Facing serious financial issues, Laton Joint Unified School District received a lift from the Fresno County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.

In need of emergency funds, top officials from Laton JUSD requested and gained approval for borrowing up to $3 million.

“It has been a really difficult time. This is not a situation that any district wants to be in,” Superintendent Lupe Nieves said. “But I want you to know that with my team and the support of our County Office of Education, our district is going to be OK.”

Laton JUSD does not have fiscal accountability status. That prohibits the district from obtaining the money independently.

So, the county will borrow by the issuance and sale of 2025 tax and revenue anticipation notes. The district plans to repay the notes using taxes, income, revenue, and other money intended as receipts for the general fund, according to the agenda item.

The supervisors unanimously approved the district’s request.

“I’m definitely supportive. I’m not going to stand in the way of our children getting educational services,” Supervisor Luis Chavez said. “But I’ve never seen this before at the county level.”

The district is under the jurisdiction of the Fresno County Superintendent of Schools, which is working with Laton schools.

COVID Funds Masked Laton’s Financial Challenges

The school district, located in Fresno and Kings counties, had experienced declining enrollment while retaining more personnel than needed. This hurt the budget as COVID funding ran out.

“This really was an issue that was masked by (COVID) funding,” Nieves said. “A lot of districts are facing that COVID cliff.”

This has become a growing concern for school districts. For example, Fresno Unified is struggling with declining student enrollment and chronic absenteeism, necessitating big budget cuts with the end of COVID funding.

Now, the Laton district is making adjustments and expects to be fiscally sound by the 2026-27 school year.

“As COVID funds were decreasing, we should have looked at our staff and student ratio. And we should have made some adjustments,” Nieves said. “We did make those adjustments in the spring. We cut our budget for this school year by $1.3 million, and we’re ready to make further adjustments to our staffing and other spending.”

Officials reported that attendance, a historically challenging issue for rural school districts, is leveling out as well.