Simi Valley Unified board approves second interim report, affirms positive certification

Simi Valley
Unified School District trustees voted to file the district's second interim financial report and issued a positive certification following a presentation on the district's multiyear budget outlook.

The district's fiscal presenter told the board the general fund showed a modest increase from about $56 million to nearly $57 million year over year and that cash flow is stronger than in recent years. "We do have a positive certification based on those numbers," the presenter said, summarizing the staff recommendation to submit the report to the county.

Why it matters: the second interim is the board's quarterly check on the district's ability to meet financial obligations for the current and two succeeding fiscal years. District staff flagged several risks that could erode reserves, including increasing special-education costs, higher pension contributions and the possibility of smaller cost-of-living adjustments from the state.

In the presentation, staff described the composition of restricted and one-time funds and said some one-time dollars are currently being used for capital purchases and extended-learning programs. The presenter said the district is projecting an ending fund balance in the coming year and noted that a worst-case scenario with very low state COLA could reduce reserves over the multi-year projection.

Board members thanked the fiscal team for the detail and discussed next steps. The district will submit the certification to the Ventura County Office of Education and continue labor negotiations with associations as it develops the proposed budget for 2024-25 and beyond.

The motion to approve filing and positive certification passed on a roll call vote.