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SCOE budget update highlights grant uncertainty and layoff notices tied to expired programs
Summary
SCOE staff told trustees the draft budget is built on governor's assumptions and flagged several expiring grants; staff said 14 employees received layoff notices tied to 11 eliminated positions and managers are pursuing replacement grants, with public hearing set for June 11 and adoption June 25.
Deputy Superintendent Michelle Hansen walked the Solano County Board of Education through the county office's budget-development assumptions on April 9, saying staff built Local Control Funding Formula revenue and property-tax estimates using the governor's proposal and the 2024-25 P1 certification.
"Once the May revision is available, staff will begin to use these for planning and include them in our budget assumptions," Hansen said, adding that the board's draft would be adjusted after the May revise and the School Services budget workshop on May 21. She told trustees the public hearing on the proposed budget is scheduled for June 11, with adoption expected June 25.
Trustees pressed for more granular grant information. Hansen said the packet included funding sources, project names and start/end dates but did not list total original or remaining award amounts in the snapshot, because some awards span multiple years and a single total could be misleading. "We would need to tell you what the remaining amount is," she told the board.
The budget discussion intersected with staffing concerns: Manolo Garcia, associate superintendent of human resources, told trustees that 14 employees received layoff notices as of the March 15 statutory deadline, tied to the elimination of 11 positions. Garcia said 8 employees were able to exercise bumping rights, 2 accepted voluntary demotions, and 4 would be placed on the 39-month rehire list if layoffs hold.
Garcia explained the staffing reductions were driven by the expiration of specific grant-funded programs, including the Student Behavioral Health Incentive Program (SBHIP) and several prevention grants. He said staff are pursuing replacement funding, naming a capacity and infrastructure transition expansion grant (announcement expected July 1), a CHP cannabis education grant (anticipated award in May), and submitted Drug Free Communities applications (submitted May 5) as possible sources to preserve services and positions.
Trustees asked for a revised grants table in the full budget packet showing original awards and remaining balances, plus an object-code column to help them track where funds appear in the proposed budget. Hansen and other staff agreed to provide those details with the formal budget packet and to include the timeline for May revise adjustments.
