Fiscal Tools

Local Control Funding Formula Calculator for County Offices

The Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) determines how all local educational agencies (LEAS) are funded. The Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) Calculator for County Offices has been produced based on information currently available to the development working group, FCMAT and our colleagues in the California Department of Education (CDE).

The LCFF for County Offices Announcement Email List is FCMAT’s primary communication tool for sharing information about updates or other material revisions to the county office LCFF calculator.

FCMAT's online Help Desk is intended to provide users with direct support for questions pertaining to the LCFF calculator and calculations for county offices. For school district and charter school calculations, please visit the Local Control Funding Formula Calculator for School Districts and Charter Schools page.

Links to the CDE's Principal Apportionment and Special Education certified data exhibits and other resources provide users with convenient access to the supporting certified data. Users should independently verify prepopulated data in the LCFF Calculator for County Offices from the Principal Apportionment section certified data exhibits. If any inconsistencies are noted, please report them directly to the FCMAT Help Desk.

FCMAT extends great appreciation to each member of the LCFF Calculator for County Offices development team for their contributions and commitment to ensuring the quality of this tool. Further appreciation is extended to the administration and the staff of the CDE for their continued support and collaborative partnership in developing the LCFF Calculator for County Offices.

FAQs

Click a question to view the answer.

Can users obtain the password to unprotect the county office LCFF Calculator?

No. The LCFF Calculator is password-protected to secure the underlying formulas and to protect the integrity of the calculation performed. FCMAT is unable to disperse the password for support reasons. If you would like to suggest a change, please create a help desk ticket and attach a copy of the file demonstrating your request.

Is there a user guide for the county office LCFF Calculator?

No. Instructions are maintained in a separate tab within the LCFF Calculator for county offices.

When is the LCFF Calculator for county offices updated?

The county office LCFF Calculator is updated twice a year, once in the second quarter and once in the third quarter:

The second quarter version of the LCFF calculator is typically released in May following the release of the Governor's May Revision. This version updates the prepopulated data certified by the CDE for the first principal apportionment (P-1), annual principal apportionment (Annual), and annual principal apportionment revision 2 (Annual R2) certification data. This data is typically released by the CDE in late February each year.

The third quarter version of the LCFF Calculator is typically released in July and incorporates changes to assumptions based on the state enacted budget. This version updates the prepopulated data certified by the CDE for the second principal apportionment (P-2), annual principal apportionment revision 1 (Annual R1), and annual principal apportionment revision 3 (Annual R3) certification data. This data is typically released by the CDE in late June of each year.

Additional updates may occur if material errors are found within the tool. Details of each update will be posted on this page and will be communicated through the LCFF Calculator for County Offices announcement email list.

What if the prepopulated data does not match my records?

Most prepopulated historical data fields remain accessible for user edit. Users can easily override prepopulated data between certification cycles if revisions have been submitted. Users should be cautious when overriding prepopulated data because data that has been overridden cannot be restored.

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Additional Resources

California Department of Education

The state agency responsible for allocating LCFF funding.

Principal Apportionment Exhibits

Education Protection Account

Local Control Funding Formula Overview

Current Version:

Version: 26.1d

Release Date: May 15, 2025

This version of the LCFF Calculator for County Offices contains the following update:

Data Entry Tab (Universal Assumptions & Funding Rates)

Estimated cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) provided by the Department of Finance as of May 2025 are as follows:

	2026-27	2027-28	2028-29	2029-30
Statutory COLA	3.02%	3.42%	3.31%	3.24%

Prior Versions:

Version: 26.1c

Release Date: May 5, 2025

This version of the LCFF Calculator for County Offices contains the following update:

Data Entry Tab

2025-26 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) updated to 2.30%. COLA assumptions for 2026-27 to 2029-30 will be updated following the release of the May Revision.

Version 26.1b: Release Date April 30, 2025

This version of the LCFF Calculator for County Offices contains the following update:

Calculator Tab

Formula corrections to cells Y5, Y9, AF5, AF9, AM5, AM9, AT5, AT9, BA5 and BA9

Version 26.1a: Release Date April 11, 2025

This version of the LCFF Calculator for County Offices contains the following update:

Data Entry Tab

Formula corrections to cells I125 and I129

Version 26.1: Release Date April 3, 2025

This version includes the 2024-25 first principal apportionment (P-1), the 2023-24 annual principal apportionment (Annual), and the 2022-23 annual principal apportionment second revision (Annual R-2).

Version 25.2d: Release Date January 17, 2025

This version of the LCFF Calculator for County Offices contains the following update:

Data Entry Tab (Universal Assumptions & Funding Rates)

Cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) provided by the Department of Finance as of January 2025 are as follows:

	2025-26	2026-27	2027-28	2028-29
Statutory COLA	2.43%	3.52%	3.63%	3.49

Version 25.2c: Release Date: August 6, 2024

This version of the LCFF Calculator for County Offices contains the following update:

Differentiated Assistance Tab

Formula correction to cells M14 and M 24,25,26 through U24, 25, and 26

Version 25.2b: Release Date: August 6, 2024

This version of the LCFF Calculator for County Offices contains the following update:

Differentiated Assistance Tab

Formula correction to cells M13, 14, and 15 through U13, 14, and 15

Version 25.2a: Release Date: July 30, 2024

This version of the LCFF Calculator for County Offices contains the following update:

Calculator Tab

Formula correction to the calculator tab in cell W65.

Version 25.2: Release Date: July 22, 2024

This update includes the 2023-24 second principal apportionment (P-2), 2022-23 annual principal apportionment revision 1 (AN R1), and the 2021-22 annual principal apportionment revision 3 (AN R3).

Changes to calculations in this version of the LCFF Calculator for County Offices include the following:

Data Entry Tab

Updated COLA rates to follow historical fiscal years and the most current projections.
Updated and revised EPA rates to follow fiscal years and the most current projections.
Added three years of data and data entry for districts and charter schools identified for differentiated assistance.

Differentiated Assistance Tab

Added three years of data and data entry for districts and charter schools identified for differentiated assistance.

Version 25.1c: Release Date: May 16, 2024

This version includes the following updates:

Universal Assumption

Cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) provided by the Department of Finance as of May 2024 are as follows:

	2024-25	2025-26	2026-27	2027-28	2028-29
Statutory COLA	1.07%	2.93%	3.08%	3.30%	3.29%

Version 25.1b: Release Date: May 2, 2024

This version includes the following updates:

Data Entry Tab

Unlocked cells J7–N7 for editing

Version 25.1a: Release Date: April 22, 2024

This version includes the following updates:

Calculator Tab

Changed formulas in P41 and W41 to calculate COLA instead of pulling information from CDE exhibit.

Version 25.1: Release Date: April 9, 2024

This version includes the 2023-24 first principal apportionment (P-1), the 2022-23 annual principal apportionment (AN), and the 2021-22 annual principal apportionment second revision (AN R2) as well as the following COLA estimates:

	2024-25	2025-26	2026-27	2027-28	2028-29
Statutory COLA	0.76%	2.73%	3.11%	3.17%	3.24%

Major Changes:

Data Entry Tab

Added the calculation for the unduplicated pupil percentage for county-funded juvenile court school students.
Unlocked several columns and rows outside of the data entry and calculation area for COE use.
Various formula corrections.

Calculator Tab

Various formula corrections.

Summary Tab

Various formula corrections.