The good news: Sacramento City schools might not go broke after all. Just make a deal.
Sacramento is actually closer to saving its public school system than it has been in years.
For this unexpected development, Assemblyman Kevin McCarty deserves a great deal of credit. Long known as a close friend to the state teachers union – he takes a lot of money from them – it was McCarty who asked state auditor Elaine Howle to analyze why the Sacramento City Unified School District was in economic distress.
I have to admit that I thought this was a stunt. I thought that the district had already been audited enough and that Howle shedding any light on a district teetering on the verge of insolvency was unlikely.
When you’re wrong, you’re wrong. And I was. I owe McCarty and Howle an apology.
Her audit, released in December, offers a clear road map for how SCUSD got in over its head on teacher pay and pension obligations over the years.
In the audit, Howle avoided going down the rabbit hole of counter allegations hurled back and forth between SCUSD and the Sacramento City Teachers Association – a labor fight that for too long has dominated news stories that should have been focused on the 41,000 school kids at Sac City.
These kids are our future workforce, our future leaders, and if we in Sacramento are really as progressive as we claim to be, than we’ll put their interests over those of adults every time.
I’ve continued to write about this issue because of what it says about us in Sacramento. More than half of SCUSD’s school kids are African American and Latino. If we fail them, then we don’t really believe in equity as say we do. We don’t really believe in diversity. We don’t really believe in public education.
In her own way, Howle gave a shout-out to diversity, equity and public education by spreading blame for district financial woes between SCUSD administrators and union leaders. At Thursday night’s SCUSD school board meeting, Howle will stand before administrators, union leaders and parents while giving a deep dive on her findings.
As I wrote last December: “According to Howle’s audit, SCUSD has the highest average salary of any school district in the region at $91,250. And when health benefits are added, it has the highest overall compensation than any other district in the region by far at an average of $119, 036.”
She also found this: “...Sacramento Unified offers its teachers generous and costly health care benefits. In fact ... one of the plans Sacramento Unified offers is among the costliest in the State...Sacramento Unified offers two health plan options to its teachers and pays the full cost of either plan for employees and their families. In comparison, other nearby districts generally limit the amount that they pay to the cost of the least expensive plan, pay the full cost only for employees, or cover only 80 percent of the least expensive health plan’s costs for employees and their families. “
Again, SCUSD pays the full freight of health care costs of its employees and their families, according to Howle’s audit.
McCarty backs audit key points
To his credit, McCarty is backing Howle on several key points. SCTA has fought the district over what should happen with the savings if teachers agree to move to a less expensive health care plan. SCTA has publicly stated that that savings should go to hiring more teachers, counselors, nurses, etc.
“I don’t think using the savings to hire more personnel would be a smart decision,” McCarty said. It’s refreshing to hear a local elected official speak that clearly on a point of contention between SCUSD and SCTA. Good for McCarty, who thinks health care savings should go to help plug the $27-million deficit the district is expected to face next year.
McCarty affirmed that he thinks that projection is real and that, “there aren’t a lot of easy alternatives out there,” to fix SCUSD’s numbers.
“There isn’t any cash in a sofa,” he said.
McCarty said that District Superintendent Jorge Aguilar and Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg should not have given teachers raises the district couldn’t afford in 2017, when teachers threatened to strike. McCarty said that the school board and Aguilar need to tell parents that giving those raises was a mistake.
That deal, which quickly blew up after Steinberg triumphantly celebrated it at a press conference attended by the warring parties, is definitely the low point in an otherwise substantive first term in office for Steinberg. And Aguilar, only months on the job when he gave the raises in 2017, has come to appreciate the jam the district is in and the need for fiscal stability. He’s holding the line now.
The district just re-upped Aguilar’s contract for two years, a positive step for an organization with what has been a revolving door of district leaders, exacerbating instability.
Howle’s audit recommends savings
Howle’s primary recommendation is for adults in the district to tighten their belts for the sake of kids. As reported in December, Howle estimates that “that the district could save almost $7 million if all district salaries were cut by 2 percent.
▪ Nearly $10 million could be saved if all employees pay 3.5 percent toward retiree health benefits.
▪ Nearly $16 million if caps were placed on employee-only health care plans and family plans.
Howle also recommended that the legislature create laws that block districts such as SCUSD from making financial commitments they can’t afford.
McCarty said he is going to craft legislation that holds districts accountable for giving away more than they can afford, but he stopped short of endorsing Howle’s recommendation of pay cuts.
At first I thought he was wrong about this. But I heard him out and a more nuanced explanation materialized. McCarty doesn’t think he should put his thumb on the scale on an issue as fundamental as teacher pay. But he does think the answer here is “collective bargaining.”
And you know what? He’s right. I’ve spent column inches calling out business leaders and Steinberg, McCarty and County Supervisor Phil Serna, among others. My message to them: Get involved.
Negotiate for school kids
But the truth is, the SCUSD board and Aguilar are the ones with the fiduciary responsibility to taxpayers to run the district. And only SCTA represents its members.
Those of us who care about our school kids and about public education should have one message to the key parties and one message only: Negotiate with each other now. Don’t wait until March. Don’t wait until summer. Don’t wait, period.
Walk into a room, close the door and negotiate with each other and don’t come out until you’re done.
Any delay by any party is a sign that it’s not serious. Any attempt to re-litigate old grievances is a sign that you are trying to accomplish something else besides what’s best for kids.
For those of us on the outside of negotiations, we must be neither pro-district nor pro-teachers. We must be pro-kid. You really want to take care of the kids, promote equity, diversity and public education? Make a deal now.
This story was originally published February 6, 2020 at 11:50 AM.
