Spending Today’s Dollars on Today’s Students
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Across recent Fresno Unified School District (FUSD) board meetings, trustees took actions that shape the district’s near-term financial decisions and its longer-term accountability for student outcomes. Below are the biggest takeaways, what they mean for families, and the questions we believe the Board must answer as the 2026–27 budget development season begins.
What Happened at the Meetings
December 10: First Interim Financial Report and Superintendent Evaluation Tool
The December 10th meeting was a key financial checkpoint as the Board approved the district’s “First Interim” Budget report. Interim budgets provide a snapshot of the district’s current financial health and a projected outlook for the following two years, comparing actual revenues and expenditures to the budget adopted in June. (Learn more about Interim Budgets with GO’s resource.)
Key takeaways from the First Interim Report:
- Positive certification: The district projects it will meet its financial obligations and maintain required reserves through the multi-year period.
- Unrestricted General Fund balance (projected):
- 2025-26: $97.8 million
- 2026-27: $61.6 million
- 2027-28: $48.5 million
- Reserve levels will continue to decline, but stay above the state required 2% minimum:
- 2025-26: 5.83%
- 2026-27: 3.77%
- 2027-28: 3.03%
- The district projects $55.4 million in one-time expenditures in 2025-26, including one-time salary increases, student supports, and textbook adoption.
District leaders emphasized that FUSD is now in a “right-sizing” phase, moving away from temporary federal relief dollars and toward a budget that must be sustained almost entirely through ongoing LCFF funding.
December 17: Monitoring Reports and Retirement Incentives
A major focus of the December 17 meeting was monitoring progress toward Goals & Guardrails, particularly in Literacy and College & Career Readiness (CCR)—two areas that are central to long-term student success and equity.
Literacy Intervention (Middle Grades)
The Board reviewed progress toward an interim literacy goal focused on 7th and 8th grade students who are 2–3 grade levels behind in ELA. The district’s goal is to increase the share of these students who improve at least one performance band on district interim ELA assessments:
- from 44% (June 2025) to 65% by June 2027
District leaders shared that:
- 44.5% of identified students improved at least one performance band in February 2025.
- On state assessments, students demonstrating more than one year of growth in ELA increased from 30% (June 2024) to 33.9% (June 2025).
They were candid about challenges, including student mobility, inconsistent middle school intervention structures, and gaps in how clearly intervention tools are communicated to teachers. Importantly, leadership emphasized this is not a teacher failure, but a system issue. District leaders shared that next steps include clearer student identification, instructional planning tools, content-alike professional learning, and targeted supports for English Learners and students with disabilities.
College and Career Readiness (CCR)
The Board also reviewed interim progress toward College & Career Readiness, with a focus on math performance in grades 9–11. The district’s interim math goal is to increase the share of students scoring “nearly met” or higher on math benchmarks:
- from 70% (February 2025) to 85% by June 2028
District leaders explained why interim data matters (SBAC math is only given in 11th grade) and shared encouraging trends:
- Fall 2024: 50.6% nearly met or exceeded standards
- Fall 2025: 66% nearly met or exceeded standards → a 15.4 percentage point increase in one year
Gains were observed across math courses, grade levels, and student groups, which district leaders attributed to stronger alignment between curriculum, assessments, and teacher collaboration. Beyond math, the broader CCR picture remains a concern:
- Only 43% of FUSD graduates currently meet the district’s definition of College and Career Ready.
- The long-term goal is 64% by 2030.
Early Retirement Incentive (PARS Plan)
In addition to monitoring student outcomes, the Board approved a supplemental early retirement incentive plan intended to support the district’s broader “right-sizing” strategy as enrollment declines and one-time funding expires.
Under this plan:
- 573 employees elected to participate and submitted irrevocable retirement notices.
- The district projects approximately $56 million in savings over five years, assuming many vacated positions are not fully backfilled.
- Participation exceeded expectations and included employees with long tenure and higher average salaries, increasing the potential for savings if positions are eliminated or restructured rather than replaced.
District leaders emphasized that these savings are not automatic. The financial benefit depends on how the district reorganizes staffing and services moving forward. Trustees described the decision as bittersweet – recognizing the opportunity to respectfully support long-serving employees while also acknowledging the loss of institutional knowledge and the risk of increased workload for remaining staff.
Why is this important?
As Fresno Unified transitions into a “right-sizing” phase, it’s important to acknowledge that the district is moving toward a more appropriate balance between fiscal stability and student investment. The First Interim shows reserves declining in a planned way while remaining above the state’s required minimum—a signal that the district is beginning to shift dollars from one-time accumulation toward ongoing use.
By law, districts of Fresno’s size are required to maintain a 2% reserve. The intent behind that threshold is clear: districts should spend approximately 98% of the dollars they receive in a given year on students in that same year, while keeping a modest safety net for uncertainty.
In prior Board Watches, GO Public Schools flagged moments when FUSD’s reserves climbed into the 8–9% range, raising a consistent and forward-looking question:
Are we holding back too many dollars instead of investing in students now?
From that perspective, a gradual and intentional drawdown of reserves can be a positive step – if it reflects purposeful investment in priorities like literacy, College & Career Readiness, and student wellness.
At the same time, that progress depends on transparency. When large one-time spending categories, such as textbook adoption, are described only in broad terms, families and staff lack the information needed to understand what is being purchased, on what timeline, and how those investments support today’s students. Without that specificity, meaningful public accountability becomes far more difficult.
How these shifts are communicated will be important. Families and staff benefit from clear, consistent messaging that explains:
- what is driving financial adjustments (e.g., enrollment and ADA changes, the expiration of one-time funds, or rising ongoing costs), and
- how budget decisions connect to the district’s student outcome goals.
When messaging aligns with financial reality, it helps maintain stability, morale, and trust – all of which are essential for schools and departments to plan thoughtfully and make student-centered decisions.
This balance matters not just for budgets, but for people. Stable, transparent communication helps avoid unnecessary anxiety and supports the retention of educators and staff at a moment when continuity is critical to improving literacy and College & Career Readiness.
To help our families show up as informed partners, we have several bilingual resources in our School Finance Resource Library. By translating complex processes like the LCAP into accessible tools and infographics, we are ensuring that Fresno voices are equipped to contribute meaningfully to the District’s success.
Additional Meeting Highlights:
- Governance Decisions and Board Compensation: At the January 14 meeting, the Board approved revisions to district bylaws to align with new state law allowing higher trustee stipends based on district size. Following this change, trustees voted to increase board member stipends to $4,500 per month, effective February 1, with Trustee Levine dissenting due to concerns about timing and the district’s budget context. This decision occurred while the district continues to emphasize “right-sizing” and prepare for further budget reductions, raising questions for families about alignment between governance decisions and fiscal messaging.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Fresno Kids First Data Talk on February 12
Earlier this winter, we released the 2025 Fresno Kids First Student Outcomes Report, offering a districtwide look at student learning, progress, and opportunity.
The data shows continued gains in ELA and math and strong college-going rates, alongside persistent challenges such as chronic absenteeism and gaps in A–G completion—especially for English learners and students with disabilities.
To help families and partners dig into what the data shows and what it means for Fresno students, we invite you to join our upcoming Fresno Kids First Data Talk this week!
[RSVP and join us for the discussion on 2/12!]
