(a) If the budget review committee established pursuant to Sections 42127.1 and 42127.2 recommends approval of the school district budget, the county superintendent of schools shall accept the recommendation of the budget review committee and approve the budget.
(b) If the budget review committee established pursuant to Sections 42127.1 and 42127.2 disapproves the school district budget, the governing board of the school district, not later than five working days after receipt of the report described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 42127.2, may submit a response to the Superintendent, including any revisions to the adopted final budget and any other proposed actions to be taken as a result of the recommendations of the budget review committee. Based upon the recommendations of the budget review committee and any response to those recommendations provided by the governing board of the school district, the Superintendent shall either approve or disapprove the budget. If the Superintendent disapproves the budget, he or she shall notify the governing board of the school district in writing of the reasons for that disapproval and, until the county superintendent of schools certifies the school district’s first interim report pursuant to Section 42131, the county superintendent of schools shall do the following as necessary:
(1) On or before December 31, develop and adopt, in consultation with the Superintendent and the governing board of the school district, a fiscal plan and budget that will govern the district and will allow the district to meet its financial obligations, both in the current fiscal year and with regard to the district’s multiyear financial commitments. The Superintendent may extend the date by which the county superintendent of schools is required to develop and adopt a fiscal plan and budget. The governing board of the school district shall govern the operation of the school district for the current fiscal year in accordance with that adopted budget.
(2) Cancel purchase orders, prohibit the issuance of nonsalary warrants, and otherwise stay or rescind any action that is inconsistent with the budget adopted pursuant to paragraph (1). The county superintendent of schools shall inform the governing board of the school district in writing of his or her justification for any exercise of authority under this paragraph.
(3) Monitor and review the operation of the school district.
(4) Determine the need for additional staff and may employ, subject to approval by the Superintendent, short-term analytical assistance or expertise to validate financial information if the school district staff does not have the expertise or staff.
(5) Require the school district to encumber all contracts and other obligations, to prepare appropriate cashflow analyses and monthly or quarterly budget revisions, and to appropriately record all receivables and payables.
(6) Determine whether there are any financial problem areas and may employ, subject to approval by the Superintendent, a certified public accounting firm to investigate financial problem areas.
(7) Withhold compensation of the members of the governing board of the school district and the superintendent of the school district for failure to provide requested financial information. A forfeiture may be appealed to the Superintendent pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 42127.6.
(c) If, during the selection of the budget review committee or during the committee’s review of the budget, an agreement is reached between the governing board of the school district and the county superintendent of schools, and the school district revises its budget to comply with this agreement, the county superintendent of schools shall approve the school district budget and the budget review committee selection, or its review of the budget, shall be canceled.
(d) The school district shall pay 75 percent and the county office of education shall pay 25 percent of the actual administrative expenses incurred pursuant to subdivision (b), or costs associated with improving the district’s financial management practices. The Superintendent shall develop, and distribute to affected school districts and county offices of education, advisory guidelines regarding the appropriate amount of any fees charged pursuant to this subdivision.
(e) This section shall not be construed to authorize the county superintendent of schools to abrogate any provision of a collective bargaining agreement that was entered into by a school district prior to the date upon which the county superintendent of schools disapproved the budget of the school district pursuant to subdivision (b).
(Amended by Stats. 2015, Ch. 19, Sec. 47. (SB 78) Effective June 24, 2015.)