Hundreds of Santa Rosa’s unionized teachers and staff gathered last week to demand an outside audit of district finances.
The rally reflects growing distrust in Santa Rosa City Schools leadership to address the district’s ongoing budget woes. The after-hours meeting Tuesday highlighted the stakes for the county’s largest school system, which serves about 12-thousand students. The district risks running out of cash or falling under state receivership if it does not close a years-long deficit.
Interim Superintendent Lisa August said in September that an additional ten-to-15-million dollars in cuts are needed this year and warned more layoffs are likely, following 150 teacher and staff reductions last year amid school closures and consolidations.
