District overview
Gravenstein Union Elementary School District
Funding structure, how it compares to peers, and where major projects stand.
What is shaping Gravenstein schools?
Gravenstein Union Elementary is an active Sonoma County public elementary district governed by its Board of Trustees. The reviewed record covers Gravenstein Elementary, Gravenstein First, Hillcrest Middle, and the district's community-day program. State formula funding and enrollment shape its operating budget, while the board approves districtwide curriculum, facilities, policy, and senior leadership decisions.
Budget pressure continues
The March 2026 second-interim record remained positively certified but projected structural deficit spending in later years.
Core instruction is changing
The board adopted HMH Into Math California for TK-5 under an eight-year contract capped at $200,000.
Special education is moving closer to home
A new SAIL classroom and a larger resource-specialist position are intended to reduce out-of-district placements.
Hillcrest's gym roof needs funding
The second-interim narrative estimated the needed roof at roughly five times the $50,000 deferred-maintenance balance.
A positive interim certification means the district reported it could meet near-term obligations; projected deficits and a facilities funding gap do not by themselves establish insolvency or an unsafe campus.
What the official record establishes
California Department of Education district-profile context.
Agendas, packets, approved minutes, budgets, reports, and presentations across 14 meeting dates.
Eight-year HMH Into Math California adoption approved February 10, 2026.
Maximum authorization approved May 12, 2026, with a stated minimum savings threshold of $500,000.
Major projects
Multi-year budget stabilization
Positive certification with structural deficits projectedThe board's unaudited-actuals, audit, and second-interim records track declining fiscal position and recurring deficit pressure while still certifying that the district can meet its obligations.
- Trustee review highlights 2024-25 deficit spending
- Audit reports a $3.5 million decline in total net position
- Board approves a positive Second Interim report with multi-year structural deficits
Funding
General Fund and district reserves
The record documents changing forecasts; the latest reviewed certified report is the March 2026 Second Interim.
Hillcrest Middle School gym roof
Replacement need identified; funding gap remainsSuccessive facilities and budget records identify the gym roof as nearing replacement and show that the deferred-maintenance balance is substantially below the projected cost.
- Facilities report identifies the repair need
- Second Interim narrative documents the funding gap
Funding
Deferred Maintenance Fund 14; other eligible funding not established
The narrative lists $50,000 available and describes the expected roof cost as about five times that amount.
2026-27 instructional-program changes
Math adopted; SAIL and TK pilot approvedThe district approved a new TK-5 math curriculum, a school-based SAIL special-education classroom, and a one-year reduction in the TK instructional day paired with reading-intervention work.
- TK-5 HMH Into Math California adopted
- Resource-specialist position expanded for the SAIL classroom
- One-year TK instructional-day pilot approved
Funding
Instructional and special-education operating funds
The math contract is capped at $200,000; a complete combined cost for the SAIL and TK changes is not stated.
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Built from a chronological review of all 66 official written records exposed in the district's trailing-year board archive.
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