Education Code Section 42130 requires that the districts submit two financial interim reports to the Santa Barbara County Education Office (SBCEO) each fiscal year. The first interim report covers financial transactions from July 1 through October 31 and must be presented to the board no later than December 15 of the fiscal year. The second interim report covers financial transactions from July 1 through January 31 and must be presented to the board no later than March 15 of the fiscal year. For each of the interim reports, districts must certify one of the following:
- Positive - that it can meet its current year and subsequent two year obligations;
- Qualified - that it may not be able to meet its current year and subsequent two year obligations; or
- Negative - that is cannot meet its current year and subsequent two year obligations
In December 2012, the board approved the 2012-13 first interim budget, and the accompanying multi-year projections. At that time, the district had built in seven furlough days for all staff. Thankfully, the people of California showed how much they value education and passed proposition 30. However, staff was unable to make the changes regarding the furloughs in time for the first interim and therefore accounted for them in the 2013-14 multi-year projections. The second interim has accounted for the changes since the passage of Prop 30 in the November 2012 election.
The district’s multi-year projection indicates that it can meet the three percent minimum recommended reserve requirement in fiscal year 2012-13. In 2013-14 reflects the ending of the 2008 parcel tax, the passage of the 2012 parcel tax and additions that are related to the sunset of the K-3 CSR flexibility and QEIA in 2014-15. Even though the district is projected to deficit spend in the current and the two subsequent years, however, the state’s budgetary issues have improved and staff believes the operating deficit will be less severe than indicated in the projections. How much better is undetermined at this time. The new Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) is not considered in either the second interim or the multi-year projections.