Central Unified projects multi-year budget pressure; trustees urge right-sizing and contract reviews

Director Mccurley told trustees on June 9 that Central Unified will submit its 2026'7 budget with a positive certification but warned that multi-year projections show the district peaking into deficits later in the forecast unless corrective action is taken. Projected beginning balance will be roughly $44 million, but the district's multi-year projection assumes flat enrollment and a series of expiring one-time grants that reduce restricted revenues.

Key figures noted by Mccurley: projected total revenues down slightly (from prior-year estimates) with LCFF changes and a 2.87% cost-of-living adjustment; unrestricted spending of roughly $232.8 million is driven by payroll (about 80% of unrestricted funds), and the district projects tapping reserves in subsequent years if no corrective actions are taken. Trustees and staff discussed estimated deficits in the mid-single-digit millions-year-over-year, grant expirations that reduced restricted revenue, and the need to move some services from onetime federal funds into sustainable base budgets or to explicitly plan sunset dates.

Board members pressed for concrete steps: detailed department line-item budgets, a stipend/overtime study, position-control and vacancy analyses, and an assessment of contracts that could be renegotiated or replaced by in-house staffing. Director Mccurley and cabinet reported current actions including planned reductions to FTE forecasts, contract reviews, and a commitment to present "un-audited actuals" later in the summer that will better define where savings must be made.

The board was warned that falling below the 5% reserve policy could lead to a qualified certification from the county office of education and elevated state oversight. Trustees asked for regular updates and recommended a transparent dashboard of fiscal metrics for upcoming board meetings.