Coronado Unified board approves 2026-27 budget, details plan to transition to basic aid

The Coronado Unified governing board on Thursday adopted the districts 2026-27 annual budget and related resolutions, a budget officials said sets the districts final year under the Local Control Funding Formula before an expected transition to basic aid.

Deputy Superintendent Salamanca, who presented the budget, said the district proposes an approximately $59,000,000 budget for 2026-27 and described assumptions tied to the states pending actions on the 2026-27 budget. "This budget represents the last year that we expect to be... on the local control funding formula funded from the state," he said, noting Assembly Bill 109 had passed the Legislature June 15 but still required the governors signature.

Salamanca told trustees the district built the budget using current assumptions and would update it if the governor signs or vetoes components of the state plan. He also highlighted a possible one-time "student support professional development discretionary block grant" that, if included in the enacted state budget, could add about $2,000,000 in one-time funds to Coronado Unified.

On the program side, Salamanca said the legislatures proposals on special education and cost-of-living adjustments would be beneficial: a proposed increase in special education funding could add roughly $1,000,000 next year, while a statutory COLA of 2.87% and an additional 1.44% legislative investment in LCFF were modeled in the slides.

The presentation included the districts multi-year projections and long-range plan to move to basic aid after a final payment from redevelopment agencies is made on Sept. 1, 2026. Salamanca said property-tax receipts are projected to fill more of the LCFF "bucket" over time and that in 2027-28 the district expects to collect the overflow that defines a basic aid district. He cautioned, however, that the district is projecting deficit spending of roughly $8,000,000 in 2026-27 and that the increased ongoing revenue (about $11,000,000 estimated) will be substantially offset by that spending in the early basic-aid years.

"We're projecting to deficit spend, I think, about 8,000,000 or 8,000,000 in 26-27," Salamanca said, adding that the net change in fund balance accounts for that planned spend-down.

Trustees asked for clarification about which state categorical funds will continue under basic aid; staff said special education funding and some categorical programs would persist, while other funding dynamics will shift under the basic-aid model.

After discussion and trustee questions about cash-flow timing and reserve targets, the board voted to approve the proposed 2026-27 budget and related LCAP items. The board also adopted an annual resolution reporting projected uses of Education Protection Account funds and approved employment-contract amendments for district executives (described below).

What the budget means: district leaders described the approval as completing several long-range steps undertaken over the last decade, including refinancing redevelopment debt, taking a facilities loan to preserve programmatic spending, and pursuing grants to shore up one-time and ongoing revenue. The district intends to rebuild reserves to meet a 17% target for cash-flow stability after the transition to basic aid; state law requires a 3% minimum reserve.

Next steps: Salamanca said the approved budget will be submitted to the County Office of Education for review as required by state law, and that staff will post budget documents and multiyear projections online. He also said the district will update the community if the governor signs AB 109 or other changes alter revenue assumptions.

Votes at a glance: the board voted to approve the 2026-27 annual budget and to adopt the Education Protection Account resolution; both motions passed on voice votes as recorded in the meeting transcript.