Sacramento City Unified still in the red as trustees question budget numbers
Frustration mounted Thursday evening as Sacramento City Unified School District trustees questioned district staff about the reliability of its shifting budget numbers.
The long-anticipated third interim report showed SCUSD is still projected to end the year in the red, with staff estimating a $61.8 million deficit that could shrink further by September.
The improved projection did not resolve the board’s concern that the district’s budget numbers remain in flux, as Lisa Grant-Dawson, the district’s interim chief business officer, said some numbers are still being finalized before the district brings back its final adopted budget June 18.
“It’s been frustrating, not being able to receive the information we need to make the decisions again,” board member Michael Benjamin said, asking Grant-Dawson to provide budget documents at least five days before presentations so trustees have time to go over them.
Trustee Taylor Kayatta echoed the concern, saying Thursday’s presentations did not give him enough understanding of the district’s budget outlook to ask informed questions.
“I don’t have confidence in these numbers. There’s been too many changes. The numbers that I’m looking at don’t make sense,” Kayatta said.
A smaller deficit, but lingering problems
The new estimate was based on updated assumptions, including the governor’s May Revision, declining attendance and scheduled employee raises, according to Grant-Dawson.
She pointed to some progress, saying the district met its administrative salary savings target by cutting administrative staffing and reaching nearly $5 million in savings. But other goals were not fully met, and broader factors continue to threaten the district’s financial stability, including declining attendance.
“We built the budget and allocated with the expectation that we have more students, and we don’t, so that’s a big rock that we’ll be working through,” Grant-Dawson said.
The district reached $20.9 million in operating budget reductions, short of the $24.6 million projected in February. A plan to cut eight calendar days was expected to save $5.4 million, but only saved $4.3 million.
Many of the actions that improved this year’s deficit were also one-time savings, Grant-Dawson said, meaning they helped the 2025-26 budget but will not solve the district’s ongoing crisis next year.
“The more we get clarity on this, the more we can make better community-orientated decisions,” board member Jasjit Singh said.
“Until then, we’re in the dark.”
