By Eliza PARTIKA

The Glendale Unified School District (GUSD) board of education recently adopted its budget for the 2025-26 school year. But what does “adopt” mean and how does the budget affect parents, teachers and students? William Young, assistant superintendent of Business Services for GUSD, spoke with CV Weekly to help explain the budget process. 

  Young said budgeting for the school year is often a balancing act between supporting the board’s priorities for the school year, funding the goals outlined in the Local Control Accountability Plan, and making the budget flexible enough to adjust if there is a sudden increase in funds or if there is a financial emergency. 

When a budget is adopted, the board builds a consensus about what at that time its members think they are going to be spending and prioritizes their funds based on that consensus. At the first interim conversation in December that members have about the budget, the board will assess what costs they will actually need to cover.  

“We’ll have meetings at multiple points during the year or we’ll have specific committees that can help inform budget development,” Young said. 

Throughout the year, the board is kept informed of updates and changes through public meetings, presentations and internal discussions.

The budget from year to year is fluid, being adjusted based on new revenues, like grants that might provide more money to GUSD, and new expenditures. This year, Young’s priority is to update the textbook adoption and to update the technology students are using. The 2025-26 budget includes a 3% allocation for books and supplies, which may increase using one-time funds. Textbook adoptions for math and language arts are needed throughout the district.

There are two types of funds Young and his team are dealing with – restricted and unrestricted. Restricted funds, like Title I or Title III, are used for a specific purpose, like facilities or funding to support low-income students or students learning English. Unrestricted funds can be used for any purpose. Funds left over at the end of the year can be earmarked for specific purposes and used as restricted funds. This allows for the board to fund Title programs in the event that the government budgets less dollars for education in the future. 

Each year, a Local Control Accountability Survey is sent to parents and educators to help determine where funds need to be spent in the upcoming year. LCAP surveys could highlight more need for new curriculum, books, office supplies and other items. Each year, parents, staff and teachers are asked to fill out a survey to help determine the best places to allocate funds for the year. Using these surveys, Young, his team, and the board will make decisions about how money is spent on different programs, services and educational materials. Parents can stay involved in how the LCAP funds are allocated by attending meetings. The next LCAP meeting is on Oct. 16. For more information, visit https://gusd.net/lcap. 

School enrollment and attendance are also key in deciding how funds will be spent. The GUSD Parent Portal is an important way for parents to update their students’ information and family information. This information can help determine the restricted funds schools receive for programs that help English learners, low-income students and foster students, among others. To fill out the required survey, visit https://q.gusd.net/production/parentportal. 

“If there’s any major revisions they typically occur around December or March after the June adoption,” said Young. 

The next discussion of the budget is planned for the December board of education meeting. To learn more, go to https://gusd.net/8509_3 or community members can contact Young’s office.