A Positive Step Forward for WCCUSD’s LCAP and 2026-27 Budget
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Tonight, June 24, the WCCUSD school board will vote on the 2026-27 Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) and district budget. These two key documents review the district’s progress over the past year and set priorities, strategies, and spending for the year ahead. Before those votes, here’s what you need to know about the proposals, which were presented at the June 3 board meeting and included some meaningful improvements over previous years.
What Happened?
LCAP
The 2026-27 LCAP is the third and final year of the district’s current three-year plan. It includes updates on the effectiveness of the 2025-26 plan and changes in strategies for the coming year. Shifts include the implementation of a parent-engagement walkthrough tool created with AASAT, changes to intervention delivery models, and adjustments to assessments, including ending use of the i-Ready assessment.
In terms of clarity and transparency, this was one of the strongest LCAPs the district has produced in recent years. One key improvement is the clearer connection between district strategies and the metrics used to measure their outcomes. The plan also incorporates the majority of recommendations made by the Parent Advisory Committees, including DLCAPS, AASAT, and others. While a few points remain in dispute, many families and community members who have engaged in the process this year have expressed appreciation for both the engagement process and the resulting plan.
This is worth celebrating, though it also raises an important question: what happens next year? Key staff who led the improvement of the LCAP process in recent years, including the family engagement connected to it, are leaving or have recently left the district. We will be watching closely to see whether the district protects and carries forward the institutional knowledge, relationships, and community trust built through this year’s process.
Budget
On the budget, the district presented projections that, for the first time in recent memory, incorporated not only potential risks but also likely new revenues. The proposal includes significant funding from the Governor’s “May Revision” budget proposal, which district staff estimated could provide WCCUSD with roughly $35 million or more in additional funding next year. Details of the state budget are still being negotiated and are expected to be finalized in the coming days.
Unlike past WCCUSD budgets, which often excluded significant state budget developments and emphasized worst-case scenarios, this year’s proposal moves away from the dire, deficits-only framing we’ve grown used to seeing. Based on the current projections, the district now expects to meet all of its financial obligations over the next three years.
Why Does This Matter?
We’ve written before about how WCCUSD’s budget projections have consistently led with worst-case scenarios, showing all the risks while leaving out likely new revenues. That approach did more than shape a spreadsheet. It shaped the public conversation, created a constant sense of false urgency, and helped drive deep cuts to programs and staff.
The proposed 2026-27 budget shows that a different approach is possible. By incorporating anticipated state funding and presenting a fuller picture, it gives the board and community more room to think, plan, and make thoughtful trade-offs rather than simply react.
But the question lingers: what if this approach had been in place all year? What if the board had been working from full-picture projections back in January and February, when decisions about layoffs, program cuts, and fiscal solvency were being rushed through? How different might those conversations have been? What programs might have been preserved? What educators, staff, and leaders might have stayed?
This proposed budget is an important step toward greater budget transparency. It does not erase WCCUSD’s real financial challenges. The district still faces significant pressures from declining enrollment and must navigate the looming expiration of the parcel tax. But these real challenges are exactly why the district must present the full picture, with risks and opportunities, clearly, consistently, and early enough for the community to engage.
That is the kind of budgeting WCCUSD students, families, educators, and staff deserve: transparent enough to build trust, early enough to invite real input, and honest enough to support thoughtful decisions. This should be the standard in every budget cycle.
What Can You Do?
Tonight’s meeting is your final opportunity to weigh in before the board votes. Attend in person at Lovonya DeJean Middle School or tune in on Zoom, and offer public comment. Share which elements of the LCAP matter most to you, what you hope the budget will prioritize, and what you expect from district leadership going forward. Call for a sustained commitment to transparent, full-picture budgeting in every cycle.
If you want to go deeper on these issues and build your skills as a school advocate, join GO this fall, through our Family Leadership Program (FLP) or our advanced APPLE workshops for experienced advocates.