Gravenstein Union Elementary School District — Financial

Across the 2025-2026 fiscal year, the Gravenstein Union Elementary School District's finances showed a consistent pattern of structural pressure. In October 2025, a trustee-prepared review of the 2024-2025 Unaudited Actuals flagged $1.03 million in deficit spending for the prior year, a projected 2025-2026 deficit of $510,341, and large annual transfers of over $1.87 million from unrestricted to restricted funds. Two months later, the June 30, 2025 audit confirmed the trend: total net position fell by $3,526,508 to $14,612,083 (after restatement), leaving unrestricted net position negative at $3,262,269, while combined governmental fund balances dropped from $11,960,988 to $10,587,329.

Despite those multi-year structural deficits, the Board approved the Second Interim Budget Report in March 2026 with a positive financial certification for the current and next two fiscal years. Most recently, in May 2026 the Board moved to relieve long-term debt pressure by approving up to $5.8 million in refunding general obligation bonds to refinance the district's 2012 bonds, setting a $500,000 minimum savings threshold with an estimated $580,000 in projected savings to property owners over ten years. Together, these alerts show a district meeting current certification obligations while managing declining balances and deficit spending through refinancing and deficit-reduction planning.