Budget update: Board continues to explore long-term solutions Nov. 7
The Folsom Cordova Unified Board of Education will continue exploring solutions to the District’s budget challenges during its next regularly scheduled meeting on Thursday, Nov. 7, which begins at 6 p.m. and is held in the Education Services Center, 1965 Birkmont Drive in Rancho Cordova.
The meeting will also be live-streamed at www.youtube.com/folsomcordova. The presentation slides for the Nov. 7 agenda item can be found here.
School districts across the state are experiencing fiscal challenges due to rising employee and operating costs that are outpacing revenues. The Board has held five public study sessions in the last year to explore ideas for solutions to Folsom Cordova’s budget shortfall.
In the 2020-21 school year, the District projects an estimated $3.5 million budget shortfall, and an additional $5.5 million the following year.
As part of the first phase of budget reductions this year, the District has taken several actions, including reducing travel and conference expenses, saving money through early retirements, eliminating vacant teaching positions that did not have class rosters, declining to backfill some clerical positions, and eliminating some administration positions by collapsing vacant positions.
In recent weeks, the District has been working collaboratively with its employee unions, including the Folsom Cordova Education Association and the California School Employees Association, to explore long-term budget reductions designed to minimize potential staff reductions and reduce impacts to student learning.
Ideas to date: During its Oct. 24 budget study session, the Board received a report on ideas collected through its collaborative process (you can watch the presentation here, and click here for the slides). At the Nov. 7 meeting, District staff will present additional details about select ideas for solutions (here are the presentation slides).
-Daniel Thigpen, Director of Communication & Community Engagement, dthigpen@fcusd.org