By admin 
A Northern California school district under state fiscal oversight announced another round of deep cuts Thursday.
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Richard DuVarney, the appointed Plumas Unified School District administrator, said that Plumas Unified would close Pioneer Elementary School, reduce transportation services and cut staff to help eliminate a $9.5 million structural deficit.
“As part of our work to address the district’s $9.5 million structural deficit, we have had to make several difficult decisions,” the post said.
In May, the district announced that beginning with the 2026-27 school year, it would eliminate most home-to-school bus service, limiting transportation to students the district is legally required to serve and those with individualized education plans.
The district will keep two large buses and five smaller buses for special education, academic trips, college visits and career and technical education activities, but it will no longer provide transportation for athletics.
The announcement followed 58 staff cuts approved in February and another 32 positions eliminated in May for the 2026-27 school year.
The district has struggled financially for years before the latest reductions.
In 2025, the district became the first in nearly 13 years to seek a state bailout loan to avoid bankruptcy, joining only nine others since 1990. It now works with the Fiscal Crisis Management Assistance Team, or FCMAT, and has adopted a fiscal stabilization plan.
In an April 2025 meeting, FCMAT CEO Mike Fine said a two-month financial investigation found the district’s problems stemmed from poor budget development and management, incompetence and staff behavior.
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“There was dysfunction in all areas, even student instruction,” Fine said in a Feb. 8 meeting held to discuss the fiscal stabilization plan, pending adoption at the time, according to reporting by Sierra Daily News.
The district adopted the fiscal stabilization plan Feb. 11, aiming to reduce annual spending by $9.5 million.
The transportation program had operated at a deficit for three years, with rising costs driven by recruitment challenges and an aging fleet that increased maintenance, repair and insurance expenses, according to the Plumas County Office of Education.
The transportation program’s costs exceeded the district’s combined classified salaries while serving about 200 of the district’s 1,500 students, according to the information sheet.
“This level of expenditure, for a service that is not required for most students under California Education Code, creates a significant imbalance when weighed against the District’s primary goal of maintaining classroom instruction and direct student support,” the sheet read.
Despite the cuts, DuVarney wrote that the district’s financial situation is improving.
“We are encouraged by the progress in our financial outlook,” the Facebook post read. “This year, our focus will be on rebuilding systems, strengthening services, and providing the best possible learning experience for every PUSD student.”
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