MBUSD adopts its budget this week: how 40 layoffs became 15 — and what's still unresolved

June 2026 · Last updated: June 11, 2026

Manhattan Beach Unified adopts its 2026-27 budget this week: a public hearing at the regular board meeting Wednesday, June 17 at 5 PM, then a special budget/LCAP adoption meeting Thursday, June 18 at 8 AM, both in the board room at 325 S. Peck Avenue and livestreamed, per MBUSD's board meeting calendar. If you have kids in the district — or a home whose value leans on its schools — this is the decision meeting of the fiscal year. Here is where the numbers stand going in.

The layoffs shrank — a lot

March's preliminary reduction-in-force notices put certificated (teaching) cuts at 40.4 full-time-equivalent positions. By the board's May 6 special meeting, the final approved number was 14.8 FTE, per the district's Budget Corner updates. Two things closed most of that gap: an early-retirement program that drew 35 participants (approximately 34 FTE), and grant-funded positions — including foundation class-size grants — that preserved roles. Classified reductions went from approximately 15.45 to 14.45 FTE; administrative reductions held at 3.0 FTE.

The translation for families: far fewer classroom positions disappear in the fall than the March notices implied. But retirements reduce payroll without reducing class counts only if positions stay unfilled — the staffing plan that comes with the adopted budget is where that becomes visible.

The local money behind it

The Manhattan Beach Education Foundation's 2025-26 annual appeal reported $5.2 million raised from over 50% of MBUSD families, against what the foundation describes as a $6.8 million district deficit, per MBEF's appeal page. MBEF frames the stakes in per-position terms: each $125,000 raised can restore one teaching position; the campaign was extended through May 30 to close the gap. For scale, MBEF's most recent audited filing (FY ending June 2023) shows $8.5 million in total contributions, per its Form 990 via ProPublica.

The Sacramento variable

Nothing in the state's contribution is final until the Governor signs a budget by June 30. The district's June 1 Budget Corner summary calls the May Revision more encouraging than earlier projections, with a statutory cost-of-living adjustment of 2.87% — while also warning (the district's characterization of a contested state process) that the proposal underfunds the Proposition 98 guarantee by $3.9 billion, and that the share of Prop 98 money flowing through LCFF — the flexible dollars MBUSD actually relies on — has fallen from approximately 77.9% in 2018-19 to 67.5%. The Legislature's final numbers land days after MBUSD adopts, so the adopted budget will carry assumptions, not certainties.

The structural problem hasn't moved

Underneath the one-year fixes sits the same math we covered in our enrollment deep dive: California funds districts per student, and MBUSD's enrollment keeps trending below projections, per the district's April Budget Corner update — which also describes a coordinated outreach push (preschool and realtor engagement, enrollment events; a TK/kindergarten information day drew 250+ attendees and 120+ family interest submissions). Incoming superintendent Dr. Kimberlie Linz, who arrives with budget-office experience, starts July 1 — our profile is here.

Hermosa's parallel track

Hermosa Beach City School District held the public hearing on its own 2026-27 LCAP and budget at the June 10 board meeting, per HBCSD's notices; adopted figures and minutes had not been posted as of June 11. Same watch item, smaller scale: the adopted budget sets staffing and class sizes for Hermosa's TK-8 schools, whose students feed Mira Costa.

How to weigh in

The hearing is June 17 at 5 PM; adoption is June 18 at 8 AM, at 325 S. Peck Avenue (livestreamed), per the board calendar. Agendas post to the district's board portal before the meetings.

We track this story, and everything else that hits your money in MB and Hermosa, in the twice-weekly Pier to Pier newsletter.

General information, not advice.

Sources

  • MBUSD board meeting calendar (June 17 hearing, June 18 adoption) — https://www.mbusd.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=137960&type=d&pREC_ID=2741329
  • MBUSD Budget Corner updates (final RIF figures, May 6, 2026; May Revision summary, June 1, 2026; enrollment outreach, April 20, 2026) — https://www.mbusd.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=137959&type=d&pREC_ID=2727032
  • MBEF 2025-26 Annual Appeal — https://mbef.org/annual-appeal/
  • MBEF Form 990, FY ending June 2023, via ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer — https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/953881166
  • HBCSD news / public hearing notice, 2026-27 LCAP and budget — https://www.hbcsd.org/apps/news/

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