La Quinta City Council Demands Answers from CVUSD

 La Quinta City Council Pressures CVUSD to Explain Budget Issues

LA QUINTA — City Councilors may finally get from the Coachella Valley Unified School District what no one else has been able to —answers, This City Council means business. They describe what’s happening in the school district as “egregious mismanagement of the District’s budget,”

In a harshly worded letter that the City Council sent to CVUSD Superintendent Dr. Frances Esparza on Feb. 11,

This letter was a request to reschedule a meeting that Esparza and members of her board members cancelled two months ago with members of the La  Quinta City Council.

“During that timeframe, we have read your January 29, 2025, OP-ED in the Desert Sun.  We have also followed the District Board meetings and news stories about the current financial state of CVUSD.,” the letter states.” It appears that the District needs to bridge a multi-million-dollar budget deficit with actions that could potentially include a reduction of 197 positions. It is difficult to process the egregious mismanagement of the District’s budget,”

The letter obviously caught Esparaza’s attention. There is now a meeting scheduled for 2 p.m. Wednesday, according to City Manager Jon McMillen.

Esparza’s reaction to the letter was “swift and responsive,” McMillen told Uken Report. “You couldn’t ask for more.

Ss, why does La Quinta care?

The City of La Quinta has contributed tax dollars to CVUSD since incorporation as a city (1982). While there are very few students at CVUSD who reside in La Quinta, the geographic territory and tax dollars are significant in comparison.

Unfortunately, to date, those funds have supported very few students with no capital development to support them, the letter states. The City Council is also requesting further clarification on the allocation of property tax proceeds from the City of La Quinta, which totaled about $14.7 million for 2023. Taxes are intended to support students who reside in the City of La Quinta as part of the District.

“It is our understanding that the District plans to reallocate the La Quinta school tax dollars from the District’s Fund 40 Special Reserve for Capital Projects into its General Fund as part of the fiscal stabilization plan,” the letter states. “The City Council is concerned about the impact these changes will have on the students in the District who live in La Quinta. We also want to understand how our residents will benefit from the reallocation of fund.”

You and your Board need to take swift action to reverse this major budget deficit, while still ensuring the education needs of all students are achieved – in a safe and welcoming environment, the letter states mincing no words.

“We need to understand your intentions in order to protect the tax-paying residents of La Quinta and the students impacted by your every decision.”