How Mendocino Unified is funded, governed, and spending public money right now
How is Mendocino Unified funded, and why is enrollment the number to watch?
State formula funding, tied directly to a shrinking student count
Like nearly every California public school district, Mendocino Unified is funded mainly through the state's Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), which pays districts based on how many students attend and how many of them are foster youth, English learners, or from low-income families. For 2026-27 the district's LCAP shows total revenue of about $11.06 million, of which $9.15 million (83%) is LCFF money, plus about $1.03 million in other state funds, $495,000 in local funds, and $388,000 in federal funds. Because this is a small, geographically spread-out coastal district covering Mendocino, Albion, Elk, and Comptche, a handful of families moving away can move the budget in a way it wouldn't in a bigger district: the district's own multi-year projection shows average daily attendance falling from about 367 students toward 353 over three years, and flags 'declining enrollment' as an active fiscal-indicator concern even while the district keeps a positive budget certification. A five-member elected Board of Trustees governs the district and directly oversees Superintendent Jason Morse; three of the five seats (Trustee Areas 1, 2, and 4) are on the November 3, 2026 ballot.
LCFF is the main source
$9.15 million of $11.06 million in projected 2026-27 revenue (83%) comes from the state's Local Control Funding Formula, which is driven by enrollment and student need, not a fixed grant.
Extra funding for high-need students
About $887,737 of the LCFF total is 'supplemental and concentration' funding tied to the share of foster youth, English learners, and low-income students; the district budgets $1.32 million toward services for those students in the LCAP.
Enrollment is projected to keep falling
The district's own multi-year budget projection shows average daily attendance dropping from about 367 to about 353 students over three years, which pulls LCFF revenue down with it since the formula is enrollment-based.
2026-27 spending is planned above revenue
The LCAP shows $11.65 million in planned 2026-27 spending against $11.06 million in projected revenue - a gap the district plans to cover by drawing down its reserves.
An elected five-member board governs the district
Trustees serve four-year terms representing numbered trustee areas (the district's public roster labels the same seats by town: Comptche, Elk, Caspar, Mendocino, Albion); three seats are up in the November 3, 2026 election. The Caspar-area seat shows vacant on the district's current board page, though no resignation or vacancy record appears in the collected 12-month meeting archive.
None of this means the district is in fiscal distress today: its 2025-26 first interim report shows a 'Positive Certification,' meaning the county office expects it to meet its financial obligations for this year and the next two, and its reserve for economic uncertainties has stayed above the state-required 4% minimum every year in the collected record.
Where the district stands
Total projected revenue, 2026-27verified
$11,061,310 USD
Total planned spending, 2026-27verified
$11,651,003 USD
Projected general fund ending balance, 2028-29verified
$835,542 USD
Down from a projected $2,208,352 in 2026-27 - about a 62% drop over three years.
Projected average daily attendance, 2028-29verified
352.89 students
Down from a projected 367.00 in the current year - the district's own fiscal-indicator worksheet flags this as declining enrollment.
Total enrollment (headcount, October 2025)verified
413 students
Headcount enrollment, reported verbally by the superintendent. This is higher than average daily attendance (about 367) because ADA discounts for absences.
Chronic absenteeism rate (October 2025)verified
19%
Reported by the superintendent as an improvement from an earlier, unspecified rate; no comparison year or peer figure is in the collected record.
Revenue per average daily attendancecontext
$30,138 USD per student
$11,061,310 total 2026-27 revenue divided by 367 average daily attendance. This is a district-level figure covering every cost of running the district (facilities, transportation, administration, and instruction alike), not a per-school allocation, and it is a calculation rather than a figure reported directly by the district.
Board meetings in the collected 12-month recordverified
16 meetings
Major projects
Mendocino High School Phase III Modernization
ongoing
Small construction projects at Mendocino High School, discussed at nearly every board meeting in the collected record, alongside a separate Water Storage Project and Solar Project. The collected agendas describe locker-room work and tennis-court resurfacing as completed pieces of this phase; the remaining scope was not itemized in the collected record beyond routine construction-update items.
Next: Not specified in the collected record beyond recurring construction-status updates.
Board receives Phase III construction update
Board receives combined Phase III, Water Storage, and Solar Project update
Board receives combined construction update
Funding
District facilities/bond fund (fund 21-9013 in warrant registers)
Greenwood Preschool septic system repair
in progress, extended
The preschool's septic system failed by August 2025; the district used portable toilets and water stations under a state waiver to keep the site operating. Repairs were still incomplete as of November 20, 2025. December 2025 warrant registers show a $19,060 septic repair payment plus $11,776 in planning/permitting fees, and a later deferred-maintenance figure lists a further $33,866 septic system repair.
Next: Not specified in the collected record; the district was still discussing 'the preschool model' at Greenwood as of the February 10, 2026 meeting.
Board discusses septic failure and interim port-a-potty plan
Superintendent reports repairs still not complete
Warrant register shows $19,060 septic repair payment and planning fees
Board again discusses the Greenwood Preschool operating model
Funding
District general fund / deferred maintenance budget
Mendocino K-8 School fire alarm system correction
in progress
Following the Mendocino Fire Protection District's December 5, 2025 code-violation notice, the district held a special board meeting and began repairs; minutes from that meeting note the alarm contractor was 'returning the end of the month to finalize all repairs.' Warrant registers through May 2026 continue to show fire-alarm-related payments.
Next: Not specified in the collected record; no document confirms the system has been fully restored to normal operating condition.
Fire district issues code-violation notice with a January 5, 2026 correction deadline
Board holds special meeting on the fire alarm system
Warrant register shows fire alarm network repair and installation payments
Warrant register shows an $8,629.78 fire alarm installation payment
Funding
District general fund
Local elections & school board members
Elections & votes
Board electionScheduled
Mendocino USD board of trustees election - Trustee Areas 1, 2, and 4
Mendocino Unified School District
The board's own Resolution 2026-05 (Specification of Election Order), adopted at the April 23, 2026 meeting, sets a November 3, 2026 election to elect 3 governing-board members: one resident each of Trustee Area 1, Trustee Area 2, and Trustee Area 4. Two of the three seats carry terms ending December 2030; the resolution does not state a term length for the Area 4 seat in the collected copy. The district's public board roster names trustee areas by town (Comptche, Elk, Caspar, Mendocino, Albion) rather than by number, and the collected record does not map those town names to the numbered areas, so which incumbents are up could not be confirmed from official sources.
This overview and the accompanying feed and past-meeting summaries are built from the Mendocino Unified School District's official board meeting agendas and minutes for the trailing 12 months (August 28, 2025 through August 27, 2026), collected directly from the district's own website (mendocinousd.org). Board meeting video recordings are posted as passcode-protected Zoom links rather than an openly downloadable or YouTube format, so they were not collected or transcribed for this review.
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