MIDDLETOWN— The Middletown Unified School District Board met in public session on Thursday. The public session, which focused on the 2024-27 budgets was sparsely attended in the wake of graduation and the end of classes and focused on possible cuts due to continuing impacts of low enrollment in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The expense cutting recommendations discussed include a restructure to a teaching principal at Cobb that would save $130,000, a reduction of three custodians district-wide to save $185,000, eliminating nine non-transition kindergarten/non-special education instructional aides to save $235,000, removing a translator position to save $53,000 and cutting a technology assistant position for a $87,000 budget reduction. Additional proposed expenditure cuts include three campus supervisor positions to garner $100,000 in savings and dropping one teaching position would save another $85,000. The district has a few months to finalize decisions on where to make these cuts.
Superintendent Crane pointed out that polling of parents indicated strong support for elementary school arts and music, so he intends to focus Proposition 28 funding in accordance with the wishes of the community.
Ashley LaVelle, Chief Business Officer, presented the board with the current budgetary situation. She pointed out that the budget is a living, breathing document that is required to contain a three-year projection. Projection of the cost of goods and labor in a post Covid world can be challenging. Movement in the state and national economies and subsequent government revenues and priorities contain many cost uncertainties. Since union negotiations have been concluded, there are some firmer numbers in the expenditures column of the projected budgets. While salaries and benefits comprise some 87% of the MUSD Unrestricted budget the district has seen an 18% rise in insurance rates, a 5% rise in student data charges and a PG&E increase of some 12%. After three phases of budget adjustment the district is projecting a $1.4 million operating deficit on $22.6 million in revenue leaving a General Fund balance of $6.5 million for 2024-25.
School attendance impacts revenue to the district, Lavelle pointed out. Student attendance dropped significantly during Covid. The post-pandemic remedies offered by the legislature have expired, yet the attendance figures for the Middletown Unified School District have not fully recovered. This impacts the Local Control Funding Formula by approximately $500,000 per year. The district is discussing strategies to increase attendance rates to generate needed revenues to meet projected expenses.
During the 2025-26 fiscal year, the district projects operating expenses to exceed revenues by more than $900,000. There are suggested budget cuts that could reduce that figure by approximately $875,000, essentially eliminating deficit spending.
During 2026-27, the district projects that there will be an operating deficit of $700,000. However, implementing the suggested budget solutions for the 2025-26 year would eliminate the budget imbalance for 2026-27 as well. LaVelle emphasized that early adoption of expense reduction compounds over years to help downstream budget projections.
School officials noted that the district team will continue to look for ways to increase the revenue side of the budget to reduce the suggested cuts, but strategies for boosting student attendance district-wide appears to be the low hanging fruit that could balance budgets and potentially save positions.
The four board members in addition to Superintendent Jeff Crane all expressed their appreciation of staff efforts at graduation and the enthusiasm shown by the graduating class.
The Board meets in public sessions on the second Wednesday of each month at 6 p.m.
