Alameda County
More Cuts Coming to WCCUSD Amid Declining Enrollment
The WCCUSD is currently in the second year of a 2024-2026 fiscal solvency plan. Fiscal insolvency could place the district under state receivership, which would mean it would no longer be in charge of making the financial decisions.
The Richmond Standard
In the wake of $19 million in cuts it experienced this fiscal year, the West Contra Costa Unified School District (WCCUSD) says it needs to make another $13.2 million in cuts to staffing and programs over the next three fiscal years as declining enrollment continues to impact the district’s operating budget.
The WCCUSD is currently in the second year of a 2024-2026 fiscal solvency plan. Fiscal insolvency could place the district under state receivership, which would mean it would no longer be in charge of making the financial decisions.
Last year as part of the plan, the district identified $19 million in budget reductions. Now, the district is looking to make another $7.2 million in cuts for the 2025-26 fiscal year, and another $6 million in the 2026-27 fiscal year.
The Board of Education was asked last week to approve staff’s cost-cutting proposals, which includes the elimination of 43 positions next fiscal year, or about 1.28 percent of the district’s total staffing.
Of those positions, 26 would be members of the United Teachers of Richmond, the union representing teachers, counselors, psychologists, early childhood educators and nurses.
Another 47 positions, including 19 members of the United Teachers of Richmond, are proposed to be cut the following fiscal year.
In a newsletter last month, WCCUSD Interim Superintendent Dr. Kim Moses said the district is looking to make reductions that have “the least impact on student programming and school staffing.”
“Although no one wants to make reductions in WCCUSD, continuing our fiscal solvency plan is necessary to ensure the district’s fiscal solvency and maintain local control over budget decisions,” Dr. Moses stated.
Even with the proposed cuts, the district said it will still lean too heavily on its reserves. It doesn’t help that state and federal funding sources available during the COVID-19 pandemic recovery no longer exist.
A main source for the loss in operating revenue is declining enrollment, a problem facing a number of districts, particularly those in the expensive Bay Area, according to the district.
In California, the amount of unrestricted state funding each district receives is determined by student attendance. The district has seen enrollment drop by nearly 3,000 students since the 2019-2020 school year, from 28,247 total students to 25,273 in 2024-2025, which has also led to reduced state funding. The district says 10.5 percent of the enrollment decline was experienced amid the COVID pandemic.
Enrollment is projected to drop by roughly another 500 students by fiscal year 2026-2027.
While attendance-based funding is declining, compensation packages for WCCUSD staff have increased since 2019, with salaries up by over 19.5 percent and benefits up by 26.2 percent, according to the district.
The education publication EdSource reported that the WCCUSD was the first in the state to become insolvent in 1991, resulting in a $29 million “bailout loan” that took two decades to pay off.
Speaking to EdSource, Francisco Ortiz, president of United Teachers of Richmond, warned about further cutting staff, saying most schools in the district are regularly using substitute teachers. He recommended drawing down the rainy-day reserves to keep teachers, as it is currently a rainy day financially.
“Our most vulnerable students are the ones receiving the blunt end of this. Cutting classroom teachers is not the answer,” Ortiz told EdSource.
