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District projects multi‑year deficit after enrollment falls; CBO gives positive certification
Summary
Bellflower Unified’s CBO presented a 2nd interim report showing more than a 3% enrollment decline, a drop in the unduplicated pupil percentage that reduces supplemental funding, and multi‑year projections that shrink the general fund balance and create a structural deficit; the board received the report and will consider program reductions and budget revisions.
Renee Arkes, the district’s chief business officer, presented the 2nd interim financial report and urged the board to acknowledge a multi‑year structural gap driven largely by enrollment loss and lower-than-expected cost‑of‑living adjustments.
Arkes said enrollment declined by “more than 3%,” and she warned that a falling unduplicated pupil percentage — the measure the district uses to calculate supplemental LCFF funding for high‑need students — has reduced expected revenues. “We finalized our unduplicated pupil percentage,” she said, and the change contributed to an overall downward revision. She told the board the district’s current general fund balance is about $79,200,000 across restricted and unrestricted dollars and that multi‑year projections show the ending balance falling from roughly $125,900,000 in 2024–25 to about $36,200,000 in later years.
Board members pressed for specifics. One member asked about the district’s monthly payroll and whether reserves covered potential disruptions; Arkes said monthly payroll runs “about 9 to 10,000,000 for 1 payroll for 1 month.” She also described one large, one‑time textbook adoption of about $3,000,000 that affected the current year’s expenses and explained that some capital outlay delays shifted costs into the next fiscal year.
Arkes said staff will use reserves the board previously committed (about $40,000,000) to provide time to “right size the ship,” but cautioned that those funds will be exhausted by 2028–29 if underlying trends continue. She recommended staff continue work on program and contract reviews and return with budget proposals tied to district priorities. “We are looking at a $10 to $12,000,000 deficit,” Arkes said, and added that deeper conversations about program changes and vendor contracts will be required.
The superintendent and board discussed immediate next steps: publishing the cash‑flow page in the interim packet, running a teacher and program survey, and preparing a list of programs that could be reduced or eliminated. Staff said they expect initial program survey results by June and will incorporate approved staffing changes into the budget process when timing allows. The CBO indicated she would submit a "positive certification" to the LA County Office of Education, signaling the district believes it can meet its financial obligations for the current and next fiscal year while noting significant risk in later years.
