District staff say the focus now is cutting spending mid-year while building a leaner budget moving forward.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento City Unified leaders say there may be a path forward as the district works to avoid insolvency and a possible state takeover.
The tone has shifted from frustration last week to cautious optimism, with officials signaling the district may be inching toward a plan to stabilize its finances.
Board members say there is now a clearer path to avoid insolvency and possibly a state takeover. New numbers show the district no longer expects to run out of cash. Staff say Sacramento City Unified should finish with just over $3 million in cash on hand while still carrying a significant deficit.
“We are tentatively thrilled. Tentative, excited that we have cash through June and that fiscal insolvency is not in the next four or five months. I say tentatively because we don’t know what info is coming,” said SCUSD Board President Tara Jeane.
The updated solvency plan identifies nearly $44 million in savings the district believes it can realistically achieve. Still, the long-term outlook remains challenging, with a projected deficit growing to $113 million for the next school year.
“I was excited when I began to hear what was coming. Do we have everything solved? No. Do we have a lot more work to do? Absolutely. Are we committed to doing that? Yes,” Jeane said.
District staff say the focus now is on cutting mid-year spending while building a leaner budget going forward.
Last week, the board approved reassigning or laying off administrators until reaching a 270-employee level and furloughing non-union staff for 12 days.
Some district employees and unions are pushing back on the proposed furloughs and administrator layoffs.
Members of United Professional Educators (UPE), a union for administrators and certificated staff in Sacramento City Unified, said they disagree with the proposed changes. They said they understand the district is facing a crisis, but argue that the situation does not allow the district to breach its agreements.
“Changes of this magnitude without bargaining are not procedural oversights,” said the UPE representative.
“When administrators are taken out of the workplace, then schools do not function the same,” said a SCUSD administrator. “School leaders are not asking for special treatment, but we are asking for fair treatment.”
“Furloughing unrepresented staff, once deemed essential, means furloughing our chefs and our nutrient supervisors who make this program work,” said an attendee.
The board told staff it does not want to cut anything that was negotiated with unions.
Later in the meeting, the board removed the furlough option from the table.
The district’s next solvency plan update is scheduled for Feb. 19 as leaders work to prove the numbers add up.
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