Teachers and principals urge board to protect students and staff amid cuts and site instability
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Summary
Principals and teachers across the district told trustees that proposed administrative cuts and operational decisions will harm schools and student safety; several asked the board to prioritize oversight, training and direct support for site operations.
Dozens of community members, site principals and teachers used public comment time Dec. 18 to urge the Sacramento City Unified board to prioritize students and protect staff amid looming budget cuts.
Richard Dixon, principal at David Lubin Elementary, recalled past consolidation decisions and warned the board to center student interests over short‑term political considerations. "Be brave by centering the long term interests of students over the short term interests of any single labor partner," he told trustees.
Belinda Bridgewater, a principal at Cohen Elementary, warned that cuts to administrators will leave schools without people who maintain Chromebooks, facility systems and teacher training. "If you cut the administrators responsible for facility services, then my school will have a problem," she said.
Other speakers representing classified supervisors, Teamsters Local 150, and UPE reiterated that proposed cuts shifted the burden to lower‑paid staff and that operational investigations and contract decisions should be part of savings conversations.
Several speakers specifically called for governance training, transparent agenda scheduling for fiscal matters, and a status audit for schools that have lost qualified teachers. Trustees acknowledged the concerns and committed to additional governance training and to bring more accessible budget briefings early in meetings so the public can participate.
Board leaders said they would work to provide clearer timelines for corrective actions and to incorporate community input into implementation of the fiscal solvency plan.