The West Contra Costa Unified School District is projecting its first operating surplus in years, offering a rare bright spot after months of painful budget reductions.
This week, WCCUSD released its budget for the upcoming school year, along with its plan outlining how it will support its most vulnerable students, known as the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP).
The district projects total revenues of about $532.5 million for the 2026–2027 school year and $520.3 million in expenditures, resulting in an operating surplus of $12.2 million.
“This is the first time in a very long time that our revenues outpace expenditures,” WCCUSD school board Trustee Leslie Reckler told Richmondside. “The next few years are still questionable, and they are (projecting) operating on a structural deficit and using reserves … so there is hope and there’s a lot of work to do.”
The projected surplus reflects next year’s budget alone and is largely due to an infusion of cash from the state. WCCUSD still faces structural deficits in future years, especially as enrollment continues to decline, and it continues to draw from its reserves, according to budget documents.
Board Clerk Demetrio Gonzalez-Hoy is hoping to take advantage of those state funds and avoid making budget cuts next year.
At Wednesday’s school board meeting, he asked board members to consider using additional state dollars (specifically from the learning recovery funds and the student support professional development block grant funding) to offset the $14 million in cuts that the district plans to make in the 2026-27 school year — if those state dollars come through.
WCCUSD’s fiscal solvency plan, introduced in January, outlines a three-year strategy to eliminate its $127 million operating deficit. Most of the reductions were made this year, including cutting about 300 positions, merging two middle schools and reducing funding to individual school sites and programs.
Year two of that plan outlines the $14 million in cuts, but with an infusion of cash from the state, Gonzalez-Hoy is hoping, “For lack of a better word, we can put a Band-Aid on it.”
“I just can’t imagine starving our schools more than what they are now,” Gonzalez-Hoy said at the meeting.
His proposition was met with hesitation from some district officials, who noted that while this budget offers some glimmers of hope, it’s also a snapshot in time and finances could turn at any moment.
For example, voters could choose to not renew WCCUSD’s parcel tax measure in the November election, interim budget director Jeff Carter said. Measure T generates about $10 million annually and helps fund sports, library operations and other after school programs.
Reckler said it may be premature to commit state dollars (which have not yet been approved by the Legislature) to close the gap. She also said there may be ways to use state grants to generate more revenue for the district, such as creating programs that increase enrollment and improve attendance.
“The governor’s budget isn’t done yet. We have no idea really what’s going to happen for the next three years,” Reckler said. “So even though it’s looking really good for one year, the runway is still questionable. We still have to make cuts in those outer years so this may not be the best allocation of resources.”
The district’s budget plan is also a projection, and there are many ways the district could end up outpacing its expenditures, such as having to hire contractors to fill special education vacancies. The district could also end up spending less than expected, like it did this school year.
A resolution on whether to use state dollars to skirt cuts is expected to come before the board at its June 24 meeting, when it will vote on the proposed budget. It will also vote on the LCAP.
District has improved its accountability plan
Every year, school districts receive millions from the state based on the number and percentage of high-needs students. Districts must clearly outline in an accountability plan (the LCAP) how the money will be spent to increase or improve services for those students. The plan is developed with input from parents, educators, students and other community stakeholders.
For the 2026-27 school year, $87.1 million is earmarked for LCAP services, including $66.7 million to support high-needs students such as English learners, foster youths and low-income students.
Over the last year, five advisory groups met 13 times and came up with 43 recommendations. Of those recommendations, 25 were fully implemented and only four were not adopted. Others were included but with modifications.
“I’ve never seen so many of the recommendations be fully implemented in the LCAP,” board President Guadalupe Enllana said at the meeting. “Compared to many other years, this is a big step.”
Last year, there were 47 recommendations, of which 19 were fully implemented. In 2024-25, the district submitted an incomplete LCAP, with numerous sections left blank.
Parents from the District Local Control Accountability Plan (DLCAP) Committee, a parent and community advisory committee that advises the school board, said they were pleased with the district’s improvements. But they still made their case on Wednesday for the four missing recommendations.
“We will keep working this process, but we want the board to hear us plainly,” said Joey Knapp, DLCAP member. “The committee’s confidence in the district’s follow-through is not high. We have been given commitments before.”
The DLCAP is asking for another meeting before the June 24 vote, including with and the African American Site Advisory Team, to more closely examine how this year’s cuts will impact students next year — and what it can do to mitigate them.
For example, WCCUSD is reducing funding for each school site from $3.2 to $2.3 million, which means schools don’t have enough money for yard supervisors and other programs.
“(We want) real accountability measures … and honest reckoning with the site funding cuts,” Knapp told the board. “We are asking for actions, not assurances.”
The district’s LCAP plan is a dense 288-page document that can be found here.
Editor’s note: This story and headline were updated to clarify that the board will vote later this month on whether to use the surplus funds.
What about our schools and getting enough computers for the students when your school has 324 students and you are providing on 84 computers.?
Thank you for writing about the budget and multiyear projection.
My comments about a positive balance were specifically directed at the 2026–27 unrestricted budget, which is typically subject to the greatest fiscal pressures and requires the closest cost management.
Thank you!
I’m confused–they’ve cut positions, cut programs, there was a strike, now there’s a “surplus” and yet the needs of the students are still not being met. Is anyone in charge who knows how to run a school district?