The Sweetwater Union High School District is trying to reassure parents its budget is balanced, but the reassurance flies in the face of what the County Office of Education has been reporting.
Neither side will call the back-and-forth a feud -- at least not publicly -- but the district's letter to parents was seen by some as “poking the bear.”
The County Office of Education is the one with the authority to make sure the district can stay solvent and pay its bills, but the SUHSD said it has received little to no assistance from the county in ensuring the district can move forward in a positive way.
According to the district, it has been met with inaccurate financial projections and letters insinuating wrongdoing and misrepresentation. In its letter, it told parents “we stand by the budget.”
Two weeks ago, the county "disapproved" of the district's budget in part because the district has an $11 million shortfall that it hopes to solve with “items to be determined.”
The district is hoping its employee unions will take two more furlough days to help offset the shortage. A deal has yet to be made.
The County Office of Education issued a statement in response to the letter that read in part, “The county continues to offer guidance and direction to Sweetwater in spite of insinuations to the contrary. Our focus is on helping the district resolve its financial challenges so that Sweetwater’s students get what they need and deserve."
