Sacramento City schools ‘running out of cash and ... running out of time,’ board is warned
Michael Fine from the state's financial crisis team and David Gordon from the county office of education address the Sacramento City Unified School Board on cutting costs in their district on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019 in Sacramento.
With a possible teacher strike, an approved motion for layoffs and a potential state takeover looming over the Sacramento City Unified School District, the county superintendent delivered a grim message at a Thursday night school board meeting.
“Your district is running out of cash, and you in the district are running out of time,” David Gordon said.
Gordon and an independent fiscal manager repeated their warnings of an imminent state takeover and what that would look like for the district.
“With insolvency and under a state administrator, all of the cuts you need to make now will still have to be made – and then some,” Gordon said. Because the district would have to make large loan payments to the state to close its budget gap under receivership, the result would be “even greater program cuts” and diminished services to students, he said.
In its audit of Sacramento City Unified late last year, the state-created Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team warned the district that if it failed to address its $35 million deficit, it faces a state takeover in six months. The report said the district was likely to run out of money by November.
Gordon said the board and Superintendent Jorge Aguilar were working to identify cuts, but that the plan is incomplete.
He stressed that the district and its labor groups would have to work together to achieve the level of budget reductions needed. “It’s imperative that all employee groups come to the table now, and be part of the solution to avoid cash insolvency and the need for a state loan,” he said.
FCMAT’s chief executive Mike Fine, who presented his fact-finding report warning the district of insolvency last year, reiterated those sentiments.
“You’re not going to make progress until everyone can sit down and rebuild that relationship that’s been hurt over a long period of time,” he said.
Four of the five labor unions have been working with the district. But the Sacramento City Teachers Association is at odds with the district over its salary adjustment schedule, and has signaled deep mistrust over its labor agreements. Earlier this month, a Sacramento Superior Court judge ordered a return to the arbitration table after negotiations were halted when the district filed a court motion last year.
The district’s budget was disapproved twice last year. If its proposed cuts cannot be met soon, it CONTINUE READING: Sacramento City Unified school board hears budget warnings | The Sacramento Bee
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