Sacramento City Unified faces more ‘difficult cuts’ — what’s on the board’s chopping block?
In an email to families, Superintendent Jorge Aguilar said the Sacramento City Unified School District board is considering drastic budget cuts to save $18 million as the district tries to prevent insolvency.
“Sac City’s budget is literally heading into the red,” read Aguilar’s letter to the public. “We are projected to spend money that we simply do not have. At this time, we cannot reach the required reductions to balance the district budget without making difficult cuts.”
The district will discuss the potential cuts Thursday. They include positions and programs that need additional support from the district’s general fund:
▪ $1.749 million reduction to positions, including assistant principals, social workers and counselors;
▪ $2.253 million in cuts to professional development and supplies;
▪ $9.633 million of cutbacks to staff at programs and sites, including the elimination of the free IB and AP testing currently offered to students, college and career visits, and transportation for non-special education students;
▪ $25,000 in reductions to the dual-immersion program;
▪ $4.941 million in possible cuts from special programs such as GATE, VAPA, music programs, alternative education and after school programs.
Money budgeted toward programs and positions that is not through the general fund will not be affected by the cuts, he said.
“It is painful to say but we do not have the freedom to invest in students and programs as we should when our budget becomes tight,” Aguilar said in his letter on Monday.
The district has made significant cuts — more than $50 million — before including layoffs in programs like the Parent Participation Preschool Program.
Aguilar said that the district’s health benefit plan, which covers all of its employee and family plan costs and is a sticking point in negotiations, is one of the highest in the state. The district projects it could save $17 million in savings if the district reduced its contribution to employee health benefits. The Sacramento City Teachers Association The union wants to redirect any savings to reduce class sizes and hire more nurses and counselors.
The teachers union pushed back on the district’s concerns about insolvency, as the district saw a surplus of $26 million. The district has a $93 million reserve.
But the district maintains that the deficit grows over the next three years, projecting a $30 million deficit by 2022-2023.
After Thursday’s discussion, held virtually, the board is expected to vote Dec. 10 on the proposed cuts.
That meeting will be the last meeting for board President Jessie Ryan and board members Mai Vang and Michael Minnick before newly elected members take their seats.