The Abridged version:

Sacramento City Unified was expected to have an $86.7 million deficit after next school year. The situation is actually worse than originally thought.

When evaluating costs for the next two years, district staff used an incorrect figure that underbudgeted about $32 million worth of employee benefit expenses.

There is a special board meeting Thursday night at 6:45 p.m., during which the interim chief budget officer will provide additional details.

As of December, Sacramento City Unified was on track to be $86.7 million in the red after next school year.

The situation is actually far worse.

That’s according to a presentation the district’s new interim chief business officer, Lisa Grant-Dawson, will deliver at a special board meeting Thursday night.

Since September, the district has been grappling with a multi-million-dollar budget crisis after uncovering a $45 million shortfall from last year. Sacramento City Unified could be out of cash as soon as this summer, according to both staff and external evaluations.

In response, trustees approved a slew of budget cuts in November. Implementation , according to some board members, anxious for an update on any improvements.

Grant-Dawson started her role in January. In her first presentation to the board, she noted multiple potential deficiencies with the district’s current rightsizing plan.

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$32 million unaccounted for

Among the savings measures the district has employed so far was a one-time adjustment that allowed them to save about $32 million on employee health benefits for this fiscal year.

What would have been about a $140 million dollar expenditure shrunk to just over $108 million.

However, according to Grant-Dawson’s presentation, staff incorrectly used that $108 million figure when projecting costs for the next two school years, when they should have used $140 million.

That missing $32 million needs to be accounted for looking at the district’s future deficits — “otherwise, they are understated,” the slides read.

Sacramento City Unified could be short closer to $123.8 million in summer 2027, according to preliminary estimates in Grant-Dawson’s presentation. She is expected to discuss details further at tonight’s meeting.

Savannah Kuchar is a reporter covering education. She came to Sacramento to be a part of the Abridged team and contribute to a crucial local news source.