Faced with declining enrollment and the loss of state funding, Placentia-Yorba Unified School District trustees have taken several actions to secure the district’s financial future.
A report on enrollment trends presented at an October meeting highlighted the nature of the district’s loss of students over past years by focusing on census day enrollment, enrollment at the end of the school year and the number of students transferring out of the district compared to the number of students transferring into the district.
Statewide, “census day” is the first Wednesday in October when all districts report enrollment. Last year, the Placentia-Yorba Linda district’s census day enrollment was 22,698 students compared to this year’s number of 22,297.
However, last year the district gained 148 students by the end of the year, and further gains are expected this year.
Also, the district has compared the number of students entering kindergarten each year to the number of students who graduated from 12th grade.
Last year, 1,164 students entered kindergarten and 1,798 students graduated from 12th grade. This year, 1,310 entered kindergarten and 2,061 are expected to graduate from 12th grade.
Notably, more students transferred out of the district than transferred in for the past few years, but the number of students who transferred into the district this year eclipsed the number who transferred out, perhaps due to increasing awareness of specialized academy, computer science and other programs.
More enrollment analysis is expected at future meetings, including the type of programs that are pulling students into the district, how the district can retain students and where students who leave the district are going.
A couple of efforts at securing the district’s financial future include a budget stabilization plan and the development of a facility master plan. A budget stabilization proposal was presented at a meeting earlier this year.
A final plan is expected before the next fiscal year’s budget is adopted.
“Reductions presented may include tighter staffing at school sites, position reductions and non-personnel cost reductions,” officials noted, “(and) the board projects the need for $15.6 million in budget reductions in 2026-27 in order to maintain fiscal solvency.”
The district also is working on a facility master plan that would be needed for the district to qualify for state bond money. The plan will include assessing current facilities, analyzing future needs and presenting a detailed budget for future projects.
A plan that could start saving cash as early as next year is a retirement incentive that would pay eligible employees 80% of their final year salary over a five-year period.
The plan would be implemented if a sufficient number of employees signed on. The savings would come from not replacing some employees and hiring needed replacements lower on the salary schedule.
Jim Drummond is a longtime Yorba Linda resident. He gives his opinion on local issues weekly. Send e-mail to jimdrummond@hotmail.com.