Lynwood Unified board warned of shrinking enrollment and budget pressures; trustees push attendance‑recovery outreach

The Lynwood Unified School District on March 12 heard a second‑interim budget presentation warning that declining enrollment and volatile state revenues are squeezing reserves and forcing the district to continue deficit spending.

During a presentation led by Dr. Janssen and Director of Fiscal Services Brenda Romero, district officials said they must certify the second‑interim report with the county by March 15 and will monitor the governor’s May revision and the state’s final budget in July. Dr. Janssen told the board that the administration is closely watching a proposed “settle up” adjustment tied to Proposition 98 that, as presented, could withhold about $900 per ADA until final attendance figures are calculated.

The presentation laid out the near‑term fiscal pressures: enrollment that has fallen from roughly 15,000 pupils in 2013–14 to just over 10,000 today, an ongoing 4% projected enrollment decline, and ADA around 92 percent. Romero said the district’s projected contribution to the adult school has improved from an earlier $400,000 projection to approximately $235,000, but cautioned that rising costs in special education, negotiated salary and benefit increases, and inflation for goods and services continue to strain the budget.

Trustees pressed for concrete next steps. One board member proposed a hands‑on attendance‑recovery campaign — teams that would knock on doors, identify barriers (transportation, food insecurity, mental‑health needs) and connect families with resources. “I would volunteer myself to come out with superintendent cabinet members,” the board member said, urging a twice‑yearly attendance recovery effort modeled on practices used in other districts.

Several trustees and the superintendent urged state advocacy to change funding rules: they called for enrollment‑based funding or, at minimum, a three‑year rolling average rather than a single year for funding calculations to reduce volatility. Dr. Janssen and staff said they would continue to monitor state action and bring adoption of the district’s budget forward after the May revision; the board was told the formal adoption will occur in June, following a public hearing.

What happens next: the district must certify the second‑interim by March 15 and will convene bargaining partners to evaluate impacts from the governor’s May revision; trustees instructed staff to continue evaluating expenditure reductions, review contracts for outcome measures and pursue attendance‑recovery outreach as a possible strategy to stabilize ADA and protect jobs.

The presentation and discussion did not adopt new budget policy at the meeting; rather, trustees were asked to weigh outreach and advocacy options as staff finalizes the budget for June adoption.