The state Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team has issued a fiscal emergency declaration for the Natomas Unified School District.
The unanimous decision was made yesterday during the agency’s board meeting held in Redding.
“This is the next step in the process going for the state loan,” Sacramento County superintendent Dave Gordon said.
According to assistant superintendent Tammy Sanchez, the next step will likely be an independent analysis of Natomas Unified finances by the agency to determine whether a state loan is needed and, if so, the amount of the loan. Sources tell THE NATOMAS BUZZ state officials recently visited area schools to review attendance and Associated Student Body financial records.
Once the governor signs a loan, management of the school district would be overseen by a state-appointed trustee.
“It’s up to Natomas to avert that process by making the cuts,” said Gordon.
Natomas Unified officials continue to seek payroll concessions from union employees they say will help balance the books and avert a state takeover.
Negotiations with the classified union are set for tomorrow and again on April 21 with a state mediator. Talks with the Natomas teachers union are set for Friday.
Amazing how the teachers were accused of holding up negotiations and they ARE in fact negotiating on Friday. How about holding the SCHOOL BOARD accountable for making poor decisions and not being fiscally responsible with tax payer money like they are supposed to!!!! What happened to putting kids first????
We can point fingers or we can try to fix this mess. How do we solve this going forward? Are we really going to saddle the taxpayers of this district with paying off a loan with interest? Give Superintendent Plough a chance to continue righting the ship.
I wish the school board WOULD give Bobbie a chance. Unfortunately they have proven, even at this late date, that they aren’t really interested in making the kinds of concessions needed to fix the mess. I don’t understand why voters put the same decision makers back in place…did they expect different decisions????
Disgusting how “Natomas Unified Officals” say the employees need to help balance the budget. I’m sure the employees were not a apart of the decision making when huge land purchases were made, or “district officals” were hired! How about the increase of class size already? How about the NUMEROUS teacher layoffs already? How about the pay cuts already? I think the union employees have done their part…and still do…
When are the children going to become a priority again? When is education going to be a focus again? When is the community going to get angry enough to say this is unfair!
It is so sad to see that the best interest of OUR future is being put on the back burner.
The school district and its board members pointing fingers and say all its problems can be solved with pay cuts.
Do families believe this manipulative tactic or do they want something better for their children?
Natomas Unified needs to be gutted and rebuilt from scratch.
Union members are being blamed for not agreeing to enough cuts. The school board is being blamed for bad land deals. There is more than enough blame to go around, but can we stop blaming and start talking?
School Districts throughout CA are facing the same problems. This not just a Natomas thing. We need to be backing revenue, whether it’s bonds or tax extensions to get us through this bad economy. The public can’t continue to demand services without agreeing on revenue to fund them.
And where are the parents in all of this? They don’t go to school conferences, they don’t attend meetings, they don’t volunteer. Heck they don’t even support their OWN KIDS by watching them play ball or perform in plays and concerts.
Let’s stop the blaming and get to working. We’re all in this together folks.
The superintendent had some revenue generating ideas, but the board didn’t vote to support them. With a school board like these ostriches with their heads in the sand, all the good ideas in the world aren’t going to be enough, apparently. We need a recall to remove the roadblock preventing fiscal solvency. There doesn’t seem to be any other way. Face it, it’s not the economy, it’s this groups of board members!
What are the specifics? Please tell me what revenue ideas presented by the superintendent were not supported by the board? Looking at agenda items, they have supported increased fees for the services provided to the charters, a tougher inter-district transfer policy and an end to the multi-school athletic agreement.
A little blast from the past for all those District employees who want to paint a picture that the voters put the wrong people in office on the board. NTA gave us a majority of these board members. NTA has endorsed 4 of the 5 current board members – Kaplan in 2006 and Tran, Roberts and Heredia in 2008 – in their election runs for the Board of NUSD. NTA did not endorse anyone in the 2010 election, which leads to another question…why not?
Many of the revenue generating ideas rejected by the board were additional fees that would be charged to charter school. The additional fees were a way of reducing services, including sports, at local charter school. It was an ill advised attempt to grow NUSD enrollment at the expense of charter schools. Charter schools may not be the a global education solution, but they are working in Natomas.
Anonymous 10:19 sounds like a board member. Or someone living in a fantasy world. Or both.
Good Luck I bailed my family out of that neiborhood a year ago because of the schools (and crime). I saw the writting on the wall.