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The Livermore school board Tuesday approved about $14.8 million in ongoing budget adjustments and cuts needed for the 2026-27 school year as recommended by an employee-based committee.
The framework involves shifting funds; freezing “me too” increases for select employee groups, except for health benefit contributions; implementing furlough days for select roles; adjusting anticipated revenue; using reserve funds; right-sizing staff down by 34.5 full-time equivalent to match student enrollment as well as cutting about 12 FTE.
Approved via 4-1 tally — with Trustee Deena Kaplanis casting the sole dissenting vote — the recommendations veered from options presented Jan. 13 under former superintendent Torie Gibson’s administration. The previous list featured an array of reductions for the trustees to contemplate, including the contentious cut of up to 101.4 FTE and the closure of two elementary schools.
Given the Board of Education’s approval Feb. 24, the Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District is set to move forward with a qualified certification, signaling that under the current projections, the district may be unable to meet its financial obligations two years out.
“This is a pivotal moment for the district,” Trustee Craig Bueno said during the meeting. “The district, in my opinion, could have gone in two directions. One is a very, very difficult path … to recover from. And on the path we’re currently on, I think it’s on a trust-building, a forward path.”
On Feb. 10, the board called for the formation of a budget reduction committee to propose an approach for stabilizing the district’s finances for the 2026-27 school year.
Over the course of three days, the committee — composed of representatives from employee groups and the executive cabinet with oversight from board members — came to a unanimous recommendation.
The group found about $9.4 million of cost-savings across the current and upcoming school years, said Aimee Thompson, president of the Livermore Education Association.
Among the cost-saving releases are 10 FTE general assignment teachers, two FTE special education teachers and 22.5 FTE paraeducators to realign with student populations, according to the proposal.
After identifying the cost-savings, the required adjustments sat at approximately $5.4 million, the proposal states.
Committee members agreed to use $3 million of the district’s required reserves to pay for next school year’s expenses and to move forward with a qualified budget certification, Thompson said.
The group was comfortable with using the reserves “due to the potential money in the governor’s proposed state budget that may come into our district next year, but is not yet included in our district budget”, Thompson said.
The remaining reductions required tallied to about $2.4 million, according to the proposal.
Recommended reductions were then ranked in three tiers based on the priority of their recuperation, Thompson explained.
Given highest priority are tier three reductions such as 0.5 FTE athletic trainer and one FTE executive assistant.Â
Given the next highest priority, tier two includes eliminating over three FTE, pool closures for two winter months at Livermore and Granada high schools as well as two furlough days for principals.
Unlikely to return are tier one reductions such as cuts to approximately nine FTE including one FTE director of communication and engagement, one FTE Livermore High vice principal and three FTE of unfilled custodian roles.
“Although we will be moving into a qualified budget, this plan reflects significant effort to minimize impacts while maintaining core educational services,” acting superintendent Michelle Pechette said during the meeting.
Of the approximately 30 attendees, a couple public commenters urged the board to reconsider specific reductions, but the board expressed their near-unanimous support for the committee’s recommendations.
“These individuals possessed the expertise and institutional knowledge to meet the charge of providing a recommendation for reductions,” Board President Steven Drouin said of the group.
Mamie Kristovich, president of classified union California School Employees Association, praised the board for refusing previous reduction options.
“I appreciate the courage you took in reading the room and taking the road less traveled,” she said.
Members of the board reflected Kristovich’s praise onto the committee over their ability to unanimously recommend the budgeting decisions.
“Despite all the rhetoric and the high temperature, they came up with a consensus,” Bueno said of the proposal.
“This one consensus is very impressive and I expect, maybe, that it’s a sign of things to come and this next season of our school district,” Trustee Christiaan VandenHeuvel added.
The committee’s proposal follows the board’s approval last month of a tentative agreement between LEA and district negotiators over collective bargaining agreement items such as workday, wages, health benefits and leaves.
Accounting for LEA and “Me Too” increases for other employees, the agreement is anticipated to cost $13.1 million over the course of the current school year and 2026-27 school year.
“Due to the budgetary position that we were in and the state funding, we were not able to make competitive compensation increases without making budget reductions,” Pechette said.
Expressing an opposing viewpoint from her fellow trustees, Kaplanis expressed concern over qualified budgets becoming a norm for the district.
“Although we will be moving into a qualified budget, this plan reflects significant effort to minimize impacts while maintaining core educational services,” Pechette said.
The board is set to consider a resolution to reduce staffing at their next board meeting with preliminary layoff notices due by March 15 and final layoff notices required by May 15.
The past two months have been exceptionally challenging, Drouin said.
“However, I believe that we are on a path towards rebuilding trust and that a primary way of doing this is through meaningful collaboration,” he added.
According to assistant superintendent of business services Kayla Wasley, current projections show that the district will be required to make additional budget reductions of approximately $11 million for the 2027-28 school year with $3 million being a one-time cut to restore the district’s reserve.
But the district’s finances are contingent upon the state’s budget, which is set to be finalized in late June or early July, Wasley added.
Meanwhile, an ad hoc committee — composed of Bueno and Trustee Emily Prusso — has been working to find an individual to recommend to the post of interim superintendent. Neither trustee provided details on the process of finding an interim.
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