Cash-strapped West Contra Costa Unified braces for cuts in state funding

The financial fallout from the coronavirus is threatening the budgets of all California schools, but cash-strapped districts like West Contra Costa Unified may be hit the hardest.

The district was already spending beyond its means prior to COVID-19, and estimated it had a projected deficit of $48 million by 2022. To reduce the projected deficit, it cut around $30 million from next school year’s budget in February, a move that required teacher and staff layoffs. It aimed to cut the remaining $18 million from the budget for the 2021-2022 school year. But now with funding shortfalls on the horizon and higher costs due to the pandemic, district officials fear that more difficult choices are ahead.