District Deficit Spending Plunges to $75K as Measure O Projects Reshape Campus

The Martinez Unified School District Governing Board received welcome financial news Sept. 14 as the 2025–26 fiscal year closed with unrestricted deficit spending of just $75,000 — a fraction of the $1 million projected — while more than $90 million in voter-approved construction projects advanced toward critical milestones at Alhambra High School and Morello Park Elementary.

• Year-end fund balance tops projections by $1.25 million, landing at $8.6 million on the strength of $600K in special education savings and $300K in E-rate technology reimbursement

• Measure O construction enters its most intensive phase, with a new auxiliary gym, track and field complex, security fencing, and a 17-classroom building all moving through state approval at Alhambra High

• Student representative calls for consistent cell phone access during lockdowns after a nearly two-hour September 2nd incident left some Alhambra students unable to reach parents

• Enrollment holds steady at roughly 3,800 students, defying projected declines as universal TK drives 192 four-year-olds into public schools and forces new classroom construction

• Board approves paid teacher leader positions to roll out the district's new K–8 math curriculum at every school site

Why it matters: A district that budgeted for $1 million in deficit spending ended the year spending just $75,000 more than it took in, giving administrators a rare financial cushion heading into negotiations over future salary and benefit costs.