The trustees of the Coronado Unified School District met on Thursday, September 12 at district offices, where they discussed the budget, the likelihood of future cuts and the potential benefits (and pitfalls) of creating an ESports after-school program at Coronado Middle School.
The board approved the first action item, adopting the 2023-2024 Unaudited Actuals Financial Report. This report reflects CUSD’s financial position as a “snapshot in time” as of June 30, 2024 according to Deputy District Superintendent Donnie Salamanca.
The projected budget still puts the district in the red, falling short by $0.3 million in the 2026-2027 school year.
The district is required to operate with a minimum of 3% funds in reserve, which is about $1.7 million. Since the district is not projected to meet this minimum, it has received communication from the San Diego Office of Education (SDCOE) asking for a “detailed plan” on how to “maintain required reserve levels in 2025-2026 and 2026-2027.”
“So, we need to make cuts somewhere, or find additional revenue somewhere, to meet the required reserve,” said Trustee Scot Youngblood. “This is our supervising agency telling us to do this.”
Salamanca said that, realistically, what the county is looking for is a plan and progress.
“If you’re making efforts to do this, they will walk along beside you in doing this work,” said Salamanca. “What they are looking for is a plan, some progress and a steadfast commitment to ensure that we are meeting the legal obligation of 3% reserves all three years.”
SDCOE also advised the district that “any unanticipated factors, such a decline in enrollment or negotiated salary increases could necessitate additional expenditure reductions to maintain fiscal solvency.”
Currently, CUSD is facing both challenges.
The district’s revenue, according to Salamanca, is driven by student demographics and enrollment, and CUSD is still suffering from a “sustained decline in enrollment.” This means that the district projected for more students (2800) than actually showed up for school this year (2760.)
In addition, negotiations with the Association of Coronado Teachers (ACT) remains at a standstill, with the district offering 4% pay increase with some concessions on behalf of the teachers, while the teachers ask for 10%.
The good news is the district will likely become a Basic Aid district, whereby CUSD will end up with between $8 million and $12 million in additional ongoing revenues in 2027-2028.
“We just have to get there,” said Salamanca. “That’s why the bridge to Basic Aid is so important.”
But there are some glimpses of hope on the horizon; a new state attendance recovery program could potentially add $330,000 to revenues by accessing independent study contracts. Details about this program are still emerging.
Later in the meeting, Salamanca took issue with a report from ACT which referenced the district’s “inaccurate and untrustworthy multi-year projections” and “budget tricks.” He said he’s committed his studies to ensuring that financial statements are accurately reported.
“In reviewing the updates, I have to share my frustration,” said Salamanca. “Our financial statements have layers of oversite. I won’t allow my team to be disrespected.”
Esports Club for Middle School Approved
The board spent about 40 minutes discussing an item that Trustee Mal Sandie pulled from the consent calendar—a job description for an Esports advisor for a club at CMS.
According to Superintendent Karl Mueller, the club is to be funded by a pending grant from DoDEA (Department of Defense Education Activity). DoDEA is encouraging schools to include Esports in their programming, as it could help achieve their objectives in cyber security and national security, according to Mueller.
According to Megan Battle, Director of Learning, Esports is an arm of computer science and includes video games and coding. As a roll-out, it could start as a club at the middle school level, and eventually work its way up to a CIF-sanctioned sport at the high school. She shared that some colleges have begun offering scholarships for Esports where it’s an NCAA-approved component of their program. But most importantly, it could provide kids with connection, said Battle.
“Esports can provide a connection to school that students might otherwise not have, giving a home for kids who don’t connect to school in an environment that’s safe and supervised and has a coach and mentor,” said Battle.
Esports are also said to boost student empowerment and self esteem by promoting teamwork, communication, critical thinking, social growth, leadership and time management, according to Battle. It can also foster career development in areas of computer science.
“I guess I just don’t agree with any of that,” said Sandie. “I can’t find any positive data on gaming…but I can find a roomful of negative data on gaming.”
In the end, the board voted 3-2 to approve the hire, pending an update in one year, with Antrim and Sandie voting no. Antrim asked for more data and guardrails in rolling out such a program.
In other board business:
- The district will hold another Budget Study Committee Meeting at 3:45 p.m. on Oct. 9. Zoom-in options are also offered.
- The district is launching three committees that will focus on facilities, school safety and the CUSD military community.
- In a future meeting the district will discuss problems with air quality as a result of the sewage crisis. They’ll also revisit heat-day guidelines.
The next regular board meeting is on October 17 at 4 p.m.
