Fact #9:

HBCSD reserve account fell to a low of 2.9% at June 2005 during the building of the new construction at Valley School. The CDE requires that HBCSD hold 3% in reserves.  By 2015 HBCSD reserves were 25.5%.  HBCSD increased their reserves by withholding spending on student's education and campus upkeep.

NOTE: Reserves are a school district's savings account. Parents and taxpayers are for the most part unaware when school board members deplete district reserves on low priority items. The manipulating of district reserves can negatively impact students' education and campus upkeep.

NOTE: After depleting district reserves on a low-priority, extremely expensive gymnasium from 2004 to 2009, HBCSD was left without a strong financial buffer to weather the Great Recession of 2009 to 2011. In addition to dealing with severely reduced State funding during the Great Recession, school board members were also forced to withhold district spending to build back HBCSD's reserves. The district's reserves had been reduced to their lowest level in 2005 when school board members overspent when building a low-priority, extremely expensive gymnasium. The low district savings account (reserves) in 2009 exacerbate the negative impact of the Great Recession on Hermosa students, staff and campuses.

(1) HBCSD is required by law to hold at least 3% in reserves.

(2) District reserves are defined as consisting of all funds designated for economic uncertainty contained within the the school district's General Fund. The General Fund is the school district's main "checking account" for district expenditures.

(3) In 2005, during the building of the gymnasium, library and two classrooms at HBCSD reserves fell to 2.9%.

(4) In addition to withholding funds to rebuild district reserves after they fell below the 3% minimum required by the state, from 2006-2009 HBCSD school board members spent nearly $1M of district funds to finish the new construction at Valley School. Please see Fact #12, Item 6: The cost and issues surrounding the new construction (gymnasium, changing rooms, library, and two science classrooms with a dedicated elevator) at Valley School.

(5) When the Great Recession hit in 2008/2009 HBCSD was in a worse position because they had taken approximately $1M from district coffers prior to the recession to finish work on the new construction at Valley School.

(6) From 2005, HBCSD school board members claimed that the reason they were unable to build additional classrooms at Valley School and why the cost of the gymnasium rose was because of a lawsuit brought by a Valley School neighbor. This was incorrect information that is proven as being incorrect in this website by the information contained in District Lie #41.

NOTE: Elections held by school districts for parcel tax measures bond measures, etc. are fairly expensive.  A school district has to pay for printing ballots and postage, etc. in an election.   School districts lose additional taxpayer funds/district funds when they offer unsuccessful/unpopular ballot measures to taxpayers.  HBCSD unsuccessfully lost parcel tax measure A in 2006, parcel tax measure E in 2008 and $54M facilities bond Measure Q in 2014.

NOTE: HBCSD attendance in 2005 was 920 students.  In 2014 student attendance was 1,472 students.  In 2022 student attendance was 1,280 (80 students were brought in from other school districts using interdistrict-permits.