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Buena Park trustees hear LCAP updates and review proposed $82M budget ahead of July adoption
Summary
The board held the required public hearing on the 2026–27 Local Control Accountability Plan and reviewed a proposed 2026–27 budget with roughly $82 million in projected revenue and $89 million in proposed expenditures; trustees asked questions about state-mandated paid leave costs, ADA projections and reserve levels.
The Buena Park School District Board of Trustees on June 10 received the district’s Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) update and a detailed presentation on the proposed 2026–27 budget.
Serie Hong, assistant superintendent of educational services, summarized the LCAP cycle and engagement process and walked trustees through outcomes for the 2024–27 plan. Hong reported gains in English language arts scores and described subgroup performance: foster youth and homeless students showed notable gains while some measures for students with disabilities declined. Hong said 104 students met reclassification criteria to be identified as English proficient.
Assistant Superintendent of Business and Operations Sandy Poteet presented the budget timeline and financial details. Poteet said the state May revision set the COLA at 2.87 percent and that the district’s local calculation produces a district-specific revenue increase of roughly 1.73 percent. She summarized projected revenue of just over $82 million and proposed total expenditures of approximately $89 million for 2026–27, with an estimated combined ending fund balance of about $37.7 million across restricted and unrestricted funds. "The budget is developed first at the state level," Poteet told the board as she explained how the governor’s budget timing drives local assumptions.
Poteet flagged two items as risks: a proposed state allocation identified as "1.44" that is tied to a potential new statutory requirement for 14 weeks of paid pregnancy disability leave, and the still-uncertain distribution of a proposed student-support block grant. The board discussed whether the earmarked state funding will cover the full cost of the leave and how districts will estimate potential exposure; trustees were told some projections show the state allocation may not fully cover the new mandate’s cost.
Trustees asked several operational questions about attendance and the district’s funded average daily attendance (ADA) estimates. Poteet and trustees noted recent efforts to stabilize ADA through programs such as independent study and Saturday engagement, and the presentation used a 95 percent attendance assumption in the three-year projection. Poteet outlined reserve requirements under Proposition 2 and reported that the district’s minimum reserve is met, with a modest amount above the three-percent minimum to absorb one-time outlays.
Board members praised staff for ADA stabilization and sought a future study session to review declining-enrollment mitigation and related reserve planning. Poteet noted next steps: a formal public budget hearing was held on June 10 and the district must adopt a final budget by July 1; the board may consider a 45‑day revision if the state budget changes.
What’s next: The board will consider adopting the final 2026–27 budget at an upcoming meeting and can adjust assumptions once the state enacts its final budget.
Authorities referenced at the hearing include Education Code provisions on LCAP public hearings and the statutory schedule for local budget adoption. The LCAP and the draft budget were posted on the district website for public review.
