There has been a lot of talk about the possibility that SUSD could be put into trusteeship by the State of California due to the district’s mismanagement of funds. Because of this threat, protecting ourselves by securing a new contract before the district is placed under trusteeship is our top priority.

For those who are unaware of what the impacts of a state trusteeship look like, this process allows the state to intervene and take control of a district’s financial and/or academic issues. This is codified in Education Codes 41320, 41320.1 and 41320.2.

Education Code 41320.2(a) reads in part:

“The governing board of a school district that determines during a fiscal year that its revenues are less than the amount necessary to meet its current year expenditure obligations may request an emergency apportionment through the Superintendent of Public Instruction…”

Former Stockton Unified School District Chief Business Officer Joanne Juarez stated that the district was unable to account for a loss of $100 million dollars. We’ve heard from numerous members that SUSD is struggling to pay invoices for basic essentials to the point that vendors have started to refuse to do business with SUSD.

The likelihood that SUSD will ask for an emergency loan (“emergency apportionment”) is high. Once the district requests an emergency loan, a trustee is then appointed by the county Superintendent of Schools, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction and the president of the State Board of Education.

Education Code 41320.1(a) reads in part:

“The county superintendent of schools, the Superintendent, and the president of the state board or his or her designee shall, by majority vote, appoint a trustee from a pool of candidates identified and vetted by the County Office Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team…”

SUSD, labor organizations like CSEA, or community groups do not have a say in the appointment of the trustee. Furthermore, the trustee is appointed with the power to overturn decisions by the district governing board which may affect the financial condition of the school district.

Education Code 41320.1(c).1 reads in part:

“During the period of his or her service, the trustee may stay or rescind an action of the governing board of the school district that, in the judgment of the trustee, may affect the financial condition of the school district.”

Without a contract, the members of Delta Valley 821 will have much greater exposure to decisions made by a state trustee that could negatively impact our wages and hours. This could mean furloughs, layoffs or other budget cuts.

For this reason, your CSEA bargaining team has made securing a contract its top priority. The bargaining team has scheduled dates on June 6th and June 14th to work towards that goal.

For any questions, please contact Chapter Administrator Rosemarie Lopes-Horn at delta821administrator@csea.com