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The Pleasanton Unified School District Board of Trustees will be voting on the 2025-26 second interim budget report Thursday, which continues to show a negative unrestricted ending fund balance that grew from the first interim report that was presented to the board in December.
According to the report, these latest projections are based on the most up-to-date data of actual revenues and expenditures through Jan. 31 — these projections also serve as a forecast of the district’s finances for the remainder of the fiscal year.
“The district’s 2025/26 Second Interim adjusted ending fund balance is projected to be negative ($3,342,827), a deterioration from the negative ($2,530,517) reported at the First Interim,” according to the budget report. “While the current projections show a deterioration, with continued vigilance in spending in the remainder of the year, the district can improve its final ending fund balance; there is potential to save in unrestricted book and supplies costs and other areas of the budget.”
This latest interim budget report is the second of three updates to the district’s 2025-26 budget. According to staff, it provides an “updated and more accurate picture of Pleasanton Unified School District’s finances.”
Since the first interim report, which was presented to the board on Dec. 11, 2025, the district has received new financial information on things like the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA), budget assumptions, and updated demographer and enrollment reports. The latest report also includes expenditure reductions and other budget cuts the board approved for the 2026-27 fiscal year.
“This includes detailed financial tables, multi-year projections, explanations of major budget adjustments, and an overview of the enhanced oversight and support we are receiving from the Alameda County Office of Education,” according to the March 12 staff report.
The district is currently receiving support from the county after PUSD submitted its first interim budget report as a negative certification.
According to the report, staff will be going over detailed financial information, multi-year projections, major budget adjustments and some of the oversight provided by the county’s fiscal expert who was assigned to aid the district.
“Together, these elements are intended to give the board and community a transparent view of our fiscal condition and the work ahead to restore long-term solvency while continuing to support high-quality programs for students,” according to staff.
However, because of the negative ending fund balance, the district must continue to maintain its negative certification for the second interim budget report.
“Despite significant efforts over the past two years to reduce costs and align staffing with enrollment, Pleasanton Unified finds itself in ‘negative’ status because ongoing expenses are outpacing ongoing revenues and our non-committed reserves have been depleted,” according to the report.
Several key factors are responsible for the negative status. The district states it does not receive enough funding from the state, enrollment continues to decline, one-time funds have been depleted, and more money is being spent on things like pension, healthcare, utilities, insurance and special education expenses.Â
And while PUSD did note the $11 million transfer from the sale of the district’s Vineyard Avenue property to its Committed and Stabilization funds and how in February, the board approved a $8.1 million transfer of funds to the Special Reserve Fund, the report made it clear even with that money, it’s still not enough to help the district’s overall financial status.
“While Stabilization funds are part of our total reserve, they have been restricted by State and Board actions and are not available to balance deficit spending,” according to the report.
In addition to the county office of education appointing a fiscal expert to assist PUSD’s fiscal team, the state’s Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team is also in the middle of completing a Fiscal Health Risk Analysis, which will be presented to the board at a later date.Â
If the county does not see PUSD making significant progress to stabilize its finances, however, the district could face losing its local control to make budgetary decisions.
“The Negative Certification status does not mean we are immediately insolvent, but it is a clear warning that the district will need to fully implement the approved reductions, continue identifying additional savings, and pursue new or enhanced revenue sources,” according to the report. “The district should consider using any future one-time State funds to rebuild reserves and restore long-term fiscal stability for PUSD students, staff, and community.”
The board’s open-session meeting is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Thursday (March 12). Read the full agenda here.
In other business:
* With demolition of Village High School nearing completion, the board will be voting on approving three items Thursday that will help move the construction of the new Education Options Center forward.
The center, one of the marquee projects funded by the 2024 voter approved Measure I bond, will house several programs once constructed, including Village High School, the Pleasanton Virtual Academy and the Adult Transition Program.
According to the agenda, the board will first vote on a roughly $480,000 contract with Percepta Group for project inspection services. The scope of work for the company includes on-site daily inspection, detailed field reporting, review of contractor progress payments and other inspection-related services.
The next item related to the construction of the new education center that the board will vote on is a $130,620 contract with Earth Systems Pacific to provide “Materials Testing and Special Inspection (MTSI) services to support structural work, concrete placement, welding, soil testing, and all inspection activities required by the Division of the State Architect (DSA).”
Lastly, the board will be looking to approve a nearly $120,000 contract with Crawford & Associates for geotechnical services.
“These services include observation and compaction testing to ensure that the contractor has prepared the site correctly to receive the foundation, parking lot and other site improvements,” according to the staff report.
* Staff will be asking the board to approve a roughly $6.2 million contract with Evra Construction for the construction of two new transitional kindergarten (TK) classrooms, the remodeling of two others and other related site improvements at Walnut Grove Elementary School.
These new classrooms, which are part of the overall Transitional Kindergarten Project at the elementary school, will help address new enrollment projections the district received in January which show that the school is anticipating 54 TK students and 55 kindergarten students through the 2031-32 school year.
Once the project is complete — the contract requires construction to wrap up by January 2029 — the school will have seven kindergarten and transitional kindergarten classrooms.
* The board will be reviewing the Citizens Bond Oversight Committee’s annual report for Measure I, PUSD’s $395 million general obligation bond, and Measure I1, a $270 million bond that voters approved in 2016.
The committee is an independent oversight committee that works closely with the district to ensure bond money is exclusively used for projects outlined in the respective bond project lists that were approved by Pleasanton voters.
* Trustees will also vote on an agreement with HED, an architecture firm, to provide design and engineering services for the Food Service Upgrade Project at Valley View Elementary School.
According to staff, the district-wide effort aims to modernize “aging kitchen infrastructures, improve safety, operational efficiency and long-term reliability.” Valley View was identified as a priority site based on its facility conditions.
