A Message from the SCUSD Board of Education Regarding the Budget

To the Students, Families, Staff, and Community Members of our District,

Last week we held a Special Board Meeting to hear an update on the implementation of our approved Fiscal Solvency Plan. We learned instead that there is 1) a problematic lack of clarity on the scope of our deficit and 2) stalled action on implementing the plan. I want to be direct: our district is facing a fiscal crisis that demands immediate, disciplined, and transparent action. 

We are at a crossroads, and the way we have done things is not an option. The Board is taking these actions:

• Our newly established Board Budget Committee will work closely with our external fiscal experts and SCUSD staff to provide a single source of truth regarding our deficit and planned actions. We will not make guesses; we will make data-driven decisions.

• We are agendizing monthly updates on the implementation of the Fiscal Solvency Plan at regular Board meetings to track exactly how each action is closing the deficit. We will continue to hold these difficult conversations in the public eye. You deserve to hear the same information we hear, in real-time. 

Our District is currently navigating several critical hurdles. There are no excuses, but there are reasons. We have systemically poor budgeting practices. We increase spending without evaluating the impact on the full budget. We overly rely on contracts and have not adhered to a strict approval process with appropriate oversight. We’ve had changes in our fiscal leadership, which has resulted in differing narratives from different leaders. Our decision making is often based on default positions and incomplete data, rather than reconsidering what is needed in our current moment and moving in a new direction. The Fiscal Solvency Plan approved in November has not been implemented with urgency, consistency, or clarity these last three months. These reasons are the fault of a broken system, not one person; ultimately all of us are responsible and all of us must be part of the solution.

The threat of state intervention is real. The Board expects district staff to work with exceptional urgency to 1) provide a clear number for where the budget stands currently and 2) regular updates on the cost-savings that are being operationalized from the Fiscal Solvency Plan. Anything short of meeting that expectation is unacceptable.

Our primary objective right now is to maintain local control of our schools and our budget. To do that, we must make hard choices that will keep us out of state receivership—a process that would strip our community of its voice and hand decision-making power to state-appointed administrators. We are committed to making the hard calls now before an outside appointee has to make them.

We value your patience and your presence at our upcoming meetings, as we work to move this district towards the schools and education our students deserve.

Tara Jeane, Board of Education president