Alameda Unified School District — Financial

Alameda Unified School District entered the 2025-26 budget year facing a growing structural deficit. The second-interim budget adopted in March 2026 projected recurring shortfalls of $12.44 million in 2026-27 and $14.47 million in 2027-28, and the District began mapping program and staffing reductions even as staff recommended a positive near-term certification.

Through the late spring, the Board took steps to bridge the gap. In May 2026 it approved reallocating roughly $5.3 million in one-time state Arts, Music, and Instructional Materials block grant funds to cover current-year special education costs, freeing unrestricted general fund dollars for recently negotiated employee compensation increases. The same month, the Board authorized two bond financings: issuance of up to $100 million in Measure B (Election of 2022) General Obligation Bonds, Series C, for facilities projects, and an $85 million refunding bond issuance intended to refinance outstanding 2015 Measure I bonds and generate taxpayer savings if market conditions allow.

The 2026-27 adopted budget, approved in June, relies on one-time funds as part of its balancing plan and schedules 12 position closures — nine full-time-equivalent positions after 2026-27 and three more after 2027-28. Taken together, the alert record shows a district leaning on one-time money, bond financings, and planned staff reductions to manage a persistent structural gap over the next two fiscal years.