District overview
Cinnabar Elementary School District
Funding structure, how it compares to peers, and where major projects stand.
A single-campus district and dependent charter managing sharp enrollment change
Cinnabar is a small elementary district whose campus includes a locally funded dependent charter. California's Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), based largely on attendance and student needs, is the core operating mechanism; restricted grants, local receipts, and developer fees supplement it. The Board approves the budget and LCAP, employs and evaluates the superintendent/principal, and oversees facilities.
District and school governance are closely integrated
The same five-member Board governs the district and its dependent charter, while the superintendent also serves as principal.
Enrollment is the immediate fiscal pressure
The June budget record projected 122 students for 2026-27, and the August update reported 123 students versus 169 one year earlier.
The LCAP connects funding to services
The annual LCAP and parent budget overview describe how LCFF resources support district and charter pupils, including students with additional needs.
Developer fees are restricted capital money
The district's 2026 study supports collecting its share of state-authorized development fees for modernization, but those receipts cannot replace ordinary operating funds.
The public June adoption record identifies the 2026-27 budget and LCAP but does not expose their complete fiscal tables in the meeting PDF, so a reliable current total operating budget is an explicit data gap.
Where the district stands
Board-reported enrollment, compared with 169 in August 2025.
Long-range facilities estimate for students generated by projected development, not an adopted construction budget.
25-year study projection, estimated to cover 27% of the related modernization need.
Major projects
Developer-fee-funded campus modernization
fee authority updatedThe district updated the legal study supporting developer-fee collections for modernization work such as an outdoor stage and music area and expansion of the multi-use and outdoor lunch areas. Work proceeds only as restricted receipts and other eligible capital sources become available.
- Board reviewed the updated facility-fee study
- Final 2026 fee study documented modernization scope and funding gap
- Board considered use of redevelopment-district funds for district purposes
Funding
Restricted developer fees, supplemented by any eligible State School Facility Program or other approved capital funding
Campus cabling and room-removal work
summer work underwayThe June facilities report said the cabling project had begun and rooms 21 and 22 were empty and ready for removal; the August report documented additional playground and classroom readiness work.
- Board received report that cabling began and two rooms were ready for removal
- Board received updated facilities report before student return
Funding
Funding source and project cost were not identified in the reviewed Board records
Recent news
Prepared from the district's Board governance page, June and August 2026 Board records, California Department of Education directory data, and the district's March 2026 school-facility fee study.
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