Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1543424
Screenshot from a Twin Rivers United Educators video about the skim scam that has diverted funds meant for classrooms. A " S K I M S C A M " in Twin Rivers and Natomas unified school districts, with rubber-stamp classroom-spending waiver approvals by the Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE), has diverted nearly $118 million from classrooms over the past six years. Data recently obtained by our union revealed the scam. In early January, CTA President David Goldberg sent a letter to State Attorney General Rob Bonta, State Superintendent Tony Thurmond and State Controller Malia Cohen demanding a fiscal audit and investi- gation of SCOE. In Twin Rivers alone, nearly $116 million has been diverted from classrooms by SCOE's systemic approvals of unjustified classroom spending waivers. California Education Code Section 41372 mandates that unified school districts dedicate at least 55% of their budget to classroom instruction — a law designed to ensure districts put students first. Twin Rivers Unified School District (TRUSD) failed to meet this spending requirement for six consecutive years, diverting a total of $115,931,201 away from classroom instruc- tion between the 2019–20 and 2024–25 school years. Natomas Unified School District also engaged in a similar waiver skim scam for school years 2022–23, 2023–24 and 2024–25, totaling more than $1.5 million in diverted funds. "Skim scams like this hurt students and keep classrooms from being fully resourced, which has prolonged impacts," said Brittoni Ward, Twin Rivers United Educators (TRUE) president. "For the district's adminis- tration to repeatedly request spending waivers without meeting the 55% threshold is a violation of California's educational code. And for SCOE to approve the districts' often unsub- stantiated claims is not only negligent, it's dangerous." To qualify for a waiver, TRUSD claimed their teacher salaries exceeded those of comparable districts. However, to validate this claim, they are legally required to provide specific comparison data on salaries and "Skim scams like this hurt students and keep classrooms from being fully resourced. For the district administration to repeatedly request spending waivers without meeting the 55% threshold is a violation of California's educational code." —TRUE President Brittoni Ward Districts' Skim Scam Robs Students, Classrooms Nearly $118 million illegally diverted from Twin Rivers, Natomas schools over six years 38 cta.org Advocacy