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The Board of Education at the San Ramon Valley Unified School District is set to receive a presentation and hold a public hearing Tuesday on the unaudited actuals for the previous fiscal year’s annual financial and budget report.
The total revenue generated by the district for the 2023-24 fiscal year was $470,672,962, according to the report up for discussion at the upcoming meeting, with expenses reported at $480,760,487.
Of the revenue generated, $339,006,183 was from Local Control Funding Formula sources, $11,436,164 in federal revenue, $80,224,942 in other state revenue and $40,005,673 in other local revenue.
Expenses consisted of $199,477,619 in spending for certificated staff, $71,721,020 in spending for classified staff, $134,297,106 in benefits, $14,426,989 for books and supplies, $58,750,731 in services, $1,293,827 for capital outlay, and $793,195 in outgoing expenses.
“Total General Fund expenditures increased approximately 10.8% over the prior year, primarily due to salary increases (step/column adjustments and negotiated agreements), as well as increases to retirement and medical contributions, and the general fund contribution to support the special education program,” SRVUSD Superintendent CJ Cammack and chief business officer Stella Kemp wrote in the report set to be presented at the upcoming meeting.
While spending on books and supplies decreased in the past fiscal year, spending on contracted services increased by approximately 20.5% compared with the past year.
Overall, the district ended the past fiscal year with a $13.4 million deficit, $6.5 million of which was from unrestricted funds and $6.9 million of which was from restricted funds.
While the financial picture appears somewhat bleak, the deficit was less than the $25.5 million estimated in the budgeting process for the 2023-24 fiscal year.
Personnel costs have been increasing steadily, according to the budget report, with spending on personnel in the past fiscal year coming out to $18.8 million more than the 2022 to 2023 fiscal year, with unrestricted salaries and benefits coming out $3.2 million more than anticipated.Â
Due to the deficit being smaller than anticipated in the budgeting process, the beginning balance in the current year’s budget is set to be updated from $31,750,414 to $56,522,180.
While the district overall was able to reduce spending and end the year with a deficit smaller than anticipated, many of the cost-cutting measures and extra revenue sources are not long term or ongoing solutions.
“In FY 2023-24, the district’s deficit spending closed due to transfers of one-time discretionary dollars, funding adjustments for custodial positions and suspension of Fund 40 transfers from lease and facility use,” Cammack and Kemp wrote. “Due to the limited available General Fund reserves the district will closely monitor budget staffing costs to better anticipate and manage FY 2024-25 budget projections. In the next month, the fiscal team will bring an updated on-going reduction target needed for FY 2025-26.”
The board is set to vote on whether to accept the report following the upcoming presentation. The SRVUSD meeting is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. on Tuesday (Sept. 10). The agenda is available here.
The headline does not capture the reality of the deficit. It may have “decreased” BUT it still is a huge deficit of over $13 million dollars. That is NOT acceptable and the district people involved need to be held responsible.