On Tuesday night, the Sweetwater Union High School District Board voted to pass budget revisions 5-1, after the San Diego County Office of Education disapproved their original adopted budget in August — another mark on SUHSD’s timeline of financial problems.
Board Member Paula Hall was the only one to vote against passing the revisions, while Superintendent Karen Janney, President Kevin Pike, Vice President Frank Tarantino and Board Members Nicholas Segura and Arturo Solis voted to pass the revisions.
“This is not equity and I will vehemently fight any budget that does not provide this. Lastly and maybe the most concerning — there is no plan or even a discussion of a plan to deal with the ongoing structural deficit,” Hall said at the meeting.
Her comments were met with applause by the audience, which was filled with educators, community members and boy scouts.
Budget revisions would still leave the district with a projected structural deficit of $24 million by 2020-21, according to SUHSD Chief Financial Officer Jenny Salkeld.
According to the Salkeld’s presentation, 2019-20 budget solutions include but are not limited to possible management eliminations and furloughs for district employees.
In July and August SUHSD borrowed a combined total of $54.7 million from the San Diego County Treasury. Salkeld said SUHSD plans to repay all that it has borrowed from the County Treasury by April.
A letter sent to SUHSD in August by the SDCOE said that the disapproval of the adopted budget was due to a negative unrestricted beginning fund balance, adopted budget expenditures understated, cash concerns, insufficient supporting documentation and an ongoing structural deficit.
In the letter, Deputy Superintendent for the County Office of Education Michael Simonson said that the adopted budget could be understated by as much as $20 million.
The SDCOE has a month to review and approve or disapprove the budget revisions.
