15 Sep WCCUSD to Host Community Budget Meetings This Week

“The fiscal stabilization plan is really about educating the community about where we stand, what are some of the challenges, and what the decision-making process is,” said WCCUSD Superintendent Cheryl Cotton, bottom right. (Screenshot captured by Samantha Kennedy / The CC Pulse)

By Samantha Kennedy

Despite slashing millions of dollars earlier this year to keep local control of its finances, West Contra Costa Unified School District’s budget still isn’t settled. Superintendent Cheryl Cotton laid out part of her plan to solve the problem, without talking numbers. 

Cotton presented a 90-day fiscal stabilization plan to school board members Wednesday, outlining a number of community meetings that will roll out in five sessions over the next several months. 

“We’re not talking about numbers tonight,” Cotton told the board. “The fiscal stabilization plan is really about educating the community about where we stand, what are some of the challenges, and what the decision-making process is.” 

Over four stages, the district will include sessions in budget assessment, identifying root causes and analyzing the potential impacts of the deficit, setting actionable goals, identifying actionable strategies, and monitoring the effectiveness of the strategies. 

The district, in the middle of the first stage, will engage with community members to gather feedback. Cotton said some of that conversation has already taken place with principals across the district. 

The district will begin meeting with community members this week in the libraries at the Hercules High School on Monday, Richmond High School on Tuesday, and El Cerrito High School on Thursday. Times are listed below.

WCCUSD was the first district in California to declare bankruptcy in the 1990s. The district received a $29 million loan in 1991 to meet financial obligations. The loan, which included fiscal oversight by a state appointee, took 21 years to repay. 

“We must now address our current budget issues to prevent a future need of an emergency loan,” said Cotton. “There is urgency to this work.” 

After the plan has been completed, another meeting will be held at De Anza High. The meetings will be streamed over Zoom. 

Board member Guadalupe Enllana suggested that the district do further outreach for the meetings to draw in more people who are also invested in the budget. 

“We have a greater community that is also invested, who we don’t necessarily reach every time we talk about budgets or site information being filtered out to them,” said Enllana. 

Zelon Harrison, a parent in the district, also asked the district to help parents better understand the budget. 

“They don’t always have that knowledge,” said Harrison. “I think it’s very good information that they should know how that relates to their child.” 

Cotton said that the district would reach out to local governments within the district about the meetings. 

The first set of meetings will take place:

• Sept. 15 at 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Hercules High library
• Sept. 16 at 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Richmond High library
• Sept. 18 at 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at El Cerrito High library

To learn more about the district’s budget, community members can visit the district’s business services website at wccusd.net/departments-and-areas/business-services/business-services-home.