Posted on 03/22/2026 5:40:02 PM PDT by CFW
A California school district is teetering on the verge of collapse after out of control spending and hiring.
Santa Rosa City Schools, which are about 1.5 hours north of San Francisco, have been reprimanded by Sonoma County education chiefs for blowing stacks of cash.
Staff saw bumper pay packets and brought in too many new workers for the revenue it was generating, authorities said.
Meanwhile the district has seen student enrollment dwindle from 16,000 in 2016 to under 12,000 last year across 24 schools in the region.
In a stark warning, Michael Fine, CEO of the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team, told the school in a January board meeting: “You have some serious cash issues.”
He added: “Far more serious than any other district in the state. I don’t understand why you are always out of cash.”
[snip]
Lisa August Hulme, the now interim Superintendent for Santa Rosa City Schools, has a base salary of $261,537.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
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I guess when everyone gets a cut and you start employing more and more people, eventually you run out of money. Are all these people actually working or are they just relatives added to the payroll?
One more thing. Is EVERYONE in California government corrupt?
“...brought in too many new workers for the revenue it was generating”
For the revenue it was generating?
Say what?
It was generating "learing."
Lol, yes it was.
School administrator salaries are out of control. Santa Rosa has a population of about 175,000 and 12,000 public school students. Superintendent makes $261,500. My town, south of Santa Rosa, has a population of about 52,000 with 7,500 students. Superintendent makes $280,000. Many people here are upset with that salary when the school district always claims there’s not enough money for various programs, but we’re told that salary is the going rate.
Is there any corporation a=or system not fraud? Because this is proving beyond a shadow Trump needs to unleash the military to take back California...gas $6.15 for cheapo today
In a stark warning, Michael Fine, CEO of the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team, told the school in a January board meeting: “You have some serious cash issues.”
He added: “Far more serious than any other district in the state. I don’t understand why you are always out of cash.”
Who remembers Bell, CA?
It will be interesting to see just how much their CalPers / CalStrs retirement package is.
There are two huuuuge retirement funds in Kalifornia.
California Public Employees’ Retirement System
(CalPers)
California State Teachers Retirement System
CalStrs
As just a teacher, I witnessed the way some “teachers” padded their CalPers retirement amounts.
Your final compensation package is based upon your highest average monthly salary earned during your last year, 2 years of employment. To pad their monthly retirement check, they would become an Assistant / Vice Principal, work a year or two at that pay rate before retiring.
One other factoid. No Kalifornia Pol would dare to confront the Kalifornia State Workers, or The Teachers about their retirement. Some of the most recent large high rises in downtown Sacramento have Calstrs on them.
One more factoid. In the Kalifornia State Constitution, the monthly CalPers retirement checks MUST go out, no matter the state of the funds within the CalPers Retirement Fund. If they need to dip into the General Fund, so be it!
I knew a guy on the calpers pension board years ago. He was building a family survival compound.. in maine
It’s taxpayer money. spend spend spend and spend some more./
California has the lowest literacy rate in the United States, with only 29% of fourth graders achieving proficient reading levels, ranking 37th among the states.
Replace school administrators with AI...I mean those people have de facto AI now. A ChatGPT subscription is around $25/mo.
Are a giant cash laundry for the unelected permanent bureaucrat class. The can't even try to explain their actions anymore. They just project and deflect. They had better stop it, as a Ceaucescau moment is coming.
Born there in 1961, and lived there off and on until 2007. Dad born there in ‘32. Was indeed a beautiful and prosperous place up until around 30 years ago. Heartbreaking to see it now. Careless planning in the name of economic growth combined with dramatic demographic shifts have made it nearly unrecognizable. Pretty much defines most of the nicer mid sized cities in the state.
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