The Fremont Unified School District faces a $23 million budget shortfall for the 2017-18 school year, largely because it plans to hire 48 more teachers, increase contributions to employees’ pension plans and cover negotiated salary raises, all while receiving less state money than expected.

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Ransomware computer attack disables California school district’s system District Associate Superintendent Raul Parungao delivered the news at a Jan. 25 school board meeting.

He said Gov. Jerry Brown’s preliminary state budget projects a reduction in the overall general fund, including the amount apportioned to K-12 schools and community colleges.

Fremont school officials had projected that the district would receive about $267 more per student in the new school year beginning July 1 than it did the previous year from the state. But if Brown’s budget proposal holds true, the district will receive only $76 more per student.

That amounts to a $6.3 million drop in anticipated funding for the upcoming school year, according to Parungao.

Brown’s budget isn’t the only culprit, however.

While the district still expects revenue to rise, by about $13.9 million, it also is projecting expenditures to jump by more than $30 million, a gap of $16.8 million.

One reason for the higher expenditure is because the district is kicking in an additional $4 million in contributions to employees’ pension plans, Parungao told The Argus.

Another reason is because the district negotiated 2 percent salary raises for teachers and managers that will account for an additional $9.2 million, he said. Plus, the district will be spending an extra $2.9 million in so-called “step pay” increases to teachers for longevity or for pursuing additional credentials such as another bachelor’s degree.

And because the district is shrinking its third-grade class sizes from 28 students per teacher to 24 while also bracing for overall enrollment growth, it will be hiring some 48 new teachers at an extra cost of about $4.8 million, Parungao said.

Special education costs also are expected to continue rising. The district currently spends roughly $69 million and anticipates it’ll need to pay about $6.5 million more.

In addition, costs associated with providing services to students who are foster youths, English language learners or eligible for free or reduced price meal plans are expected to climb by $1.5 million.

Parungao said he and his staff will present some options to balance the budget at the school board’s Feb. 22 meeting. He declined to say whether layoffs or dipping into district reserves are possibilities but indicated nothing is off the table right now.

“At this point we’re looking at every corner of the budget,” he said.

Any revisions to the state budget usually are presented in May, so the district accordingly might revise its revenue projections at that time, he said.

The Fremont school board and the state must adopt a budget by the last week of June.