The Abridged version:
- Sacramento County education officials are putting up new guardrails on how Sacramento City Unified School District leaders manage the district’s money.
- The added oversight comes as the school district faces a multimillion-dollar budget gap and the threat of state intervention.
- County office of education representatives presented the new requirements, which include reviews ahead of payments made and monthly meetings, at a school board meeting Thursday.
Sacramento County officials signaled fresh anxiety about the future of Sacramento City Unified School District, placing new restrictions on how district leaders manage school finances.
Starting immediately, the Sacramento County Office of Education and Sacramento County Department of Finance will review checks coming out of the district to make sure there are actually enough funds to make the payment.
Representatives from the three governing bodies will begin meeting monthly, too.
The new requirements are a small sampling of the kind of tight oversight the district would experience under state receivership.
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District leaders continue to grapple with the risk of running out of cash in the coming months, and trustees said they welcomed the added supervision.
“This is not only for our benefit,” said Chad Rinde, Sacramento County director of finance. “This is also for the benefit of the district.”
Separately, the board on Thursday also unanimously advanced a new potential tax, in hopes of adding a bit more to the coffers.
Banker pulls back
Since 1998, Sacramento City Unified has been one of two school districts in the county and among a privileged handful in the state to enjoy a certain level of financial independence.
District leaders have financial control, typically issuing payments without needing prior approval from the county. San Juan Unified is the second district in the county with similar autonomy.
Now the county, which acts as the district’s banker, is pulling back on Sacramento City Unified.
“The county and (Sacramento County Office of Education) had an interest in really making sure that the district does not find themselves in a position where (it’s) issuing payments that cannot be honored,” said Nick Schweizer, associate superintendent for the county office of education.
Board members expressed support for the change.
“I think this is appropriate,” Trustee Taylor Kayatta said. “I’m glad, as a taxpayer, not just as a parent and a board member here, that there’s a check in place.”
Potential new tax
District officials’ ongoing efforts to staunch the bleeding include asking voters to sign off on a new tax.
The proposed parcel tax would be levied on real estate within the school district boundaries, though it’s technically not a property tax since the rate is not tied to property value. Instead, the tax would cost owners $95 per piece of land each year.
District staff anticipate between $10 and $12 million in revenue annually. The special tax would remain in place until a later vote to repeal or replace it.
Dollars brought in will go toward special education services, according to district staff.
Trustees gave staff the green light Thursday to move forward with adding the potential tax to November’s ballot. The measure needs two-thirds approval by voters.
District budget problem lingers
In June, the board approved a budget plan that projected a $283 million deficit by next summer and $510 million in the red a year after.
Thursday marked the first regular board meeting of the new school year. Absent was a poster displaying, in a bright orange symbolic thermometer, the district’s savings goal and sustained shortfall.
Experts at the state level have warned that the district may be out of time to avoid state intervention. Local board members continue to deny such predictions.
Savannah Kuchar is a reporter covering education. She came to Sacramento to be a part of the Abridged by PBS KVIE team and contribute to a crucial local news source.