IRVINE

A consultant’s review of the Irvine Unified School District found that under-staffing and a “closed” budget process may explain why district officials often struggle to describe financial problems to residents.

“The challenges of communicating the complexity of the district’s budget, needs, priorities, and options requires significant change in the budget development process,” said consultants with Sacramento-based School Services of California, which issued the report last spring. “The Irvine calendar is very ‘closed’ in that key decisions are often made by staff with little involvement of the [the school board], superintendent or any outside committees or review groups. . . . This situation will need to be changed.”

That budget process is likely to come under even more scrutiny as district trustees begin to cut at least $4 million from next year’s budget and prepare to lay off about 100 teachers.

Trustees are seriously considering another attempt at a ballot measure in April, after voters narrowly rejected a $95 parcel tax this fall. But tax opponents cited a lack of information about the district’s finances as one of the primary reasons for the measure’s defeat in November.

Trustees said that an open budget process was key to success.