Sacramento school board approves budget plan to address deficit and avoid state takeover
The Sacramento City Unified School Board approved a multi-year budget plan aimed at reducing a significant deficit and maintaining local control, though reserve shortfalls remain a concern
SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. —
The Sacramento City Unified School Board unanimously approved a multi-year budget plan to reduce its deficit and avoid a state takeover after its previous proposal was rejected by the Sacramento County Office of Education.
The plan aims to bring the district’s deficit from nearly $229 million to a surplus of just over $160,000 by the 2026-27 fiscal year.
“I use my teacher analogy. [If] the lesson plan doesn’t go the way you thought, you figure out how to pivot, but you keep making sure we move forward step by step,” Board President Tara Jeane said.
The board had to revise and vote on the budget again after the county rescinded the previous plan in August. The new plan projects a near-balanced budget through 2028 but anticipates a $1.9 million deficit in 2029.
The plan relies on one-time state block grant funding of nearly $31 million and Proposition 98 revenue of over $22 million. Jeane questioned the classification of the state funding as one-time, saying, “For the last 15 years, they’ve been giving us one-time money, for the last 15 years. So at what time after a 15-year pattern do you say that money isn’t just one-time; it’s actually ongoing?”
The plan also includes two memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with the Sacramento City Teachers Association.
“That would require the MOUs, and this is done under the assumption that that would be done,” Trustee Jasjit Singh said.
Nikki Davis Mievsky, president of the teachers association, said the MOUs provide significant fiscal relief, stating, “$97.6 million in fiscal relief in the first MOU. This new MOU provides an additional $37 million in fiscal relief to the District between now and June 2030.”
Last month, the Sacramento County Office of Education objected to the first MOU, arguing it would cost more long term and reduce fiscal flexibility. Mievsky responded, “We’re able to showcase that with the MOU, we’re actually in the positive, so I’m waiting to see what the argument is. Why they wouldn’t approve something that gets in the positive and out of the negative?”
In a statement Thursday night, the Sacramento County Office of Education said, “SCOE will carefully review the information provided consistent with its fiscal oversight responsibilities.”
Despite the plan’s projections, the district faces a reserve shortfall of about $25 million annually through 2029. The Sacramento County Office of Education has 10 days to review the plan.
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