Board discussion shifted from audit acceptance to a broad review of budget reduction options and potential consolidations after presentations on capacity and staffing ratios.

Superintendent Alvarado and staff presented FTE allocations by budget code and showed how post‑pandemic student needs (special education, social‑emotional supports, remedial instruction) increased staffing in certain categories. The staff analysis compared ratios to earlier years and identified roughly 36–60 FTEs that would differ from pre‑pandemic benchmarks depending on the baseline year used.

Trustees and members of the public debated the tradeoffs. Some trustees stressed urgency: "The purpose of the budget is to stop the bleeding," said one trustee (speaker 14), urging rapid and measurable action to restore fiscal stability. Other trustees cautioned about the operational and community impacts of consolidation: several schools operate at well under half capacity, but closing or combining sites raises complex questions about transportation, Title I eligibility, property rights and program loss.

Board members requested administration return with detailed, itemized cost‑savings estimates including: per‑school cost per pupil, the likely dollar savings from consolidating specific pairs of schools (including effects on transportation and building maintenance), the fiscal impact of any staff reductions (expressed as dollars saved), and options to monetize district assets such as surplus buildings or water rights. Administration agreed to produce those analyses and to present a staffing allocation matrix for board review in January.

Public commenters and staff emphasized downstream consequences: teachers and parents warned that closing local schools can shift families to private or out‑of‑district public options; transportation and maintenance staff raised concerns about fleet needs and the timing of changes; and some community speakers urged the board to consider non‑structural options such as a four‑day week, targeted program changes, or phased measures.

Next steps: administration will prepare consolidation cost‑benefit scenarios, a staffing‑reduction cost model (dollar estimates for identified FTE reductions), and a legal/operational review of title, property and trust constraints tied to lake schools. Trustees said no consolidation decisions will be agendized until the board has full analysis and public input.