“The long-term financial recovery of the district will take time and require extraordinary fiscal discipline, not just short-term loans and redirected funds, all of which must be repaid,” Soriano said in a news release. “The district is currently spending beyond its means and must identify the programs and services it is going to reduce or eliminate.”
Soriano said the new three-year agreement with the union limits the district’s ability to make further changes to the labor contract as a source of one-time or ongoing budget savings. She also said many of the district’s other proposed budget solutions lacked sufficient specificity or demonstrated feasibility.
Under state law, the Office of Education has the authority to reject actions taken by Sac Unified because of the district’s risk of fiscal insolvency.
The district currently faces a structural deficit of approximately $221.8 million. The Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team has projected the district could enter state receivership by June.
Nikki Davis-Milevsky, president of the Sacramento City Teachers Association, urged the district to appeal the decision to state schools’ Superintendent Tony Thurmond.
“By overturning this agreement, Cázares undermines our democratically elected board’s authority to solve local issues, compromises our district’s ability to avoid insolvency and, in effect, prolongs the need for her own paid oversight,” Davis-Milevsky said.
During the 2025-26 school year, Sacramento City Unified enrolled approximately 42,000 students. About 11.8% of the district’s students identify as Black.