Poway school district reports deficit, but ‘not anticipating’ layoffs next school year

POWAY, Calif. (FOX 5/KUSI) — Another school district has announced they are facing a budget deficit, this time at Poway Unified School District.

The district said they aim to have the least impact to classrooms, adding they are “not anticipating any layoff for next school year.”

The district said this is their largest deficit in nearly two decades. They said tackling it would not be easy, but will be thoughtful.

“We knew this wasn’t good news,” said a Poway Unified School Board member, during their March 7 meeting.

“We are forced in this moment to respond to a fiscal crisis at the state level, and to be fiscally prudent,” said Greg Mizel, the interim superintendent for Poway Unified School District.

Poway Unified School District is dealing with its largest budget shortfall since the Great Recession in 2008.

“The reality is there is no easy option, there’s no elegant solution,” Mizel said.

“In terms of leadership challenges, this is a big one. It’s not typically how you like to roll into a position like this, nor is it a moment that’s easy,” Mizel said.

During the March 7 PUSD School Board meeting, the district learned they are facing a $28M deficit.

“$28M is a pretty large deficit for Poway. It’s about a 5% hit to our general fund budget which is about $500M each year,” said Ron Little, PUSD associate superintendent of business support services.

PUSD needs to address this budget gap over the next two years, however, the district must mitigate a minimum of $15 million for the next school year, 2024-25.

“We are not racing to solution, that’s not what you do in a crisis, you gather input,” Mizel said.

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Many factors have contributed to this challenging financial landscape: the California State budget includes a projected $73 billion shortfall and an unprecedented reduction in the Prop 98 minimum guarantee for education funding.

Additional factors such as COVID pandemic relief ending, an anemic Cost of Living Adjustment, declining enrollment, lower attendance rates, and increasing operating costs have also contributed to an ongoing, multi-year structural deficit for PUSD.

Click here to see the district’s 2024-25 budget fact sheet.

https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4818#:~:text=Proposition%2098%20Establishes%20Minimum%20Funding,.%E2%80%9D%20(Figure%201).

Poway’s shortfall comes after San Diego Unified School District announced needing to lay off dozens of staff to close its $93.7M deficit.

Mizel said no permanent PUSD employees will face layoffs for the 2024-25 school year.

Click here to view the district’s 2024-25 Budget Development.

“I hope that message is resonating,” Mizel said.

To balance their budget, PUSD is exploring cuts as far away from the classroom as possible. Such as freezing vacant management positions, reducing departmental budgets, reducing student transportation routes, etc.

“It doesn’t matter how you do this, how you engage in that category of work, not everyone is going to be happy,” Mizel said. “Our true north is try to manage this challenge in a way our students feel it. In a way that our students aren’t impacted by it.”

Little added that “parents do not have to worry about the quality of their student’s education.”

Over the next several months, the district craft a response and bring the school board recommendations for a final budget approval in June.

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