Mill Valley School District reports budget reserve progress

After six months of revision, the Mill Valley School District’s $63.5 million budget is stabilizing, the administration says.

“We are starting to maintain our reserves policy that we started back in December,” Paula Rigney, the assistant superintendent for finance, said at a district board meeting on May 8. “But it will take us to 2026-27 to get close to that 25% reserves target.”

Rigney said the current plan calls for reserves of 23.19% this fiscal year; 21.22% for 2025-26; 23.29% in 2026-27; and 26.10% for 2027-28.

“But there are a lot of uncertainties,” Rigney said. She cited the Trump administration’s plan to cut funding to the district by about $143,000 for Title I, II, III  and IV programs, and a new potential contract for district teachers that is still under negotiation.

“This multiyear projection is as good as when it was printed and submitted for the agenda,” Rigney said. “As soon as it was posted, we all got a bulletin on Trump’s reductions to public education, so that’s not shown in the multiyear projection.”

Rigney spoke during a third interim budget presentation required by the Marin County Office of Education. The extra report — most districts only deliver two — covers the last part of the school year. It was mandated by the county because the district’s first interim budget in the fall was deemed “qualified.”

A qualified budget means the district will fall below the state minimum 3% reserves level during the three-year budget projection reporting cycle, which includes the current year and two years out. If not corrected, a qualified budget could veer into “negative” budget territory and risk a takeover by the state.

In the first interim report in December, the district posted what officials said was an “unexpected” $7.3 million deficit. It was attributed to the expiration of $6.2 million in COVID-19 relief funds in September and a teachers’ contract with 14% in raises over two years that was accidentally underrepresented by $2.5 million in forms filed with the Marin County Office of Education.

In January, trustees approved $6 million in cuts, including several dozen layoffs and the elimination of transitional kindergarten. In March, after a public outcry, the district announced a one-year extension of transitional kindergarten using about $1.5 million raised by parents and another $700,000 in cutbacks from other areas in the district.

The Mill Valley Teachers Association will have its next contract bargaining session with the district on Tuesday, according to Erin Frazier, a union leader.

“Management is expected to give us their first counterproposal on salary and benefits,” Frazier said. “The Mill Valley Teachers Association has proposed a fair 5% salary increase, effective July 1, 2025.”

Frazier said the proposal was based on the district budget history and projections and “the incredibly high cost of living in Marin County.”

“Mill Valley outperformed school districts across both Marin County and California on state tests last year,” Frazier said. “MVSD needs to reprioritize its budget in order to continue the exceptional instruction students currently receive by attracting and retaining the best educators for its students.”

Superintendent Elizabeth Kaufman said, “We deeply value our staff, and we’re proud to offer some of the most competitive salaries in Marin County. We remain committed to providing fair compensation and benefits.”

Kaufman said district negotiators are “striving to protect the district’s financial stability — and commitments to outstanding instructional programs, small class sizes and student support services that keep our schools strong and our children thriving.”