OPINION This piece expresses the views of its author, Apple Valley Unified School District Board Member Renée Longshore, separate from those of this publication.
The Apple Valley Unified School District (AVUSD) deficit spent $12,168,893.41 in the 2024-2025 calendar year (24/25), and is projecting more debt this year, largely due to a 90% increase in cost for Supervisors and Administrators over the past six years.
As AVUSD navigates impasse with certificated staff, school sites have been asked to consider cuts. Unfortunately, classroom spending these past few years has already gone down.
While district revenue increased 57%, Teachers and Pupil Support Staff salaries have grown only 39% and Books and Supplies 45% when comparing the 18/19 and 24/25 Unaudited Actuals.
Parents and staff were invited to an Expenditure Reduction Plan School Site Input meeting at their site this week, on January 5, 2026. The district presentation included the cost of some positions, and requested attendees to rank them by priority.
School sites did not make the decision to hire staff with temporary monies, and roll cost over into the general fund. They did not give advice on raises, or have ample time to review and consider data. Why are we asking for input on a potential reduction in force?
The AVUSD School Board has not been clearly informed, according to the Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team’s (FCMAT, an outside auditor) report presented at a Special Meeting/Workshop of the Board of Trustees on October 30, 2025. This has not changed.
Even now, we continue to approve an over-projection of expenditures, while allowing the shuffle of excess funds, unbridled, into accounts, unspent.
In addition, our reserves have decreased at a higher rate than the reported deficit spending: $2,474,673.34 in the 18/19 calendar year, $1,308,535.72 in 19/20, $2,633,546.27 in 20/21, $3,524,903.99 in 21/22, $2,467,852.44 in 22/23, $3,049,644.15 in 23/24, and $98,500.18 in 24/25.
In fact, over the past seven years, funds were off $15,459,155.91. People have not been able to find where this money went.
Since joining the Board in December 2024, I have researched, and offered detailed oversight of AVUSD finances. Spreadsheets were regularly offered to all who attended our Board Meetings. As a result, the 24/25 report of income, spending, and savings was quite accurate — the way it should have been all along.
But what happened to $15,459,155.91, and how long has this gone on?
The current AVUSD financial system is broken. We need to acknowledge this reality in order to fix it. We need to fix it because our students deserve the best.
As we consider spending, let us ask ourselves: what value has this brought to learning, in our classrooms and at our school sites? Preserve that. Because at the end of the day, educating kids must be our priority, our true north.
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Board Member believes Apple Valley school district financial system is ‘broken’
Reporting by Renée Longshore, Apple Valley Unified School District Board Member / Victorville Daily Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
