Board reserves $400 million to maintain staffing, cushion future finances and avoid potential layoffs amid declining enrollment
The Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) Board unanimously approved a $1.2 billion budget for the 2022-2023 school year at their Wednesday meeting.
Funding for the district comes from local, federal and state grants and entitlements, as well as the Local Control Funding Formula (LFCC), which is state funding of K-12 education. LFCC funds are provided to the district through base grants—provided for every enrolled student—and supplemental and concentration grants—provided for the district’s low income, English learner and foster youth.
This year, the district received $680.8 million in base grant funds—a $49.4 million increase from last year—and $126.1 million in supplemental and concentration grants—a $1.5 million increase from the previous year.
However, since LCFF base grants are dependent on enrollment and attendance, the number of funds for the upcoming years is estimated to decrease.
According to Yumi Takahashi, LBUSD chief business and financial officer, enrollment uncertainty “continues to be a risk area for the budget.”
Over the past decade, LBUSD enrollment has consistently decreased. In 2020-2021 and 2021-2022, enrollment declined by 3%.
Attendance is also tied to the LCFF funding, which has been negatively affected by the pandemic at LBUSD schools.
The attendance rate pre-pandemic was 95-96%, but that fell to 89% this year as students returned to in-person learning. Takahashi said that there is a projected slow but steady recovery for the upcoming years of about 1% annually.
As for the LCFF supplemental and concentration grants, these funds are allocated for the district’s unduplicated pupil percentage, which represents specific student populations such as emerging bilingual, economically disadvantaged, foster and homeless students.
In 2019 the percentage of unduplicated pupils was around 70%, but has since decreased to 63%, meaning that these funds are also at risk of decreasing in upcoming years.
“We are experiencing a demographic shift in terms of our students,” Takahashi said.
Given these projections, the district also passed a resolution to commit $400 million of this year’s ending balances to maintain staff continuity. According to Takahashi, this money would serve as a cushion to address the fiscal adversity of years to come and prevent potential layoffs.
Board President Juan Benitez said that despite the perception that “on paper, [the district] has more money,” that money is being committed to “protecting jobs and employees.”
The district’s goals, plans and actions on how to spend LFCC funds are found in the Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP), which was also adopted at Wednesday’s meeting. A draft of the LCAP was first presented to the board at their May 4 meeting and has been continuously revised to incorporate community feedback.
Some of the main goals of the LCAP include academic progress, college and career readiness and creating supportive schools. Actions to achieve these goals range from parent outreach and engagement through programs such as Parent University and additional counseling services to literacy support and restorative justice.
However, per public comment, some parents believe the LCAP does not reflect enough of an investment in mental health resources, enrichment activities and support for English learners.
Carolina Aguilar, a mother and member of Latinos in Action California, said that wellness centers are not enough to support mental health.
“I am asking you all to invest in [qualified] staff for mental health, especially in schools that have high needs and high rates of disciplinary action,” Aguilar said.
“Students need more learning opportunities that are attractive, enriching and relevant during the school day,” said mother and member of Latinos in Action California Guillermina Cruz.
Cruz told the board she had to take it upon herself to look for enrichment activities and opportunities for her children outside of the school and that these represent a financial burden on low-income communities.
Superintendent Jill Baker later referenced the Expanded Learning Opportunities Plan (ELO-P), a part of the set of plans approved Wednesday, as a resource for enrichment opportunities. The plan will offer extended after-school programs at all elementary, K-8 and middle schools in the district.
Baker also said that the LCAP is not the only document representing where funds are being spent and encourages parents to also take a look at the Learning Acceleration, Support and Enrichment Plan (LASP)—LBUSD’s own plan to meet social-emotional and academic needs—as well as individual school sites to see what types of resources are being offered and invested in.
“The data that is coming from multiple surveys and all kinds of engagement is used to inform multiple plans,” Baker said.
LBUSD’s 2022-2023 budget is still susceptible to change, as revisions are still being made to the State budget. Once the state budget is finalized, the district will have 45 days to make any changes. The revised budget will then be submitted to the school board for approval.
Correction: July 1, 9 a.m. — A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that LBUSD committed $92 million of their ending balances to maintain staff continuity. The correct sum the board committed is $400 million. The $92 million sum refers to a proposed one-time discretionary block grant the district expects to receive from the May revision of the state budget.
