![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/SAC_0009_260502_JV_SDUSD.JPG\" "\\"The")
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The Sacramento City Unified School District sign outside of the Serna Center. <\/p>\n
JOS\u00c9 LUIS VILLEGAS<\/p>\n
jvillegas@sacbee.com<\/p>\n
Frustration mounted Thursday evening as Sacramento City Unified School District trustees questioned district staff about the reliability of its shifting budget numbers.<\/p>\n
The long-anticipated third interim report showed SCUSD is still projected to end the year in the red, with staff estimating a $61.8 million deficit that could shrink further by September.<\/p>\n
The improved projection did not resolve the board\u2019s concern that the district\u2019s budget numbers remain in flux, as Lisa Grant-Dawson, the district\u2019s interim chief business officer, said some numbers are still being finalized before the district brings back its final adopted budget June 18.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been frustrating, not being able to receive the information we need to make the decisions again,\u201d board member Michael Benjamin said, asking Grant-Dawson to provide budget documents at least five days before presentations so trustees have time to go over them.<\/p>\n
Trustee Taylor Kayatta echoed the concern, saying Thursday\u2019s presentations did not give him enough understanding of the district\u2019s budget outlook to ask informed questions.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t have confidence in these numbers. There\u2019s been too many changes. The numbers that I\u2019m looking at don\u2019t make sense,\u201d Kayatta said.<\/p>\n
A smaller deficit, but lingering problems<\/p>\n
The new estimate was based on updated assumptions, including the governor\u2019s May Revision, declining attendance and scheduled employee raises, according to Grant-Dawson.<\/p>\n
She pointed to some progress, saying the district met its administrative salary savings target by cutting administrative staffing and reaching nearly $5 million in savings. But other goals were not fully met, and broader factors continue to threaten the district\u2019s financial stability, including declining attendance.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe built the budget and allocated with the expectation that we have more students, and we don\u2019t, so that\u2019s a big rock that we\u2019ll be working through,\u201d Grant-Dawson said.<\/p>\n
The district reached $20.9 million in operating budget reductions, short of the $24.6 million projected in February. A plan to cut eight calendar days was expected to save $5.4 million, but only saved $4.3 million.<\/p>\n
Many of the actions that improved this year\u2019s deficit were also one-time savings, Grant-Dawson said, meaning they helped the 2025-26 budget but will not solve the district\u2019s ongoing crisis next year.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe more we get clarity on this, the more we can make better community-orientated decisions,\u201d board member Jasjit Singh said.<\/p>\n
\u201cUntil then, we\u2019re in the dark.\u201d<\/p>\n
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