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Stockton Unified outlines 2026–27 budget risks: declining enrollment, multi‑year deficits and an $11M transportation funding gap
Summary
Associate Superintendent Michelle Hunton presented the proposed 2026–27 budget, warning of declining enrollment, limited Proposition 98 adjustments, multi‑year projected deficits and a roughly $11 million gap between transportation costs and unrestricted revenues; the board discussed monitoring and a likely 45‑day revision after the state budget.
Stockton Unified’s proposed 2026–27 budget projects continuing fiscal pressure driven by falling enrollment, increases in benefit costs and lingering uncertainty in the state budget, district staff told trustees on Tuesday.
Associate Superintendent of Business and Operations Dr. Michelle Hunton reviewed the district’s budget development timeline and May Revise assumptions, noting that state revenue adjustments still under‑appropriate Proposition 98 obligations. Hunton explained the district uses a three‑year averaging method for LCFF entitlements and that declining enrollment reduces the district’s entitlement despite statutory COLA assumptions. She said the statutory COLA adopted in the May Revise would yield a modest district revenue increase (described as roughly $4.2 million or ~0.9% in local entitlements), but that enrollment declines and the end of one‑time expenditures offset that gain.
Hunton flagged a multi‑year projection showing deficit spending beginning in 2026–27 (identified as about $1.9 million in the first year) and growing in later years absent further adjustments. She also called out an $11 million shortfall between transportation expenditures and the level of unrestricted revenue provided for home‑to‑school transportation. Other drivers include rising indirect costs and health‑benefit pressures tied to the district’s practice of providing 100% benefits to employees.
Hunton and other staff emphasized the budget would likely be revised after the Legislature finalizes the state budget. The district anticipates a 45‑day revision window after the governor signs the state budget and said it will return to the board with updates. Trustees asked for site‑level enrollment detail, explanations of the projection methodology and more frequent monitoring checkpoints.
No adoption vote occurred at the public hearing; the district presented the proposed budget and will follow its normal board schedule for formal adoption and any 45‑day revision.
