by Andrew Alonzo | aalonzo@claremont-courier.com

Claremont Unified School District’s projected budget deficit for fiscal year 2025-26, which closed July 1, is $10.8 million. It’s budget shortfall for 2026-27 is projected to be $1.6 million.

The announcement came at the Board of Education’s June 18 meeting, which also saw the board unanimously approve a measure to advance a 30-year $77 million bond measure to the November 3 general election ballot. If Claremont voters approve the bond measure, taxpayers will begin paying on it in 2029, when the $48 million Measure Y school bond sunsets.

Budget reduced

The budget deficit reduction for the new fiscal year was driven by two factors, according to CUSD Director of Communications Elaine Kong.

“Through thoughtful conversations with every department, the district identified savings that could be realized with minimal impact on students,” Kong wrote in an email. “At the same time, the state’s 2026-27 budget delivered an unusually large cost-of-living adjustment, a ‘super COLA’ totaling 4.31 percent, which increased the district’s Local Control Funding Formula revenue. Together, these brought the projected deficit down.”

CUSD Board of Education President Alex McDonald at the June 18 meeting. Courier photo/Andrew Alonzo

Using combined general fund spending figures, CUSD’s projected revenue for the 2026-27 school year is $105,546,961 and its total expenditures $107,121,660, leaving it with a deficit of $1,574,699 to backfill with reserves, which currently stand at $15,284,161.

In March, CUSD estimated revenues for the current 2025-26 fiscal year at $104,769,407 and expenditures at $115,604,818, leaving the $10,835,411 gap. Reserves at that time were at $22,817,526.

Also in March, the Los Angeles County Office of Education put CUSD on notice that it may step in and involve itself in the district’s finances if it didn’t work fast to close its then yawning $10.8 million spending gap. The budget deficit reduction is expected to ease scrutiny from the county body, Kong said.

The LA County Office of Education did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The 2026-27 budget (linked at cusd-claremont.community.highbond.com) was presented at the June 18 CUSD Board of Education meeting and approved on a 4-0 vote June 22. Board Vice President Kathy Archer was absent.

Kong explained further how CUSD reduced its spending.

“The reductions came from a deliberate, department-by-department process,” Kong wrote. “Declining enrollment and a number of employee retirements shaped this year’s budget, and the retirements in particular allowed the district to reduce costs through attrition rather than through layoffs. Each department worked closely with Business Services to review its own budget and identify approximately 10 percent in savings within that department’s budget. These were cuts made inside each individual department budget, not a 10 percent reduction to the general fund or to the district’s overall budget. The district also went through its contracts with outside vendors, reducing some and eliminating others.”

CUSD Board of Education Vice President Kathy Archer at the June 18 meeting. Courier photo/Andrew Alonzo

CUSD has 15 departments: business services, child development, communications, educational services, educational technology, facilities maintenance and operations, fiscal services, health services, human resources, information services, mental health and wellness, nutrition services, special education, superintendent of schools, and student services.

“Reductions were identified through thoughtful conversations with every department, with a focus on areas where savings could be realized while keeping the impact on students minimal,” Kong wrote. “These reductions came from across programs, contracts, and services rather than from any single area.”

Kong said the process did not result in CUSD identifying areas of waste.

“It comes from several factors working together: expenditure reductions made within each department’s own budget, savings from attrition as several retirements were not backfilled, and increased state revenue,” Kong wrote. “On salaries, no employee salaries were reduced. Personnel savings came through attrition, meaning retirements that were not refilled, rather than through pay cuts or layoffs.”

The district’s latest projections see budget deficits of $325,530 and $1,015,317 for 2027-28 and 2028-29, respectively. Both numbers are much lower than estimates from March, when those same deficits stood at $3,921,560 and $3,259,112.

Claremont’s Local Control Funding Formula revenue, which is based primarily on attendance and student demographics, was estimated at $77,803,873 for 2026-27, up $2,337,780 from the previous fiscal year’s $75,466,093.

Kong said salary adjustments have not yet been incorporated into the 2026-27 budget as tentative agreements between CUSD and the Claremont Faculty Association and California School Employees Association Chapter 200 are awaiting board approval.

Members of CUSD’s teachers union touted the new budget and praised officials for answering their pleas for raises at the June 18 board meeting.

“As I mentioned earlier, I’m also here to say thank you for working with CFA on a compensation package that truly does reflect a mutual respect and understanding of the tenuous financial situation that we all find ourselves in,” CFA bargaining chair Jason Remedios said. “Life is extremely expensive these days, and healthcare costs are going to the roof. We definitely needed a raise.”

CUSD Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Desiree Reyes said the district will continue to monitor “economic uncertainty, declining enrollment, attendance rates, and costs associated with annual collective bargaining” when preparing subsequent budget readings. “Significant changes to the final enacted budget will be included in our first interim update provided to the board for review and approval in December,” she said. CUSD is budgeting for declining enrollment of about 125 students per year in the near future.

The Courier filed a public records request on June 25 for an itemized list of the reductions CUSD made to reduce its deficit. Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Rick Lopez said he anticipated a response by July 20, after which time the Courier will report on its findings.

CUSD bond heads to voters in November

The board unanimously approved a measure that will advance a $77 million bond measure to the November 3 general election ballot. If passed, it will go into effect in 2029.

The board is on recess in July. Its next meeting is 6 p.m. Thursday, August 6 at 170 W. San Jose Ave., Claremont.