When Gov. Gavin Newsom released his January budget proposal, it notably withheld $5.6 billion that’s supposed to go toward K-12 public schools.
It caused a stir for education leaders across the state, and it has an impact on Fresno Unified, too.
Of that multi-billion-dollar figure, $57 million is Fresno Unified’s cut, according to Manuel Bonilla, the president of the Fresno Teachers Association. Right now, Fresno Unified is already projecting a $55 million deficit next year, even after issuing layoff notices to around 466 employees.
It’s unclear if the district’s projected deficit already accounts for the funds Newsom has so far planned to withhold. Depending on the answer to that question, Fresno Unified’s deficit figure would either double, or disappear.
A Fresno Unified spokesperson was not immediately available for comment. A spokesperson for the governor’s office was not immediately available for comment.
According to the budget, the $5.6 billion settle-up is being done to address uncertain revenue projections.
“This is intended to mitigate the risk of potentially appropriating more resources to the Guarantee than are ultimately available in the final calculation for 2025-26,” according to Newsom’s January budget proposal.
The Governor’s budget office expects to address the revenue uncertainty with the updated May Revise budget, which will come out by May 14.
Back in February, the California Teachers Association issued a news release, calling on Newsom to stop withholding the $5.6 billion, noting how it comes from Proposition 98 — funds that are guaranteed to K-12 school districts.
The statewide union also noted this would be the second year in a row that Newsom would be withholding Prop. 98 funding.
Now, a candidate for state superintendent — endorsed by the California Teachers Association — is sounding the alarm about the withheld funds. Richard Barrera, the current president of the San Diego Unified School District, held a Thursday news conference at Fresno City College alongside Fresno and Madera K-12 leaders.
Barrera said that while the hold is temporary, it impacts schools in real time because school districts are already putting together budgets for the 2026-27 school year.
Due to that, Barrera said districts have to make tough budget decisions right now.
“The biggest example of that is if school districts can’t count on that money for next year, there was a deadline of March 15 where school districts start issuing pink slips, layoff notices, to teachers custodians, bus drivers,” Barrera told Fresnoland in an interview. “We’re seeing upwards of 2,500 layoff notices across the state [that] have gone out that are the result of this proposal to hold on to money,” Barrera said.
Newsom withholding the funds reduces Prop. 98’s guaranteed funding amount from $121.4 billion to $115.9 billion for the 2025-26 school year. Barrera also said that the teacher strikes that have occurred across the state are due to school districts’ uncertainty on if they’ll see that money return in the May budget revision.
Bonilla, president of the Fresno Teachers Association, said withholding these funds translates to a loss of around $57 million for Fresno Unified.
“We’ve already seen the consequences as you heard, whether it be layoff notices or disrupted classrooms — and students and educators are caught in the middle,” Bonilla said during the Thursday news conference. “They’re caught between a governor who refuses to deliver promised funding and school boards who all too often choose to spend on their limited resources, on things like consultants or other items over the classroom.”
Bonilla also called for FUSD’s board to join the Fresno Teachers Association in advocating for the district at the state level.
“We’re calling on two things: join us in the advocacy at the state level and change your wasteful practices at the local level,” Bonila said. “Let’s make sure that we’re able to give our students the quality education that they deserve.”
Mario Cobarruvias, who serves as president of the teachers union at Golden Plains Unified in San Joaquin, said the funding hold means his district loses out on around $1.2 million.
“For a small district like ours, with about 12-1300 students, the loss of $1.2 million has really triggered a couple different things there,” Cobarruvias told Fresnoland in an interview. “There will be less services available to our students starting next year, there’s a strong possibility that one of our four elementary schools will be shutting down; we don’t see a reduction in force just yet, but we anticipate that will probably be the next step.”
Central Unified is looking at a loss of around $13.5 million, according to Judee Martinez, a community school coordinator in the district who also serves as the chair for the California Teachers Association (CTA) Fresno Madera Service Center Council (FMSCC).
Lonny Johnson, a Selma High School teacher and chair of the political action committee for the CTA FMSCC, said his district stands to lose around $5.1 million from the governor’s hold.
According to Barrera, districts across Fresno and Madera counties are looking at a combined loss of $180 million in promised funding.
During Wednesday’s Fresno Unified school board meeting, students called on the board to reconsider reductions impacting counselors in FUSD’s Project ACCESS, a program tailored to support students in foster care or experiencing homelessness.
“For many students, counselors are the only trusted support system they have at school,” said a 10th grade foster youth student from Fresno High School during Wednesday’s meeting. “Removing them removes protection, guidance and hope.”
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