The San Diego Unified School District‘s board voted unanimously Tuesday to pass a plan that officials say eliminates a projected $112 million deficit in the 2025-2026 budget.
The plan for the upcoming school year will focus, officials said, not on cuts, but increasing revenue projections and limiting layoffs.
The district, however, appears to have been aided by a high number of employees who will opt to leave their posts rather than ride out the fiscal storm.
Management had predicted that 755 SDUSD employees would take advantage of the district’s Supplemental Early Retirement Plan. Instead, 968 filed paperwork by the Jan. 15 deadline, about 27% more than originally anticipated.
According to the strategy set forth by interim Superintendent Fabi Bagula’s administration, the district will be able to address the budget gap and those vacancies by identifying and filling roles deemed essential and reassigning employees from the Central Office and school sites “to realign resources to best meet the needs of our students and schools,” officials said in a news release.
They also expect the strategy to reduce the projected 2026-2027 budget gap by 46%, from $210 million to $113.4 million, thanks to the district taking a “proactive, data-driven approach” to financial decisions.
“We have implemented a Fiscally Aligned Retention Management model — a new strategy that prioritizes long-term financial stability by making strategic decisions on which positions to maintain. Unlike past approaches that relied solely on reductions, this approach allows us to retain essential positions that directly impact student learning while ensuring responsible fiscal management and long-term budget stability,” Bagula said in a news release.
She added that the district also looked at ways to increase revenue, including from Local Control Funding Formula income survey completion, more accurate attendance projections, advocacy at the state and federal levels and philanthropy, rather than having “budget conversations focus(ed) solely on cuts.”
District officials estimated that 30 layoff notices might by sent out by Saturday, the deadline required by state law. However, the district said it is likely that most employees will not be laid off.
The plan also includes a balance increase of about $19 million in the district’s unrestricted General Fund for the current school year.
Gov. Gavin Newsom may make changes to school funding in the May Revision process, which will allow for further adjustments before the board’s adoption of the final 2025-2026 budget in June.
In the meantime, the district will continue to work on the numbers, issue layoff notices if needed and review the governor’s revisions.
To learn more about the certified budget plan for the upcoming school year, visit the San Diego Unified School District website here.
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