CVUSD Superintendent discusses district budget cuts
Shay Lawson
THERMAL, Calif. (KESQ) – Getting answers as the Coachella Valley Unified School District faces $25.4 million in budget reductions. A fiscal stabilization plan to address shortfalls at the CVUSD.
As we reported earlier this month, district leaders say the plan will be phased in over three years, and they’re working to minimize impacts to the classroom while also restoring long term financial stability.
Tonight at 5:00 p.m., News Channel 3’s Shay Lawson sits down with Superintendent Doctor Esparza. Holding officials accountable on what’s being done to keep cuts from affecting students in the classroom.
On Thursday, Assemblymember Jeff Gonzalez wrote an OP-ED on the Desert Sun titled “CVUSD is headed toward financial disaster. Families deserve better.”
CVUSD Superintendent Dr. Frances Esparza replied in a statement to News Channel 3:
The request was for a FCMAT Audit. We were afforded the opportunity by the Riverside County Office of Education to avoid paying for an FCMAT Audit. The results of the FCMAT Audit were presented to the Board of Education at last week’s Board Meeting, and the district was commended for its progress in such a short time.
In addition, Mr. Gonzalez never reached out to meet with me regarding finances. Nor has he mentioned the academic gains in CVUSD, or highlighted CVUSD in any of his comments. He has been invited to several events highlighting our students and the great work happening in CVUSD, but he has never attended. We would love him to support the students and families of CVUSD. We would appreciate advocacy for state funding for Schools so we can give our staff raises, we would appreciate his advocacy for State funding to lower class sizes, we would like for him to advocate for State funding for our Students with Special Needs, we would like for him to provide scholarship opportunities for our students, and to work on creating affordable housing for our staff. That’s what the families and students in CVUSD need from their politicians. We would appreciate his help and support.
I want to inform you that the Joint Legislative Audit Committee did not see the need for a State Audit, as I shared our finances with them and explained, in a hearing, why there would be significant cuts. I also responded to all of the Assemblyman Gonzalez’s questions and provided those responses to the Joint Legislative Audit Committee. I explained clearly that the Covid funds, known as ESSER funds, were no longer being provided to the district, and that the positions funded by those funds remained intact, resulting in a significant budget deficit. This major deficit caused the layoffs in June 2025, and they should have happened years earlier under the previous leadership. Several districts, like LAUSD, Pasadena, Oakland, Hayward, Ventura, Santa Ana, are just a few that are experiencing the same challenges. However, we have taken actionable steps toward fiscal solvency that will take 2 to 3 years to right-size the district.
Stay with News Channel 3 for continuing updates.