Plumas Unified School District held listening sessions in the four communities of Plumas County in November. The aim: to engage parents, school staff and community members in the decision-making process around unavoidable budget cuts.
With a projected $9.5 million deficit in the PUSD budget, cuts will have to be made. Officials aim for changes to go into effect for the 2026-2027 school year.
Richard DuVarney, the new state-appointed county administrator, and Plumas County Office of Education Superintendent Andrea White led the sessions. The Plumas Sun was able to attend the hour-long listening sessions in Greenville and Quincy.
A ‘horrible financial situation’
DuVarney opened both sessions with a frank accounting of the financial situation PUSD faces. “Bottom line, there will be cuts, no doubt about it. Because we have a horrible financial situation,” he said at the Greenville listening session.
Over the summer, the district applied for and received a $20 million emergency loan from the state. The loan carries 6% interest over a 30-year term, said DuVarney. Repayment begins in 2027.
The district landed in this plight because “the district has consistently spent more money than cash was available year after year,” said Stephanie Shatto, interim chief business official for PCOE and PUSD. Now, it needs to cut $9.5 million in ongoing expenses — about 22% of the total budget of $43 million.
Extra COVID money helped carry the district for a while, DuVarney said, but not anymore. Unlike many California counties, Plumas has a single school district with a single office of education, entitling the county to just one allotment of $300,000 annually in state funds. For context, Lassen County, with roughly 13,000 more people than Plumas, has 12 districts, each with a $300,000 state allotment. Siskiyou County, which has a population a little over twice that of Plumas, has 22 school districts. But the California Department of Education is “not in favor of adding more school districts,” DuVarney said.
Staffing cuts?
One possible area for cuts is staffing, Shatto said at the Greenville session: “PUSD has declining enrollment, yet staffing has remained the same or increased. We must realign staffing.”
As for how many teachers would be cut, DuVarney said, “We have to staff our classrooms.” The district has not “done any analysis yet on cutting teachers.” Multigrade classrooms are already a sore point with teachers and parents.
The question of administrative cuts as an alternative to teacher cuts arose at both meetings. In Greenville, the question came from Cindy Crim, a board member representing the Indian Valley area. “I want to see personnel cuts at the district office,” she said. She spoke from the audience as a grandparent raising grandkids, not a board member.
Shatto explained that there are two different budgets for PCOE and PUSD. The PCOE office made cuts for the 2025-26 school year by not filling vacancies and lowering the seniority of certain roles. For example, the human resources director position is now the HR supervisor, she said.
Administrative cuts came up at the Quincy session, too. “We are greatly overstaffed in the PCOE,” said Julie Tanaka, a Quincy parent. She reported that she had undertaken research across other cities and counties, including Bishop, Trinity and Lassen counties where, she said, there are fewer staff in the office of education than in Plumas.
Also concerning to attendees is the impact of lost teaching jobs to the county as a whole. Plumas County will “fall out economically” without those jobs, said Quincy parent Darren Beatty. Beatty asked how we can keep those families in the area. Could the community create a foundation to support important positions? Could those who lose jobs be referred to other roles in the county?
“We need revenue,” DuVarney said. Parents and community members can raise money for things like gardens and libraries.
Attendees and board members offered ideas on how to mitigate the need for staffing cuts that might directly impact the classroom, but each suggestion seemed to have its detractors as well.
- Could retired teachers offer volunteer assistance? There are already volunteers in the schools, said Crim. They can’t take the place of teachers.
- Could the student-teacher ratio be adjusted? Plumas already meets state standards in that area, said DuVarney.
- What about a four-day week? The district is required to offer 180 days of school, said Shatto.
- Could year-round schools be an option? Not in an economy based on tourism, where businesses rely on a seasonal workforce, said Chester PUSD trustee Chelsea Harrison.
After-school options, electives and career technology
After-school programming at the elementary level seems to be safe for the time being. Funds for after-school programs actually increased this school year, according to White. That’s due to state and grant funding, not district funding. Expanded learning opportunities are treated differently from standard school funding, Shatto explained.
That’s not true of electives and career technology education programs at the high school level, however. “We will have to consolidate electives. We can’t sustain small classes,” DuVarney said.
Many attendees spoke about the importance of sports and electives in keeping students engaged in school, and laying the foundations for future careers.
“Statistically, many kids will go into vocational programs. There is lots of support for vocational programs,” Beatty noted. As to whether those programs will be cut, “The community, principals, teachers, will give input,” DuVarney said. “What are your values? Do you value CTEs, keeping sports intact? What classes are important?”
Vanessa Vasquez, a parent and director of the Lost Sierra Food Project in Quincy, asked if the nutrition program budget will be impacted. White replied that nutrition is currently funded. DuVarney added that the food program was losing money but that they corrected that.
Brittany Steward, a parent and Quincy Elementary School administrative assistant, said centralized kitchens did not work. DuVarney said that Plumas does not have enough bus drivers to deliver food from a central kitchen.
From two Quincy elementary schools to one?
The California Department of Education and the Fiscal Crisis Assistance Management Team has said Plumas can’t close schools because of the distance of transporting students, according to DuVarney. However, he noted, “We do have two elementary schools in Quincy and we can close one of those.”
Steward said the students are aware of the possibility of a school closure. Principal Jordan Blanton said that messaging the change will be important in order to avoid stress for the students.
‘Show up!’
Tanaka, a Quincy parent, suggested inviting students to contribute ideas: “Let them have a voice.” She proposed a survey for students in grade seven and up. Staff surveys have already been sent, with 160 responses received, DuVarney said.
DuVarney and White promised more meetings in January. In the meantime, DuVarney encouraged emails and said that the district is using social media to gather ideas.
Matthew De La Montoya, the newly elected District 5 board member, encouraged everyone to come to these meetings. “It takes a village. We have amazing communities with lots of ideas,” he said. “There are going to be really hard cuts. Show up!”
