Stabilizing West Contra Costa Unified budget will require shared accountability,' school leadership says

"More than a dozen meetings are scheduled to take place across the district between September and December, all focused on diving deeper into the district's financial woes, goals for the future and how to make those hopes come to fruition. The meetings are part of a fiscal stabilization plan, a core focus for the district's new leader, Superintendent Cheryl Cotton, who presented the plan to trustees during a meeting Wednesday night."

"The plan is divided into sessions, the first being an assessment of the budget with staff and community input. Once that process concludes mid-September, attention through mid-October will turn toward analyzing the root causes of the district's budget problems and potential impacts. Actionable goals will then be discussed and studied through early November, followed by a focus on what strategies would need to be employed to implement those goals."

"Discussions on those topics will be held evenings in the libraries on the Hercules, Richmond and El Cerrito high school campuses. Tentative dates have been scheduled but not yet finalized. Each meeting will also be held virtually. I'm filled with gratitude for the number of meetings and the amount of community outreach. There's a lot of people who are going to be out of the house a lot of nights, board President Leslie Reckler said."

West Contra Costa Unified School District's new superintendent initiated a 90-day fiscal stabilization plan centered on community engagement and budget assessment. More than a dozen meetings will occur across the district between September and December, held evenings at high school libraries and available virtually. The plan begins with a budget assessment with staff and community input, then analyzes root causes of budget problems and potential impacts, followed by study of actionable goals and strategies for implementation. Trustees expressed concern about communicating meeting details and requested tools like maps. Superintendent Cheryl Cotton emphasized transparency, efficiency, and accountability.

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