District overview
Desert Center Unified School District
A small rural school, local property-tax funding and current family rules.
How does one rural school operate?
Desert Center operates Eagle Mountain Elementary School for families in Desert Center and Lake Tamarisk. It is a basic-aid district: local property taxes are its main revenue source. The county approved its 2026–27 budget and LCAP on August 28, 2026.
A five-member board governs one school
Five trustees set district policy. Dr. Gregory T. Sackos serves as both superintendent and principal. The school also has a School Site Council. Regular board meetings normally begin at 4:30 p.m.; the posted calendar includes exceptions.
Attendance needs attention
The county reports 40% chronic absenteeism in the 2025 Dashboard data. The 2026–27 budget assumes 22 average daily attendance, down 11.6% from certified 2025–26 P-2 ADA. That forecast is not the same as the 29-student enrollment count.
The budget was approved with no projected unrestricted deficit
The county found projected positive fund balances, adequate current-year cash and no unrestricted General Fund deficit in 2026–27 or the next two years. It recommended monitoring property-tax receipts. The reserve minimum is the greater of $90,000 or 5%; this is a requirement, not the actual reserve balance.
School spending and learning supports
The available records do not give a reliable total expenditure or per-pupil spending figure. The county describes small-group instruction, early-literacy support, AVID Elementary, social-emotional learning and expanded learning. It commends math and attendance improvement while asking the district to evaluate which supports work best.
Drinking water comes from a separate bottled supply
A July 13, 2026 water-provider notice in the handbook says piped water is not drinkable because naturally occurring fluoride exceeds the standard and arsenic fluctuates near its limit. The school uses bottled water for drinking and cooking. The notices say this is not an emergency; a completed permanent remedy was not established.
The county’s approval and positive budget projections do not remove the need to improve attendance and academic outcomes. The small enrollment also makes percentages especially sensitive to individual students.
Where the district stands
County letter; headcount, not budget ADA.
Down 11.6% from certified 2025–26 P-2 ADA.
County-cited 2025 Dashboard; not a new 2026–27 attendance result.
Distance below standard, not the percentage proficient.
Distance below standard, not the percentage proficient.
Major projects
2026–27 expanded learning program
Launched; enrollment shapes staffing and transportThe district announced an August 27 kickoff and asked families to return registration packets. Enrollment is used to plan staffing, snacks, transportation and supplies. Archery began October 1 for eligible students who complete safety classes.
- District announced August 27 program kickoff.
- Announced expanded-learning kickoff.
- District announced October 1 archery start and required safety classes.
Funding
Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELO-P) and related district resources; the available announcement does not state a project budget.
Safe drinking and cooking water
Bottled-water safeguard in place; permanent remedy not establishedKaiser Eagle Mountain’s July notice says the piped supply is non-potable and the school receives bottled water. Fluoride is above the standard; the latest stated arsenic result is just below its limit, with occasional exceedances.
- Water provider sends non-potable-water letter to superintendent/principal; July notices included in handbook.
Funding
The handbook identifies a local bottled-water purveyor but does not state the cost or funding allocation.
Recent news
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Practical guides to school phone policies, district budgets, and administrator hiring.
Explore resources →Reviewed the stored official handbook, district and board information, board calendar, and all six pages of the county’s August 28, 2026 LCAP/budget approval letter. Handbook image-only pages were separately OCRed and reviewed. Sources are kept with their original bytes; dates are stated only where the document supplies them.
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