Pacifica board adopts 2026–27 budget and fiscal stabilization plan; district warns of possible staff reductions

The Pacifica School District Board of Trustees on June 24 approved the 2026–27 adopted budget and a fiscal stabilization plan aimed at addressing multi‑year shortfalls, the board announced.

Dusty Nubbet, a district staff member who presented the budget, said revisions between the public hearing and adoption increased the unrestricted balance by "right around $25,000" and reduced planned textbook spending after a social studies adoption, freeing roughly $650,000 in that line. The board adopted the budget and will submit it to the county office for a required 45‑day revision timed to the state budget.

The stabilization plan, presented and explained by Superintendent Dr. Bowman, lays out immediate and multi‑year steps to restore the district’s fiscal footing. Dr. Bowman said the district faces enrollment decline and increased student needs and estimated the district needs "an additional $700,000 cut" next year. She told the board the plan contemplates a possible reduction of 13 full‑time equivalent positions; specific personnel decisions will be made through a district budget collaborative that will include staff, parents and administrators. "Those positions ... were divided up by four management, four certificated, five classified," she said, adding that the final staffing decisions would be community‑based.

Public commenter Tiffany Button urged the board to provide more operational detail on how cuts would be implemented. "The plan ... includes the potential reduction of 13 FTE, but it doesn't describe how we are going to do that and what we are going to do when that happens," she said, asking for transparent implementation steps so the community can understand impacts on students.

Dr. Bowman also described a county‑appointed external fiscal advisor the district will work with. She said the advisor will have statutory authority to block motions that would put the district out of compliance with fiscal restrictions, though collective bargaining agreements remain outside that control. The superintendent said the board hopes to avoid a cash crisis or state receiver action by building mandatory reserve processes, pursuing lease options, and pursuing possible grants and state budget changes.

Board members asked staff to convene the budget collaborative in August and to return with revised figures after the county and state budget processes are complete. The board approved both the adopted budget and the fiscal stabilization resolution unanimously.