CVUSD’s special meeting to address $44 million budget hole ends with no information
Attendees were left frustrated after a Coachella Valley Unified School District's special meeting addressing the district's $44 million budget hole ended with no information.
The meeting started at around 3:30 p.m. and ended after a two-hour closed session. The board said there was nothing to report from the closed session and ended the meeting.
A lot of people left the meeting feeling very upset and angry. They're worried about the budget, they're worried about layoffs, and they're worried about the future of the district.
Assemblymember-elect Jeff Gonzalez spoke about attendees' frustrations with the lack of information.
News Channel 3 was the first news outlet to secure an interview with the District's Superintendent Dr. Francis Esparza since the $44 million budget hole came into the light. I-Team Investigator Jeff Stahl spoke with Dr. Esparza on how the district got here and what’s being done to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
Dr. Esparza says she reached out to the County's Office of Education for support four months ago, shortly after being named Superintendent. According to Esparza, this debt was built up before her tenure began.
"This didn't happen on my watch," Esparza said adding, "This is three to five years in the making."
You can read more about our previous reporting and see Jeff Stahl's entire I-Team Story for more context here.
Stay with News Channel 3 for continuing coverage of that meeting and the latest developments on the Coachella Valley Unified School District's projected budget shortfall.
