Careful planning will allow Fresno Unified School District to avoid layoffs and furloughs next year, Superintendent Michael Hanson told the school board Wednesday.

The district had squirreled away money this year in anticipation of mid-year state cuts that didn't come.

"We will probably have the calmest conversation around the budget that we've had in years," he said.

But the fiscal picture remains gloomy. Fresno Unified is at risk of losing $25 million if Gov. Jerry Brown's tax plan fails, staff told the board of trustees Wednesday night. The carryover from this year will help buffer that loss, but the district will still have to cut $9.6 million from its budget over the next few years. The district's budget this year is $584.2 million.

Education funding for next fiscal year depends on Brown's $6.9 billion tax plan, which requires voter approval. The plan would raise income taxes on the wealthy and the state sales tax. If the plan fails to win voter approval, it will trigger $4.8 billion in cuts to schools and community colleges.

If the plan passes, however, Fresno Unified would have $15 million in new revenue.

District staff are working on a plan to deal with state cuts. No matter what happens at the polls, the district will lose $4 million in transportation funding. Brown's budget transfers the cost of busing students from the state to the district.

Last spring, the district laid off dozens of teachers, offered early retirement packages and made other reductions in anticipation of state budget cuts. By September, the district was able to rehire teachers when it found it was in better financial shape than expected, thanks to increased enrollment and additional state and federal funds.