The Abridged version:
- Sacramento City Unified is considering roughly 380 additional layoff notices, mostly for non-teaching staff and employees in the district’s central office.
- The school board will discuss and vote on the potential layoffs at a meeting Thursday evening.
- Employees in positions on the chopping block will receive initial notice by March 15. District leaders have two months then to reconsider before final notices in mid-May.
Sacramento City Unified is considering approximately 380 additional layoffs to help balance its budget, according to a district spokesman.
Positions on the chopping block are predominantly non-teaching staff and employees in the district’s central office, said Brian Heap, the district’s chief communications officer.
In their search for savings to solve a multimillion-dollar budget problem, school board members have targeted administrators who they say are furthest from the classroom.
The newly proposed cuts — on the agenda for the board’s Thursday evening meeting — come weeks after trustees approved more than 400 positions to eliminate.
Staff and officials said at the time they did not expect all 423 notices to result in actual terminations. About 120 of the identified positions are currently vacant. Other employees who receive a notice may be able to shift to another role in the district.
The district expects these further layoffs to save about $42 million, according to documents on the board meeting agenda. However, staff notes that this total “will not be fully realized due to Central Office restructure.” Interim Chief Business Officer Lisa Grant-Dawson is expected to provide more details on this restructuring and staff changes at Thursday’s meeting.
Budget woes hit across Sacramento City Unified
The district is racing to close a $113 million budget deficit and stave off a state takeover. Ramifications of the ensuing budget cuts have touched departments and sites across Sacramento City Unified.
“Starting with our students, I am truly sorry for how the decisions we have to make up here are going to impact your learning experiences,” Tara Jeane, school board president, said holding back tears during a Feb. 19 meeting.
She added, “The cuts we have to consider on this timeline will be painful.”
In the same meeting, interim Superintendent Cancy McArn warned the district is having to tighten its belt so much that almost any cuts at this point will likely affect students.
“If the bar is bring cuts that don’t impact students, we passed that already,” she said.
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.