No Joke: Superintendent Confirmed Multimillion Undercount “Mistake” on April 1, While Still Publicly Portraying the District As on the Brink of Insolvency

An email recently obtained by SCTA shows that on April 1, 2019, ten days before the one-day strike on April 11^th, Superintendent Jorge Aguilar confirmed in writing to Superintendent Dave Gordon of SCOE that “With respect to enrollment projection reconciliation, the District has confirmed that some school sites were not included in the calculations . . . The total enrollment for these schools is approximately 730 students  . . . and will increase revenue for 20/21 and 21/22 by more than $7 million [per year].”    As far as we know, this vital information only became public when the District submitted its Third Interim Budget on May 16, 2019, more than 6 weeks after Mr. Aguilar confirmed the “mistake.”

So why did both Superintendent Aguilar and Superintendent Gordon keep this vital budget from the public and continue to portray the District on the brink of fiscal insolvency?

When was the school board informed of this “mistake”?

Why didn’t President Jessie Ryan and other school board members ask for an explanation regarding the projection of a loss of 1000 students before voting to lay off nearly 400 certificated and classified staff educators?

Why did Dave Gordon take so long to find the “mistake”?

What safeguards are in place that a “mistake” like this doesn’t happen again, especially in light of the District’s latest numbers which project a 400-student loss next year, 10 times higher than normal?

Click here to read the email from SCUSD Superintendent Jorge Aguilar to SCOE Superintendent Dave Gordon.