Question: We are a district between 19,000 and 20,000 ADA and are experiencing declining enrollment of 300 to 750 students per year. Is FCMAT aware of any districts in the state who have done an exemplary job of adjusting ongoing expenditures to reduce levels of income due to declining enrollment?

Response: First of all, we are sorry that your district is involved in declining enrollment. With the tough fiscal challenges that CBO’s face every day, adding declining enrollment to the mix makes your job even more challenging.

Overall, there is no common rule or template for declining enrollment districts. While many are declining around the state, the nature of the decline, what is cut, how the cuts are implemented and the way it is addressed differs dramatically. The key is that the decline has to be dealt with, which always means cost containment, collective bargaining concessions and other reductions on the expense side of the budget as it is difficult to increase revenue to overcome the loss of revenue limit funding. Of course, the state provides a little buffer by allowing districts in declining enrollment status to build their budgets on prior year ADA (with some exceptions, including when a district charter school is part of the reason for the decline). However, that cushion is not enough for districts that are rapidly declining because operational costs do not decline as rapidly as the revenue that supports them. The most successful declining districts constantly update enrollment projections, staffing levels, and create aggressive recovery plans in advance of major declines and then stick to them. To be successful in such a challenging situation you must stay on top of the situation and educate the board, staff and community how declining enrollment affects the district so that their questions are answered as they come up.

A source you could use to find other districts with declining is Ed Data. The site is http://www.ed-data.k12.ca.us/.