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The Sacramento City Unified School District logo at the Serna Center in Sacramento on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026.<\/p>\n
JOS\u00c9 LUIS VILLEGAS<\/p>\n
jvillegas@sacbee.com<\/p>\n
Before the Sacramento City Unified School District Board of Education voted to approve an agreement with a consulting firm to help with its $108 million deficit, a firm representative offered a glimpse of how it might be able to help.<\/p>\n
The board had gathered for a sparsely-attended special meeting held Thursday at the Serna Center in south Sacramento. The meeting\u2019s purpose was for the board to approve a service authorization and consulting agreement with HYA Corporation, an Arlington, Illinois-based \u201cnetwork of education experts,\u201d according to its website<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ruben Frutos, one of three HYA representatives based in Southern California whose resumes were included in the agenda packet for Thursday\u2019s meeting, told the board that after he learned he\u2019d be flying to Sacramento for the meeting, he took a look at the district\u2019s financials. At that point, he realized that one report didn\u2019t include $10.2 million that it should have.<\/p>\n \u201cWe all have to be speaking the same language, even if it\u2019s difficult, even if it\u2019s more of a deficit than we anticipated,\u201d Frutos told the board.<\/p>\n The board voted 7-0 to approve the services agreement, which allows HYA to bill up to $400,000 for consulting services. It will now go to the Sacramento County Office of Education for final approval, which would allow HYA Corporation to begin its work. The district must send out final layoff notices by May 15, a state deadline, district spokesperson Al Goldberg said via text Thursday evening.<\/p>\n Why the district wants outside help<\/p>\n The board and district staff discussed enlisting outside assistance at a meeting on March 19. The district\u2019s deficit could reach $394 million by the 2027-28 school year, according to previous Sacramento Bee reporting.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need help helping ourselves,\u201d SCUSD Interim Superintendent Cancy McArn said at last week\u2019s meeting<\/a>.<\/p>\n McArn reiterated this message on Thursday, saying early in the special meeting, \u201cThere are also levels of \u2018we don\u2019t know what we need yet.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n While the board opted to table the matter at its March 19 meeting, the trustees were largely receptive Thursday to the idea of hiring the consultants.<\/p>\n \u201cFor the first time, I feel like we have a plan,\u201d board member Michael Benjamin said from the dais.<\/p>\n Board member Taylor Kayatta noted during the meeting that the board rarely requests contracts \u201cbecause we don\u2019t like contracts.\u201d He said that McArn was bringing the board \u201ca temporary solution\u201d with the contract.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are not in a normal situation,\u201d Kayatta said.<\/p>\n What HYA Corporation will provide<\/p>\n The services agreement calls for HYA Consultants to work up to 1,000 hours at a rate of $400 per hour. Its team \u201cwill provide leadership, technical analysis, recommendations for stablilization of fiscal operations,\u201d according to the agreement.<\/p>\n Aside from Frutos, the other two HYA reps listed in the agenda packet were La Tanya Kirk-Carter of Los Angeles, who was listed as a \u201cfiscal recovery expert\u201d and Micah Ali of Compton, whose resume noted that he was a \u201cpublic sector fiscal expert.\u201d<\/p>\n Frutos is from Mission Viejo, according to his resume, and boasts more than 40 years of work in education or management consulting. He has served as a superintendent for Paramount Unified School District and Rowland Unified School District, according to his resume.<\/p>\n His career has not been without some controversy. His time in Rowland USD featured \u201chundreds of people regularly attending board meetings and picketing of district headquarters by teachers and classified workers demanding his resignation,\u201d according to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune<\/a>.<\/p>\n His consulting also includes recent work for Oakland Unified School District<\/a>.<\/p>\n Board member Jasjit Singh questioned locking the district into a contract. \u201cIf things aren\u2019t working, I want to be honest about saying things aren\u2019t working,\u201d Singh said during the meeting.<\/p>\n Frutos, who is in his early 60s, said he\u2019d have no problem telling the superintendent his services were no longer needed, included if he saw that his suggestions weren\u2019t being implemented.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have retired people. We are very happy in retirement,\u201d Frutos told the board, drawing laughter in the room.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is simply an interest based on many years for the three of us to work with districts,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n This story was originally published March 27, 2026 at 5:00 AM.<\/p>\n Follow More of Our Reporting on In the Spotlight<\/p>\n Related Stories from Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n
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