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District staff present third budget revision; staff recommends self‑certified positive certification

Santa Monica-Malibu Unified Board of Education · May 20, 2026
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Summary

Assistant Superintendent Gerardo Cruz presented the third budget revision, reporting a $55M projected ending fund balance and staff recommendation to self‑certify a positive certification while noting a current structural deficit in the $4–7M range across future years.

Gerardo Cruz, assistant superintendent of business services, presented the district’s third budget revision based on April 30 financials and a new data‑driven forecasting methodology. Cruz said the district will return several million dollars to reserves through tighter expenditure projections and recommended that the board adopt a self‑certification of a positive certification. "We are self certifying a positive certification, which just means that we can meet our financial obligations for the rest of this fiscal year as well as the next 2," he said.

Cruz walked the board through general‑fund changes, restricted fund adjustments (including a $2.4M change tied to non‑public agency special education placements), and multiyear projections that assume property tax growth and cost‑of‑living adjustments. He warned the board that, after adjustments, the district still projects a structural deficit that staff hopes to reduce from roughly $6–7M toward $4–5M through further year‑end adjustments; the board voted to adopt the self‑certification recommendation.