VISTA -- School officials in Vista passed a $194 million spending plan Thursday for the 2009-10 school year, $17 million less than they expect to spend this year.

Vista Unified School District officials expect to spend 8 percent less next year than they did this year in order to balance the budget. Like districts across the state, Vista Unified will receive less money than it was expecting from Sacramento next year. State officials have cut education spending as they struggle to close the state's $24 billion budget gap.

District officials were able to balance the budget by using federal stimulus money, dipping into savings, cutting back on maintenance and increasing some class sizes.

However, the district's finances are expected to worsen in the 2010-11 school year, when the district only expects to bring in $185 million and won't have any more stimulus money.

Because of this, the school board may have to reconsider some of the measures it was able to avoid this year, including laying off employees, cutting salaries, shortening the school year, eliminating busing, increasing class sizes and reducing extracurricular activities.

The district will have to start bracing for those cuts right away, said Donna Caperton, chief business officer. A budget committee of employees, parents and administrators will start meeting next month to discuss possible spending cuts, some of which would have to be made before the end of the year, Caperton said.

"We have to make the cuts early so we can determine our next course of action," she told the school board Thursday.

Throughout the year, district officials have cut millions from their spending plan for the 2008-09 and 2009-10 school years by laying off some employees, closing a small school for struggling students, reducing middle school sports, cutting the number of buses for elementary school students and scaling back maintenance at campuses.

In the 2009-10 budget, more than 85 percent of the district's spending will be on employee salaries and benefits. Those costs make up almost $168 million of the $194 million proposed budget.

Smaller portions of the spending plan go toward things such as books and supplies ($9 million) and services and operating expenses ($18 million.).

In addition to state funding cuts, district officials also expect enrollment to continue to decrease next year. Because the state funds schools based on attendance, fewer students means less money for districts.

Enrollment has declined steadily over the last decade. It reached its peak in 1999, when the district had nearly 26,000 students. Next year, officials are expecting 23,102 students.

School districts' budgets usually change frequently throughout the year as new information becomes available about state and federal funding.

Districts must adopt budgets by the end of June each year, usually a month or two before state lawmakers finalize their own budget. Last year, the state budget wasn't adopted until September.

In the end, school districts usually get and spend more money than they expected when they adopted their annual budgets. This year, the Vista Unified expects to spend $211 million, though the adopted budget called for $196 million in spending. Last year was similar with $200 million in spending and a $196 million adopted budget.

Call staff writer Stacy Brandt at 760-901-4009.