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The Serna Center \u2013 headquarters of the Sacramento City Unified School District \u2013 on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026.<\/p>\n
JOS\u00c9 LUIS VILLEGAS<\/p>\n
jvillegas@sacbee.com<\/p>\n
Sacramento City Unified and its fiscal overseer, the Sacramento County Office of Education, withheld millions of dollars from each other as the financially troubled school district fell two years behind on $3.15 million in special education bills.<\/p>\n
The issue surfaced during Thursday\u2019s board meeting, as trustees considered paying the county office for specialized day-program services provided to 36 district students during the 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years.<\/p>\n
SCUSD was two years behind on payments, Chief Business Officer Gerardo Castillo said. The county office, meanwhile, had withheld just under $3.15 million in special education property tax revenue from the district, in part because of the unpaid bills, Castillo said.<\/p>\n
Trustee Taylor Kayatta called the county office\u2019s action \u201cpretty startling by someone who\u2019s trying to supposedly help us with our cash problem.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other trustees shared that concern, including Chinua Rhodes and Jasjit Singh, who ultimately agreed to approve the contracts but criticized the county office for withholding property tax revenue while overseeing the district\u2019s efforts to remain solvent.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce again, when we talk about partnership and collaboration and working with, I think that shows SCOE\u2019s ineffectiveness to assist the district,\u201d Rhodes said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI also believe that we should pay this, just because it shouldn\u2019t necessarily be a tit-for-tat.\u201d<\/p>\n
The district relies on SCOE to provide these services because it currently lacks an internal program equipped to serve these students, though it operated similar programs in the past, district officials said.<\/p>\n
The board approved the contracts in a unanimous 7-0 vote, with Singh requesting that the district return with a plan outlining what it would take to provide the specialized services internally.<\/p>\n
The district classified the contracts as restricted general fund expenses in its presentation. More broadly, however, school districts generally use unrestricted general fund money to cover special education costs not fully funded by dedicated state and federal dollars.<\/p>\n
Special education has become a major source of financial pressure for Sacramento City Unified, which faced a $222 million structural deficit. The district\u2019s unrestricted general fund contribution to special education had more than doubled, from $73.6 million in 2018-19 to $172.3 million in 2025-26.<\/p>\n
Singh pointed to the program\u2019s $49,000-per-student cost in 2025-26 as \u201ca keen example of how much special education actually costs.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd even those who are sitting in a space of oversight are also charging us at rates that are unaffordable, unfeasible, and actually unsustainable long-term,\u201d Singh continued.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Board President Tara Jeane removed a proposed increase in board member stipends from a policy update, as Kayatta said Wednesday<\/a> would happen. The proposal had drawn criticism from community members after the district included it on Thursday\u2019s agenda amid its ongoing fiscal crisis<\/a>.<\/p>\n This story was originally published September 4, 2026 at 7:23 AM.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n
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