Scott Smith, president of the Sacramento City Teachers Association, is responding to the Dec. 2 Viewpoints article, "Our struggling schools need a long-term fix," which stated: "If the aptly named 'trigger cuts' are enacted, we face cutting at least $12 million from our budget mid-year."

Like Jonathan Raymond, superintendent of the Sacramento City Unified School District, the members of the Sacramento City Teachers Association support efforts to rescue the dire financial condition of our schools. Statewide polls consistently show that a majority of Californians favor some form of revenue-raising, provided it goes directly to schools and social services.

However, they would not approve of the money being spent on consultants as our superintendent seems to favor.

Concerned Sacramentans should be outraged to learn that SCUSD has, after spending nearly $300,000 six years ago to study recommendations about school consolidations and closures, disregarded its own consultants' advice. The findings? Close or consolidate 20 schools to save an estimated $9 million a year. That can was kicked down the road until now, three years into Raymond's tenure. SCTA has consistently maintained that our district no longer services 53,000- plus students. With 43,000 students, we have to behave like a district of that size.

The SCUSD has failed to implement the recommendations of its own consultants. No one likes to see schools close. It's a hardship to change established ways and comfortable routines. We must all do the prudent thing: SCUSD schools must close or consolidate to save our district.

The state of California and "our elected leaders" are not entirely to blame for the financial problems of the SCUSD. The superintendent had complete knowledge of our financial condition when he took over three years ago, because we told him. Rather than show true governance skills, the district embarked on a consultant and administrative spending spree, costing taxpayers millions in revenue we could have saved for the rainy day we all knew was coming.

So what do we do now? The union leadership proposes that we first get serious about righting our own financial ship before we disingenuously complain about nonexistent villains. Let's look seriously at our district and examine the facilities we need to serve those numbers.

It often seems that the superintendent and the school board would rather play politics instead of making the hard decisions that they were hired and elected to do.

Finally, let's collaboratively get behind the best of the educational initiatives with the most realistic chance of winning voter support next November. Let's get that passed and ensure, as our superintendent asserts, that "California's children and grandchildren and future generations" receive the education they deserve.

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Scott Smith, president of the Sacramento City Teachers Association, is responding to the Dec. 2 Viewpoints article, "Our struggling schools need a long-term fix," which stated: "If the aptly named 'trigger cuts' are enacted, we face cutting at least $12 million from our budget mid-year."

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