The Abridged version:
- The Sacramento City Unified School District named a permanent superintendent, moving interim Superintendent Cancy McArn into the position officially Thursday.
- McArn has been with the district for almost thirty years, making her a natural choice, according to the school board president.
- Top ranks at the school district are littered with interim officials and directors on the verge of retirement. The instability in leadership coincides with a multimillion-dollar budget crisis at Sacramento City Unified.
The Sacramento City Unified School District named a permanent superintendent on Thursday, officially moving interim Superintendent Cancy McArn into the position.
McArn has been in the interim spot since February, when former Superintendent Lisa Allen abruptly resigned.
She comes into the job, officially, amid a multimillion-dollar budget crisis, looming school closures because of declining enrollment and as the district contends with widespread leadership instability.
Staff will begin the search for a chief business officer in the coming days and for several other successors in the near future, according to McArn.
“We need a full team,” she said.
Board members approved a salary of $365,000 for McArn, a $40,000 raise from her predecessor.
‘Outside hire simply cannot match’
McArn has been with Sacramento City Unified for almost 30 years, beginning as an elementary school teacher. Before becoming interim superintendent, she served as the district’s chief human resources officer and lead negotiator.
Board President Tara Jeane said she was a natural choice for the board.
“We believe that an outside hire simply cannot match her deep local experience, her long established relationships, or her profound commitment to the success of this organization and our students,” Jeane said during the meeting.
Now hiring
McArn had temporarily doubled as interim superintendent and head of personnel. Now that McArn is officially in the top position, her former job is added to the vacancy list.
Two other cabinet roles, including the chief business officer, are filled with interim employees. The deputy superintendent and assistant superintendent of special education are both slated to retire at the end of the school year.
Sacramento City Unified has spent the better part of this school year trying to wrap its arms around a multimillion-dollar budget crisis, the price tag of which has yo-yoed week to week.
The school board implemented a hiring freeze last fall, but staff have appealed for certain high-level exceptions. The board Thursday reviewed a job description for a new chief business officer, who would oversee the district’s budget process and guide spending habit reforms.
“It’s also hard when the ship is sinking and we have to figure out how to keep it moving forward while we don’t sink,” Jeane said in an interview last month. “All of it is happening at once.”
Another top budget officer, Cindy Tao, has been on leave since the start of the year, under allegations of financial mismanagement. An investigation recently found the bulk of claims to be unsubstantiated, The Sacramento Bee first reported. However, Tao remains on administrative leave, her attorney told Abridged.
Savannah Kuchar is a reporter covering education. She came to Sacramento to be a part of the Abridged team and contribute to a crucial local news source.