The San Diego Unified School District is poised to declare tomorrow that its fiscal condition is "positive" for what's believed to be the first time in eight years, but budget shortfalls are looming in the years ahead.
The declaration in the district's first interim financial report will be presented to the Board of Education at its Tuesday meeting.
In the report, school districts are required to inform the San Diego County Office of Education on whether they expect to be able to pay their bills in the current and two following fiscal years.
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If so, they issue a positive declaration. If it's questionable, the declaration is "qualified," and if they can't, it's "negative."
San Diego Unified has been issuing qualified reports in recent years. District spokeswoman Maureen Magee estimated that this will be the first positive issuance in eight years.
While the proposed declaration represents an improvement, it does not mean district finances are in great shape.
According to the presentation going before the board, the declaration assumes that the district will reduce spending by $47 million for the 2018-19 school year. Financial staff proposed the cuts come in administration, in what the local education community calls the "central office."
The cuts will need to be identified before the second interim report is issued in March.
For the following year, $66.9 million in cuts will be needed, the report said.
