District projects modest deficit; Grijalva flags Prop 98 cash‑flow delay and COLA earmark

Assistant Superintendent Grijalva delivered a high‑level overview of the district’s 2026–27 budget, saying the district projects $106,200,000 in total revenue and $107,300,000 in expenditures and contributions, leaving a projected ending fund balance of $11,200,000 (down from a beginning balance of $12,300,000). “for a projected ending fund balance of 11,200,000,” Grijalva told trustees. He described the roughly $1,000,000 net decrease as the result of planned expenditures and increases in special‑education staffing and parent program costs.

Grijalva warned trustees of state proposals he said could affect cash flow: a governor’s budget assumption that includes a 2.87% COLA (with a higher projection partly earmarked for a proposed 14‑week paid pregnancy‑leave benefit) and a proposal to borrow $3,900,000,000 from Proposition 98 as a cash‑flow delay. “This is a cash flow delay, not a cut,” Grijalva said, but he noted the delay requires districts to rely on local reserves until state payments are made. Trustees questioned the conservative ADA projection and the district’s general‑fund contribution to special education; Grijalva said the district will manage spending and adjust at the first interim.