SCUSD Budget and Staffing Update

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

Following last night’s Board Meeting, we want to update you on our fiscal standing and unexpected leadership transition: 1) we are tentatively confident that we can avoid state receivership and maintain local control of our schools and 2) we announced Superintendent Allen’s retirement and Interim Superintendent McCarn’s appointment.

The Board deeply appreciates Superintendent Allen’s 30-year legacy of service. From the classroom to the superintendent’s office, she has led with grace, courage, and big heart for our students and community. Both Superintendent Allen and the Board believe that creating space for new leadership is the best way to address and overcome our current challenges.

The Board has asked Cancy McCarn to partner with us as Interim Superintendent. Now in her 30th year with the district, Interim Superintendent McCarn brings deep relationships, a willingness to rethink problematic systems, and a trademark positivity that will keep us moving forward. While she leads, the Board will begin a thorough search for a permanent superintendent who can ensure our long-term fiscal health and recommit to the education and success of our students.

Last night’s budget update provided the essential source of truth we needed to see. We honor the staff who worked late nights and long weekends to make this happen. Using our 2025 FCMAT report and updated Multi-Year Projections (MYP) as our barometer, we have confirmed that our cash flow is solid. Because we believe we can pay our bills through the end of the school year, we do not require a state loan and are NOT in imminent threat of state receivership. This stability is significant.

However, we must confront a chronic budget reality: expenses exceed revenue. This issue is not new; we have to address it in a new way. We must rethink how we develop, approve, implement, and evaluate our budgets. This begins with our revised Fiscal Solvency Plan–a fluid roadmap built on actionable data and a shared set of facts. The Board and the Interim Superintendent will partner to make decisions that consider the impact on not only the whole budget, but on students and staff. We are focused on immediately stabilizing our budget while we build an education system worthy of the students that depend on it. Systemic change demands total accountability. 

While we can take a breath, the path ahead requires difficult conversations and even harder decisions. The Board is committed to making those choices with transparency and with the best interests of our students at the center of every line item. 

Thank you for continuing to support our schools. Together is the only way we can deliver the equitable, systemic change and fiscal stability our students deserve.

Tara Jeane, Board of Education President