SCUSD approves spending up to $400,000 on consultants to untangle budget crisis
Before the Sacramento City Unified School District Board of Education voted to approve an agreement with a consulting firm to help with its $108 million deficit, a firm representative offered a glimpse of how it might be able to help.
The board had gathered for a sparsely-attended special meeting held Thursday at the Serna Center in south Sacramento. The meeting’s purpose was for the board to approve a service authorization and consulting agreement with HYA Corporation, an Arlington, Illinois-based “network of education experts,” according to its website.
Ruben Frutos, one of three HYA representatives based in Southern California whose resumes were included in the agenda packet for Thursday’s meeting, told the board that after he learned he’d be flying to Sacramento for the meeting, he took a look at the district’s financials. At that point, he realized that one report didn’t include $10.2 million that it should have.
“We all have to be speaking the same language, even if it’s difficult, even if it’s more of a deficit than we anticipated,” Frutos told the board.
The board voted 7-0 to approve the services agreement, which allows HYA to bill up to $400,000 for consulting services. It will now go to the Sacramento County Office of Education for final approval, which would allow HYA Corporation to begin its work. The district must send out final layoff notices by May 15, a state deadline, district spokesperson Al Goldberg said via text Thursday evening.
Why the district wants outside help
The board and district staff discussed enlisting outside assistance at a meeting on March 19. The district’s deficit could reach $394 million by the 2027-28 school year, according to previous Sacramento Bee reporting.
“We need help helping ourselves,” SCUSD Interim Superintendent Cancy McArn said at last week’s meeting.
McArn reiterated this message on Thursday, saying early in the special meeting, “There are also levels of ‘we don’t know what we need yet.’”
While the board opted to table the matter at its March 19 meeting, the trustees were largely receptive Thursday to the idea of hiring the consultants.
“For the first time, I feel like we have a plan,” board member Michael Benjamin said from the dais.
Board member Taylor Kayatta noted during the meeting that the board rarely requests contracts “because we don’t like contracts.” He said that McArn was bringing the board “a temporary solution” with the contract.
“We are not in a normal situation,” Kayatta said.
What HYA Corporation will provide
The services agreement calls for HYA Consultants to work up to 1,000 hours at a rate of $400 per hour. Its team “will provide leadership, technical analysis, recommendations for stablilization of fiscal operations,” according to the agreement.
Aside from Frutos, the other two HYA reps listed in the agenda packet were La Tanya Kirk-Carter of Los Angeles, who was listed as a “fiscal recovery expert” and Micah Ali of Compton, whose resume noted that he was a “public sector fiscal expert.”
Frutos is from Mission Viejo, according to his resume, and boasts more than 40 years of work in education or management consulting. He has served as a superintendent for Paramount Unified School District and Rowland Unified School District, according to his resume.
His career has not been without some controversy. His time in Rowland USD featured “hundreds of people regularly attending board meetings and picketing of district headquarters by teachers and classified workers demanding his resignation,” according to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.
His consulting also includes recent work for Oakland Unified School District.
Board member Jasjit Singh questioned locking the district into a contract. “If things aren’t working, I want to be honest about saying things aren’t working,” Singh said during the meeting.
Frutos, who is in his early 60s, said he’d have no problem telling the superintendent his services were no longer needed, included if he saw that his suggestions weren’t being implemented.
“You have retired people. We are very happy in retirement,” Frutos told the board, drawing laughter in the room.
“This is simply an interest based on many years for the three of us to work with districts,” he added.
This story was originally published March 27, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
