Who is in control at Sacramento school district? Damning state audit raises questions

A recently released state audit of Sacramento City Unified School District poses some extremely troubling questions.

The district “has not proactively addressed its financial problems,” says California State Auditor Elaine M. Howle in a letter prefacing the audit.

Who at the district and within the teachers union decided not to act on the information available? Has the board ignored the information available, and why? The problems have been present and public for years, and now the district teeters on the verge of insolvency.

Ultimately, students will suffer if the worst comes to pass. Schools could close, bus routes could be removed, and a state takeover could gut the district like it once did Oakland Unified.

Past decisions helped bring the district to this point, but we must now hold current leaders accountable.

Neither the district nor the Sacramento City Teachers Association budget solutions will fix the district’s financial problems, per the audit.

The school board, administrators and union leaders have had significant time to solve for budgetary issues.

Back in 2003, the district was warned its health benefits costs were excessive. Since then, the district has negotiated six agreements with the teachers’ union. And costs are not sufficiently controlled.

The district pays for the full cost of health care benefits for teachers and their families.

“In contrast, other nearby districts typically pay for the lowest cost health plan for the employee and their family or pay the full cost for only the employee’s health care,” the audit report noted.

There’s no way to bring district spending down without bringing down health costs. Yet the union has said it would want savings from such cuts to go to reducing class sizes and hiring more nurses and counselors, per a June story by The Sacramento Bee’s Michael Finch II and Sawsan Morrar.

Savings in one place that increase costs in another won’t solve the underlying budget crisis that continues to threaten the district’s future. Does the union understand how bad things are?

“Ultimately, the district is responsible for finding a way to work with its teachers union to maintain ongoing fiscal solvency,” the audit says. “However, if Sacramento Unified cannot obtain concessions, it may need to take unilateral action to avoid insolvency.”

Is the district prepared to take such action?

Reducing teacher health benefit won’t fix everything. Why then, according to the audit, is that “the only substantial cost‑savings proposal [the district] has put forward” since the county Office of Education rejected its last budget?

Frequent turnover among executive staff, including in financial roles, has hampered responsible budgeting. For example, in less than three years, the district has gone through three chief business officers, plus a temporary consultant in a similar role.

Why have people left this role with such frequency?

Despite this pattern of executive staff leaving their roles, the district doesn’t have policies to guide staff during periods without key leadership.

The audit calls for the district to create a new plan by March. Without a realistic plan, a state takeover may be on the horizon.

The school administrators, the union, and the teachers have failed to take control of this situation so far, and thus we are left to ask:

Who will stand up for Sacramento’s students?