Sacramento: $113M shortfall in SPED spending blows hole in school budget

July 29, 2026, CAPRADIO: Sac City Unified and teachers union agree on temporary relief funds

As Sacramento City Unified School District grapples with the threat of state receivership and a $170 million budget deficit,  the Sacramento City Teachers Association has helped them find some temporary relief. The SCTA reached an agreement with the Sac City Unified, which involves nearly $100 million in funding. 

The funding comes from the Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) trust fund, which is a special savings account set up in 2010 for teacher retiree health benefits.Currently, the district is paying retiree benefits through its general fund. The new agreement will allow them to pull money from the OPEB fund instead.

President of the Sacramento Teachers Association Nikki Davis Milevsky, said that the trust fund had over $160 million. . . .

Davis Milevsky said most of that budget shortfall came from an unplanned $113 million in special education spending that blew a hole in its budget.

“Those are costs that the district needs to work hard to address,” she said. “We, as teachers, believe that we lower our special education costs by increasing our services and early intervention to our students, so that they do not experience failure that leads to qualifying for special education.” . . .