WCCUSD school board gets two-week extension to approve budget

Correction: This story was updated Wed., July 3, to add that Demetrio Gonzalez Hoy is currently the Area 4 trustee on the school board.

This story was updated Tuesday at 9:20 a.m. to correct Karissa Provenza’s tie to the district.

The West Contra Costa Unified School District board, which has come under fire the past few days for failing to approve the 2024-25 district budget on time because it was unsatisfied with its local accountability plan, now has until July 17 to get the job done.

The Contra Costa County Office of Education is giving the board a two-week extension to pass its Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) and $509 million budget. Both were due to be approved last Wednesday, but board members declined to pass the LCAP, saying it lacked clarity, and they couldn’t vote on the budget without that plan being approved.

Without a budget, district operations are already seeing an impact, with district facilities losing internet services temporarily on Monday due to a contract not being approved on time.

Demetrio Gonzalez-Hoy, Area 4 trustee and the board’s clerk, told Richmondside on Monday that the county Office of Education told them that the LCAP and the budget must be passed at next board meeting on July 17. The county has not yet commented on the process as of this story’s posting.

School board members said last week that the district had not adequately explained in the LCAP how $64 million in special funds will be spent to support vulnerable student populations, such as those who are new English speakers, from low-income homes, or are disabled or in foster homes. 

The board could have scheduled a special meeting last weekend to attempt to pass the budget on time, but it didn’t, and it’s unclear why.

Gonzalez-Hoy said that district staff will start adjusting the LCAP to address concerns from parents in the District Local Control Accountability Plan committee — the parent committee overseeing the LCAP process.

 “My hope is that, with those changes, we will be able to make a decision at the next board meeting and move forward in collaboration with all stakeholders.”

Demetrio Gonzalez-Hoy, Area 4 trustee

Budget delay impacts some district operations

The delay in approving a budget already is having an impact on certain district operations.

Because the board was unable to approve its internet services contract last week, as it was scheduled to, the bill was not paid and internet services were shut down on Monday, Gonzalez-Hoy told Richmondside.

“Thankfully, our (chief business officer) was able to work with the company for an extension for payment for the time being,” Gonzalez-Hoy said.

Not only are LCAP funds for special programs currently frozen, but if the LCAP is not approved before August, schools will not be able to hire for certain site positions, such as for yard supervisors or support staff, by the start of the school year, Gonzalez-Hoy added.

The district sent out emails to all employees last week to assure them that they would continue to be paid over the summer, as they are temporarily operating under the 2023-24 third interim budget. In the email, shared with Richmondside by a district employee, interim Assistant Superintendent Kim Moses told district staff that payroll, as well as other operating expenses, will not be interrupted. 

“This is an unprecedented time in our district,” Moses wrote in the email. “However, I am confident that the county will review our circumstances with a student-focused lens and do what is necessary to support our students.”

Contra Costa County Office of Education officials told Richmondside on Friday that its office would only take control of the budget, not of the entire district, if the district cannot pass a new budget. 

If that happens, the county then has until Sept. 15 to impose a new budget, said Contra Costa County Office of Education officer Marcus Walton. 

For now, the district will revert to its interim budget for spending guidance and can transfer funds as needed. 

As of the time this story was published, neither the county nor district staff had provided Richmondside with a copy of the third interim budget.

Parents wait for clarity

Numerous parents and students asked the school board at its Wednesday meeting to ensure that all programs in the budget were funded. Many decried budget cuts at certain campuses and accused the board of insufficient public engagement and transparency over several years while putting together the LCAP.

Gonzalez-Hoy said Monday that the district’s staff is discussing ways to increase engagement and transparency with its families in the future. 

Lucas Menanix, head of the DLCAP, told Richmondside Monday: “I haven’t seen anything ‘official’ about next steps. Also I have not been contacted by the district yet about making changes to the LCAP.”

Karissa Provenza, a San Francisco attorney who supports district parents, said parents haven’t received any clarification or communication about any next steps to resolve the budget and LCAP impasse. 

“It sounds like the county is supporting the district in revising the LCAP to ensure it is complete and accurate this time around, but they do still need to go through the appropriate engagement process with the parent committees,” Provenza told Richmondside. “I don’t have any updates on their plan, but (am) hoping they utilize the July 17th meeting to present an updated LCAP to adopt so this issue can be resolved before the new school year begins.”