San Diego Unified School District says it has whittled down its deficit for next school year but still needs to find ways to cut $113 million in spending.
This summer the district had projected it would have a $176 million unrestricted deficit. Now officials say they have found some savings to bring that number down by leaving vacant jobs unfilled and encouraging more families to submit household income forms. Those are expected to help the district qualify for $9 million more in state funding for students from low-income families, interim Superintendent Fabiola Bagula said.
In addition, the district is anticipating $25 million more revenue than previously expected, including more federal impact aid, state lottery funds and transportation funding, Bagula added.
The district also plans to make ends meet by depleting about $58 million in reserves next school year. And it is offering an early retirement plan for employees, which by itself won’t save the district money but will help reduce the number of higher-paid employees on its payroll.
On top of next year’s deficit, the district is also projecting a $211 million unrestricted deficit for the 2026-27 school year.
District officials plan to discuss the updated projections when the board of trustees meets Tuesday evening.
All of these budget projections are based on the assumption that the state will grant a 2.9% cost-of-living increase in funding next year for school districts, a number advised to the district by state and county education officials.
But district leaders say that number may not actually materialize, and they think the state may end up granting schools less money — which could mean the district would have to find more spending to cut.
“We’ll just be mindful and be aware and watch how that plays out,” said Drew Rowlands, deputy superintendent of operations.
Bagula and Rowlands said they will prioritize cuts at the central office over cuts at schools.
The district’s projections are based on limited information and will change after the governor releases his first proposed January draft budget, the May revise and the final state budget in the summer.
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