District overview
Cambrian School District
Funding structure, how it compares to peers, and where major projects stand.
A K-8 district using its budget, campus consolidation, and a proposed parcel tax to respond to enrollment loss
Cambrian's operating revenue is driven primarily by California's Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), which links state and local funding to attendance and student needs. The elected Board adopts the budget and LCAP, authorizes charter schools, and makes campus and property decisions. Budget, LCAP, and statutory 7-11 committees advise the Board but do not replace its authority.
Enrollment directly affects the operating plan
The adopted 2026-27 budget projects 3,087 students and 2,956 in funded average daily attendance; the district says an unexpected 142-student loss in 2025-26 reduced revenue by more than $1.3 million.
Most spending is committed to people
The district describes roughly 80% of its budget as salaries and benefits, making staffing and service levels central to fiscal stabilization.
Campus consolidation is also a property decision
Sartorette closed after 2025-26. The Board accepted an advisory recommendation favoring lease-based reuse, declared the site surplus, and authorized a development and long-term-lease solicitation.
A new local revenue decision is pending
The Board placed a $148 annual parcel-tax measure on the November 3, 2026 ballot; it produces no revenue unless voters approve it.
The adopted budget is a districtwide plan rather than a school-site allocation, and future parcel-tax or Sartorette lease proceeds should not be treated as available revenue until the election and lease process are complete.
Where the district stands
Adopted budget; includes restricted and unrestricted sources.
Adopted budget; not audited actual spending.
Budget projection, including district programs reflected in the SACS budget.
Context calculation: $53,361,631 divided by 3,087 projected students; not a school-level allocation or audited per-pupil expenditure.
Major projects
Sartorette closure and property reuse
lease solicitation authorizedAfter closing Sartorette at the end of 2025-26 and reassigning students, the district is pursuing a long-term lease intended to preserve ownership while potentially producing recurring revenue.
- Board approved closure effective after 2025-26
- Board accepted the 7-11 committee's reuse recommendation
- Board declared the property surplus and authorized an RFP
Funding
Potential future lease proceeds; General Fund supports transition work
November 2026 parcel-tax measure
awaiting voter decisionThe Board called an election on a $148-per-parcel annual education tax following feasibility work. The proposal is a prospective local operating source, not adopted revenue.
- Board approved feasibility survey work
- Board called the election and set the proposed rate
- Scheduled election
Funding
Parcel assessment only if approved by voters
Recent news
Prepared from the district's adopted 2026-27 budget, budget and LCAP governance pages, and dated board materials concerning enrollment, Sartorette School, and the proposed parcel tax.
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