C.K. McClatchy High School, Sacramento. (Photo: SCUSD.edu)
Sacramento City Schools Superintendent Aguilar Takes a Big Pay Increase While Schools Closed
Teachers union angry over Aguilar’s pay increase while refusing to pay substitute teachers
By Katy Grimes, March 30, 2020 7:46 am
In March 2019, California Globe reported Sacramento City Unified School District Superintendent Jorge Aguilar and seven other administrators spent more than $35,000 to attend a six-day conference at the Harvard Business School, while the district teetered on the verge of insolvency, and under the threat of state takeover as it struggled with a $35 million budget gap.
Flash forward one year and SCUSD is still faltering; the district threatened to pink slip teachers right before the March 3 Primary Election. This is likely how the school district managed to convince voters within the Sacramento school district to vote to authorize the district to sell $750 million of bonds to improve schools’ facilities.
While this infusion of funding may stave off the bleeding for now, the Sacramento City Teachers Association just reported, “Superintendent Aguilar has taken a significant pay increase after stating last year that he would not accept a salary increase while the District had significant financial issues.”
In a March 25 email sent to union members titled, “SCUSD to Present Its Draft Plan for Distance Learning Tomorrow (Thursday), District Refuses to Pay Day-to-Day Subs, as the Superintendent Takes His Pay Increase,” the union questions district priorities.
Notably, the district is refusing “to pay short-term, day-to-day substitutes as required by Governor Newsom’s March 13 Executive Order,” during the shutdown of schools over the coronavirus crisis, which SCTA says is “saving the District $44,000 per day or more than $800,000 per month. We asked the District what it intended to spend the money on and received no response.”
SCTA: ‘The financial crisis must be over’
According to documents provided by the Sacramento School District, Superintendent Aguilar’s total compensation climbed from $380,692.47 to $414,818, an increase of $34,126 or 9.0% (see below).
This does not include Mr. Aguilar’s second salary from UC Merced.
The documents showing the SCUSD pay increases are here, here and here.
“In contrast, a day-to-day substitute would have to work 155 out of the 180 instructional days in a school year to just earn the $34,000 in Mr. Aguilar’s salary increase,” SCTA reported. “It would take a substitute 10 years, or more than 1800 days of work–to earn Mr. Aguilar’s full annual compensation package.”
“It is truly unfortunate that SCUSD refuses to rank the economic well-being of staff as a high priority, just as the District put the health of hundreds of SEIU classified members at risk last week,” SCTA said. “As SEIU Local 1021 Chapter President Karla Faucett stated: ‘This is the same administration that treated classified employees like cannon fodder by forcing hundreds of non-essential staff to report to work at the SCUSD central office four days after Governor’s Newsom’s Executive Order closing schools. It’s outrageous that this disregard for SCUSD employees, in this case substitute teachers, is allowed to continue.'”
“The District found the money to increase Mr. Aguilar’s pay. But it doesn’t have to look for money for the substitutes–it’s already provided in the Governor’s Executive Order. Now the District just needs to follow the law.”
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Katy Grimes… journalism the way it was meant to be!
I am so thankful for a truth telling, honest journalist that is shining sunlight on the corrupt S.C.U.S.D. Administration! Kay, you are a rare, but highly valued asset in our community. God Bless and keep you!
I agree. It is important to expose the corruption that goes on with School Districts.
Long past time for RAGE against the Administrative state. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMCFoudyYxQ&t=61s
Ricardo,
Are you advocating a lynching? Violence is not the answer
Indefensible
Pig just wants to cash out before the district tanks financially. STOP PAY GOVERNMENT AND NON PROFIT LEADERS OVER 200 K
Good journalism Katy Grimes. More of this greed and the salaries should be exposed.
Superintendent Jorge Aguilar is making $415,000; this is more than the President of the United States ($400,000). This salary does not include a second salary from a California State College.
This is symbolic of what a rip-off these administrative types in education get away with. I am certain that there are many others in similar positions who are making similar amounts of money in other Districts. These positions are not responsible for making a profit for the district, no, they get allocated a budget and they make certain that it always gets spent so as not to get a reduced budget amount in the following years. I suspect that the majority of a Superintendent’s time is spent in a Public Relations Role more than an Executive Role making major decisions that impact the success or failure of a business organization. When do we tax payers wake up to this crap?
Please sign my petition asking for the termination of Aguilar’s contract.
No doubt Sacramento City Unified School District Superintendent Jorge Aguilar is a Democrat? Increasing his already exorbitant pay by 9% while District teeters on the verge of insolvency while also collecting pay from UC Merced? Isn’t that something an unethical and corrupt Democrat would do?
Please sign my petition to have his contract terminated
What does party preference have to do with it? Giving oneself a pay raise, while saying there is no money to buy $160. computers to LOAN to students is unconscionable.
I have started a petition through change.org to terminate Aguilar’s contract with SCUSD. The school board is not representing student’s families by approving this salary increase. Classified employees jobs are on the chopping block again. Students need computers and internet access for distance learning, not a greedy “leader” taking advantage of the chaos and confusion of the COVID-19 Pandemic, when families and employees are practicing social distancing.
This guy needs to be sent packing. Who allows this to happen? The school board? Fire! Recall! Cancel contract! Whatever it takes. People like this Aguilar jerk are not worth this kind of money. They should be making less than any full time teacher!
Both the superintendent and school board need to go. Corrupt and incompetent. Why isn’t this mentioned in the Sac Bee or on the local news channels? Obviously Marcos Breton is in cahoots with Aguilar, so that explains the Bee’s silence. Why do we need some many superintendents in this region? Can’t we just have one that “oversees” Sac city, San Juan, Folsom, Elk Grove, etc.? Why do we need so many associate superintendents and assistant superintendents. Time to chop from the top!!!! And again get rid of this incompetent school board that hired Aguilar.
Maybe he will cut checks to all us mums I’m the amount of the same salary our kids teachers were making, that lost all three jobs overnight due to closures and are teaching our kids at home.