Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District trustees to examine potential budget cuts at January meeting; Issaic Gates resigns deputy superintendent position

 A key element of a “budget stabilization plan” in the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District will come at a January board meeting when trustees are presented with a list of potential budget reductions starting the next school year.

Reductions are deemed essential because of anticipated increases in the district’s deficit spending and predicted declines in enrollment, with the latest estimates presented at a November study session by Joan Velasco, interim assistant superintendent of business services.

The district’s deficit was $6.4 million at the end of the last school year, which, she said, is expected to jump to $15.6 million for the current school year, with projected deficits of $13 million for 2026-27 and $11.9 million for 2027-28.

Enrollment drops have been steep since 25,826 students attending in the 2015-16 school year, Velasco said: 3,128 less students in the 2024-25 school year and a projected 4,330 fewer students in the 2027-28 school year, declines of 12% and 17%, respectively.

Trustees were asked to draw up individual lists of their top three items to protect from reductions and their top three items to include in potential reductions by the end of the meeting to submit to Superintendent Kim LeBlanc-Esparza.

She will then work with her executive cabinet and a budget reduction committee to develop a list of budget reductions to present to trustees in January. State law requires a budget for 2026-27 to be in place by July 1.

One example of a potential reduction mentioned is extending the bus replacement cycle, which, it was noted, could save money, but also might increase maintenance costs. Other reductions mentioned could include increasing student walking distances to schools and cutting overtime costs.

But, as Velasco noted, 86% of the budget involves employee salaries and benefits, so reducing personnel costs will be a major factor in developing the list of reductions.

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Issaic Gates, who was placed on paid administrative leave from his deputy superintendent position Dec. 19, 2024, on a 5-0 vote, resigned effective Nov. 7. He was named executive director of human services at the 3,100-student Beverly Hills Unified School District on a 4-0 vote with one abstention Nov. 4 on a contract that runs until July 1.

Gates was named assistant superintendent of human services in the Placentia-Yorba Linda district June 6, 2023, and promoted to deputy superintendent Feb. 14, 2024. He joins former Placentia-Yorba Linda superintendent Alex Cherniss, who was named superintendent of the Beverly Hills district on a 3-2 vote April 10 on a three-year contract.

Cherniss was hired in the Placentia-Yorba Linda district on a 5-0 vote April 18, 2023, and placed on paid administrative leave Dec. 19, 2024, on a 5-0 vote. Gates had served as San Marino High School principal 2017-20. Cherniss was superintendent of the San Marino Unified School District 2014-18.