May 21, 2020

 

Dear SPUSD Community,

 

Last week during the monthly School Board meeting, I presented background information about the SPUSD annual budget along with prospective scenarios from the Los Angeles County Office of Education and the California Department of Finance that helped us plan for the projected budget deficits due to the pandemic.

 

Since that time, Governor Newsom presented the May Revision budget proposal. The proposal applies an equivalent 10% cut to the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF). SPUSD was already working from a budget in the lowest 10% of State funded unified districts. This decline translates to an approximate $4.3 million loss in State funding.

 

SPUSD will be forced to make significant reductions in order to present a budget acceptable to the county. We remain hopeful that the state will help minimize these impacts through additional relief efforts, and that the federal government will provide stimulus funds to offset the deficit for one year, however these supplements may not be available in time to develop our district budget. Therefore, the School Board will be reviewing and approving a budget based on the Governor's May Revision assumptions.

 

We are committed to financial stabilization and to upholding a strong educational system within South Pasadena. We have updated our Budget Fast Facts document - linked here - and hope that it will provide additional details as we navigate these uncertain waters.

 

Please continue to advocate for public education with local legislators and strongly support the PTAs, Booster Clubs, and the South Pasadena Educational Foundation (SPEF) whenever possible. Their contributions go directly toward the students. These local funding sources are critical as state funding declines, and we anticipate needing their support to help fill some of the reductions schools will experience.

 

Thank you for your continued support.

 

Geoff Yantz, Ed.D.
Superintendent