Plumas Unified School District held a second round of listening sessions the first week of January. They were designed to obtain more input on potential cost-cutting measures from residents countywide. The public meetings were held in Chester, Greenville, Portola and Quincy. The cuts aim to address a $9.5 million budget shortfall.
Draft fiscal stabilization plan
Each meeting opened with a review of a draft fiscal stabilization plan, presented by Richard DuVarney, state-appointed county administrator, and Plumas County Office of Education Superintendent Andrea White.
The plan, which DuVarney expects to finalize in February, is a requirement of Assembly Bill 2725, a state law designed to provide quality educational opportunities for all public school children. The current draft was developed under DuVarney’s direction to restore fiscal health in the school district by reducing the PUSD budget by $9.5 million. Still a working document, the draft draws on community feedback, which includes 420 student surveys as well as input from staff and earlier community listening sessions.
Community input emphasized five main priorities, which were treated as guiding principles in shaping the initial draft:
- Protect core student opportunities.
- Begin reductions outside the classroom before impacting instruction.
- Review administrative and district office structures for efficiencies.
- Strengthen communication and transparency.
- Ensure reductions are strategic, equitable and student-centered.
Community feedback also identified areas to protect: athletics, band, music, art, career technical education, vocational programs, after-school programs, expanding learning opportunity programs, nutrition and college dual enrollment.
Five areas under consideration for reduction were identified in the plan:
- The ratio of administrative to operational staff
- Transportation department restructuring
- Teacher-student ratio realignment and reductions in full-time equivalent staff
- Consolidation of Quincy Elementary School’s two campuses
- Athletic program restructuring, including shifting nonpersonnel costs to organizations such as the associated student body and booster clubs
The plan also outlines reduction measures already undertaken, including elimination and reorganization of staffing positions, and “natural attrition.” So far these steps have reduced the budget by $198,729.35. Other reductions came from slashing 34 vacant positions for a $1.8 million savings.
The district office is reviewing operational cost-cutting options before any reduction in instructional costs. Those include:
- Reducing or eliminating nonessential contracted services
- Reviewing consultant and service agreements
- Limiting travel, conferences and discretionary departmental budgets
- Reviewing subscription/licensing costs
- Restricting overtime and extra-duty assignments
‘Poor management and accounting‘
As with the first round of listening sessions, held in November, DuVarney opened each January session with a review of the district’s financial situation. PUSD entered state receivership with a $20 million state emergency loan. So far, it has drawn only $8.5 million from the loan for the 2025-2026 school year at 6% interest.
“The plan is to not borrow any more money from the loan,” DuVarney said.
Loan repayment begins in November 2027. If the district leaves the remaining sum untouched, those payments will be $650,000 per year.
The loan has enabled the district to keep operating. But there is still a structural deficit of $9.5 million that needs to be cut from the 2026-2027 budget, said DuVarney. Identifying areas for those cuts is the goal of the multiple rounds of listening sessions, held in the four main population centers of Plumas County.
“Responsibilities at the top <of the district administration> were blurred, audits were late and there was poor oversight from the school board.”
Richard DuVarney, state-appointed Plumas Unified School District administrator
Although the fiscal crisis has been public knowledge for over a year, the frustrated public continues to question how it happened in the first place. When asked during the most recent round of listening sessions, DuVarney blamed poor management and accounting practices, and lack of financial accountability. That included failing to reduce staffing in step with declining enrollment, failure to accurately track wages and benefits, and borrowing money internally from other accounts to cover expenses, then not paying it back.
“Responsibilities at the top <of the district administration> were blurred, audits were late and there was poor oversight from the school board. The California Department of Education has some responsibility as well,” DuVarney said.
Community members asked if those top officials responsible for those issues are still working for the district. DuVarney said, “No. When a school district goes into state receivership, the superintendent and chief business official are removed from their positions. The district board is also removed from governing and given an advisory board role.”
Asked if criminal charges would be filed, DuVarney said no fraud was found after a complete investigation by the Fiscal Crisis Management Assistance Team.
The conversation then turned to suggestions for cost-saving measures. One popular option, raised in each of the four communities, was outsourcing services such as transportation, mechanics and payroll. DuVarney said they could look into those suggestions.
Grant funding was suggested to fill in funding gaps. “We get grants but they are not enough to replace the cuts required,” said Andrea White. “We have grants that come into the office of education and are passed down to the district.”
In California, each school district automatically receives $300,000 from the state. DuVarney said he has explored whether PUSD could be divided into three separate school districts to bring in more revenue. But the CDE doesn’t want more school districts. He also found that PUSD’s emergency loan, legislative bill AB 121, includes a provision that no more districts be created. The bill was drafted by Mike Fine, CEO of FCMAT, he said.
Community members asked if the recently approved Secure Rural Schools funding would help the budget deficit. The answer was no. The SRS monies are not reliable, and the funds are shared with the county road department and as well as Feather River College and Plumas Charter School.
Concerns were raised over the hardship created for kids and families by cutting bus transportation services. DuVarney said that the district is not required to provide transportation and the district recently cut the bus routes to one route per community for the spring semester. They will see how that works.
Campus sales and consolidations
Selling off PUSD properties was another suggestion. Officials are already in the process of selling the Taylorsville Elementary School property, DuVarney said. Public commenters suggested selling the district office, with staff moving to Quincy Elementary’s Pioneer campus. The East Quincy apartment complex the district owns was also suggested as a candidate for sale. DuVarney said the apartment complex brings in revenue and provides housing for new employees.
When pressed about whether schools would be closing, DuVarney said Quincy Elementary’s Pioneer campus will close after the 2025-2026 school year, with 55 students transferring to the Alder campus. The sixth grade students will relocate to Quincy Junior-Senior High School, but will be isolated from the other students with a separate classroom in the junior high wing, he said. The Pioneer campus will continue to rent space to Head Start and other interested organizations for the income. The district intends to retain the Pioneer campus. No other schools are closing, DuVarney said.
Meanwhile, staffing cuts are still to be announced. One teacher said staff need to know about cuts as soon as possible because they may need to look for new jobs and sell their homes. DuVarney said the eliminated positions will be on the agenda of the regular school board meeting, to be held Feb. 11 at the district office in Quincy. The Plumas County Office of Education meets at 4:30 p.m. and the Plumas Unified School District meeting starts at 5 p.m.
Recordings of the listening sessions are available on YouTube Live.
