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Rialto Unified updates LCAP and previews 2026-27 budget as enrollment drops
Summary
District officials presented the Local Control and Accountability Plan annual update and a proposed 2026-27 budget that uses one-time funds and projects continued enrollment declines; presenters said LCFF revenues rose in the May revision but the district still faces net reductions tied to lower enrollment.
Rialto Unified School District officials told the board on June 10 that the districtLocal Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) is on track even as projected state revenue changes and local enrollment declines reshape next years budget. The board heard a three-year LCAP update and a proposed FY 2026-27 budget that relies in part on one-time restricted grants to meet reserve targets.
The LCAP presentation, led by Kevin Hodson, senior director of special programs, outlined three goals: student achievement, conditions for learning and engagement. Hodson said the district is concluding year two of a three-year plan and emphasized expanded family engagement and translated materials to broaden participation in the LCAP process. "We had five community meetings this year," he said, describing efforts to collect parent and partner feedback and to build site teams for future planning.
Why it matters: the LCAP determines how state supplemental funds are used to support foster youth, English learners and low-income students. Hodson told the board that not all district spending is in the LCAP and that about $178 million of the districts programs are reflected in the LCAP, with other base instructional services funded outside it.
Budget details: Diane Romo, associate superintendent for business services, and Nicole Abiso, executive director of fiscal services, walked the board through revenue and expenditure assumptions for 2026-27. "The top one, $522 million," Romo said when describing the districts projected total budget figure referenced during the presentation. Abiso said the district is dealing with declining enrollment, estimating an annual loss of roughly "400 to 500 students" and projecting a further loss of about 630 students into 2026-27. Those declines reduce LCFF (Local Control Funding Formula) revenue and offset some gains from the state's May budget revision.
State and local context: presenters said the governors May revision raised revenue projections statewide, and the state applied a 1.44% LCFF augmentation in addition to a cost-of-living adjustment the presenters cited as roughly 2.87%. Abiso emphasized that several one-time state block grants are included in the districts assumptionsfor example a student-support professional development block grant and additional special education per-ADA fundsbut these one-time sources will shrink in later years. "This is a projection and it is based on the information we have at this time," Abiso said, noting the multi-year projection shows decreasing unrestricted fund balance if one-time funds are used to cover recurring costs.
Board and public reaction: board members pressed for clearer site-level outcomes and analysis of suspension rates and chronic absenteeism. A member asked for breakdowns of where expenditures are coming from and how funds are being used at Title I sites. Public testimony during the required budget hearing included broad calls for transparency: one speaker urged the board to "interrogate" the budget documents and ask why early estimates sometimes differ substantially from audited results in later reports.
Next steps: Staff said the board will receive interim updates during the summer as final state budget decisions are made and that the LCAP is scheduled for adoption at a subsequent meeting after public review. Abiso noted the district must post the proposed budget for public inspection by the statutory deadline and that the adopted budget could change when the state budget is finalized.
