Riding the budget rollercoaster

California’s school budgets can feel like a wild rollercoaster — exciting at the top when new money flows, stomach-churning at the bottom when cuts loom, and unpredictable with every turn in between. If you’ve ever sat in a crowded boardroom during budget season, you know the mood swings: cautious optimism, heated debate, nervous laughter, and sometimes frustration when the numbers don’t add up the way people hoped.

I’ve lived this rollercoaster from three perspectives:

As a chief business official, where every decimal mattered and every projection carried weight.

As a superintendent, where numbers turned into decisions about people, programs, and community priorities.

And now as a board member with Adelanto Elementary School District, where the responsibility is to oversee, ask tough questions, and make sure we keep students at the center while staying fiscally responsible.

Each role has taught me something new about navigating California’s fiscal challenges. And through all of it, one truth stands out: School budgets aren’t just spreadsheets — they’re moral documents that reveal what we value as a community.

California’s unique school funding puzzle California is unlike many states when it comes to funding education. Since Proposition 13 capped property taxes in 1978, schools have relied heavily on the state to backfill revenue. The Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), introduced in 2013, was meant to simplify the system and provide more money for high-need students — English learners, foster youth, and low-income students.

While LCFF has been a step forward in equity, here’s what makes the puzzle complicated:

Funding is volatile. When the state economy booms, education budgets expand. When revenues dip, schools brace for cuts — even if student needs remain constant.

Declining enrollment is real. In Adelanto ESD, like many districts, we’ve seen shifts as families move to other regions or enroll in charter schools. Every lost student equals lost revenue, even though our fixed costs — utilities, maintenance, pensions — stay the same.

One-time funds mask structural issues. COVID relief dollars helped us hire intervention staff and launch mental health initiatives, but now that those funds are drying up, we face the “fiscal cliff” of sustaining programs with no ongoing revenue.

When I was superintendent, I often found myself explaining to parents: “Yes, the state says education funding is at an all-time high. But our district’s slice of the pie hasn’t actually grown enough to cover our rising costs.”

The hard realities we face Declining enrollment: A slow burn At Adelanto ESD, declining enrollment has been one of our toughest fiscal challenges. Families move for jobs, housing affordability, or school choice. As CBO, I had to calculate the impact: Losing 100 students might mean cutting $1 million in LCFF revenue. That’s not just numbers — that’s teachers, aides, and programs.

As superintendent, I wrestled with the decision of whether to consolidate schools. Closing a campus can save money, but it also tears at the fabric of a community. As a board member now, I hear directly from families who see schools as more than classrooms — they’re community anchors.

Pension obligations: The squeeze we can’t control CalSTRS and CalPERS contributions climb every year. When I first became a CBO, I thought of pensions as a “background expense.” Over time, I saw how they became a growing piece of the pie — crowding out flexibility for innovation. You can’t negotiate them down, you can’t ignore them, and you can’t pass them off. Districts must plan ahead to absorb the hit.

Special education: A growing commitment without full funding Special education is both a moral obligation and a legal requirement. But it’s also a fiscal challenge when federal contributions cover only a fraction of costs. In Adelanto ESD, we’ve had years where special education spending grew by double digits. As a superintendent, I found myself shifting general fund dollars to meet the need. As a board member, I now push to ensure we aren’t just compliant, but actually inclusive and effective — while still being mindful of the strain on the general fund.

Facilities: Deferred maintenance haunts the budget Our district has buildings that are decades old. During my time as superintendent, I remember walking into classrooms where the HVAC rattled so loudly it drowned out the teacher. As a board member, I now vote on facilities priorities — knowing that every dollar spent fixing leaky roofs is a dollar not spent on direct instruction, yet still essential to safe learning environments.

Lesson: A CBO’s role isn’t just to crunch numbers, but to tell the financial story in a way people understand — even when the story is tough.

As a superintendent: Every cut is personal When I became superintendent, the abstract numbers turned into faces. Cutting a program wasn’t just trimming dollars — it meant fewer counseling sessions, fewer after-school opportunities, or a reduction in intervention support. At one board meeting, a parent stood up and pleaded to keep a tutoring program that had helped her child finally catch up in reading. We didn’t have the ongoing funds to keep it. That night reminded me that budgets are about promises and priorities.

Lesson: Superintendents must be courageous enough to make hard calls, but compassionate enough to explain them openly.

As a board member: Oversight with heart Today, on the Adelanto ESD Board, I sit on the governance side. Our responsibility isn’t to redo the superintendent’s math, but to ensure the budget reflects community priorities. Oversight means asking:

One recent example: We faced a decision about whether to cut back on enrichment programs to balance staffing costs. As a board, we pushed to protect enrichment, because for many of our students those programs are what keep them engaged in school.

Lesson: Board members must balance fiscal responsibility with the moral responsibility of equity.

Practical strategies for tough times From all three roles, here are strategies that actually work:

1. Scenario planning instead of wishful thinking — We build multiple budget scenarios every year. If enrollment declines another 3 percent, what’s the impact? If the state issues midyear cuts, where can we adjust? Planning for “what ifs” reduces panic when surprises hit.

2. Prioritize equity, not just equality — Equal cuts across all programs sound fair, but they can disproportionately harm vulnerable students. As superintendent, we protected bilingual aides even when trimming elsewhere. Those positions had the highest return on student outcomes.

3. Facilities as assets, not just costs — In Adelanto ESD, unused space could easily have become a burden. Instead, we looked at leasing opportunities to community partners — childcare providers, county health agencies, even workforce development programs. The rent might help our budget, and the partnerships could help families.

4. Efficiency projects pay off — Solar panels, lighting upgrades, and even bus route redesigns may not grab headlines, but the savings build year after year. As CBO, I had to fight for the upfront investment, but today those savings are part of why we can keep programs afloat.

5. Communicate clearly and often — When I presented as CBO, I sometimes leaned on charts and jargon. Over time, I learned that families wanted plain talk: “This is what we earn, this is what we spend, and this is what it means for your child’s school.” Now, as a board member, I insist that our budget presentations be accessible to everyone in the room.

The human side of budgets Budgets are deeply human. Every cut is someone’s job, every investment is a student’s opportunity, and every savings is a future cushion against crisis. I’ve watched principals fight for staff, parents rally for programs, and teachers worry about class sizes.

In Adelanto ESD, we’ve had nights where the boardroom is filled with families pleading to protect programs they loved. Those moments remind me that fiscal responsibility isn’t just about solvency — it’s about trust. Communities trust us to spend wisely, and to spend in ways that reflect their values.

Looking ahead: Building resilience California’s fiscal picture will always rise and fall with the economy. Declining enrollment and rising pension costs aren’t going away. But resilience is possible.

From my journey — CBO to superintendent to board member — I’ve learned that resilience comes from:

• Planning ahead instead of reacting.
• Centering equity in every decision.
• Engaging the community openly, even when the news is hard.
• Seeing facilities and partnerships as opportunities, not just burdens.
• Balancing the numbers with the faces behind them.

In Adelanto, we don’t always get it perfect. But we keep striving. Because at the end of the day, school budgets are about ensuring every child has a chance to learn, grow, and succeed — even in tough fiscal times.

References California Department of Education. (2023). Local Control Funding Formula Overview.

EdSource. (2023). Special education costs and funding in California.

Legislative Analyst’s Office. (2024). The 2024–25 Budget: Proposition 98 and K–12 Education.

Michael Krause is a board member in Adelanto Elementary School District and a former superintendent and chief business official.