that the withholding still represents a material risk to district funding. He also called attention to a May‑Revise contingency requiring districts to cover 14 weeks of paid pregnancy disability leave for employees; the district estimates an average of about 14 employees per year take that leave and will need to budget accordingly.

Hall reported a projected district enrollment decline of roughly 2 percent annually and said the district projects total enrollment of about 4,170 students for 2026–27, a decrease of roughly 85 students. He explained the enrollment loss has a near‑term fiscal impact: “Every 62 students that we lose, that amounts to approximately $1,000,000 in funding for the district that we lose,” he said.

Luis Diaz, director of budgeting and accounting, reviewed revenue and expenditure assumptions, reporting expected total revenues of approximately $71.5 million, with $17.4 million contributed to restricted programs such as special education, and projected unrestricted expenditures of about $73.2 million. Diaz also outlined restricted revenues (about $39.3 million) and restricted expenditures (about $40.1 million), and summarized the district’s multiple funds including the SELPA pass‑through fund and Measure EE building fund.

Board members asked for a future report that would break down where student losses are occurring by school and grade so the district can identify any trends and responses. The board also requested data on requested inter‑district transfer permits and outcomes.