Fresno Unified weighs cutting attendance staff amid $88 million deficit

Fresno Unified is considering cutting 14 child welfare and attendance specialists in its 2026-27 staffing formulas, even as the district faces an $88 million projected deficit and chronic absenteeism remains stuck near 31 percent. State data define chronic absenteeism as missing 10 percent or more of the instructional days a student was enrolled to attend.

The money problem is real. District estimates put low attendance at about $30 million a year in lost funding, and officials have said every percentage point of attendance change can swing roughly $10 million. Fresno Unified’s deficit grew 49 percent from February to $88 million, and enrollment fell by nearly 1,000 students, tightening the squeeze on a budget already driving layoffs and reductions across the system.

The proposed cuts are not a simple shrink-and-save plan. Fresno Unified is also weighing seven fewer school counselors and three new behavior intervention specialists, while officials say some attendance-specialist reductions are tied to reclassifying jobs into tier II intervention specialist roles focused on social-emotional, behavioral and attendance needs. A.J. Kato said, “Some of these positions are being sunset as they were one-time-funded positions through COVID relief funds.” Over the same period, the district says its mental health workforce grew 53 percent from 2020 to 2025, while child welfare and attendance specialists fell from 53 to 25, a drop of about 52 percent.

That shift raises the central accountability question: which students will lose support first when attendance help is reduced? Fresno Unified’s late-2024 attendance summary showed chronic absenteeism at 22.4 percent at that point in the year, with especially high rates among foster youth, homeless students, African American students and students with disabilities. The district later reported K-8 chronic absenteeism at 29.4 percent in 2024-25, after peaking at just over 50 percent in 2021-22. Fresno Unified has said it wants the rate near 20 percent, but reaching that goal will depend on a concrete replacement plan, not just a staffing rebrand.