By admin 
Jacqueline White has assumed leadership of the Sacramento County Office of Education, succeeding longtime Superintendent David Gordon, who will remain on staff as a special adviser until his retirement in June next year.
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On her first day leading the county office Tuesday, White said Sacramento City Unified School District cannot resolve its fiscal crisis simply by finding enough cash to make it through the night, echoing her office’s position in an increasingly tense dispute with the district.
The transition comes as tensions between the county office and the district have escalated in recent weeks over the county office-appointed fiscal adviser’s rescission of an agreement between Sac City Unified and its teachers union.
“The bottom line is that SCUSD’s immediate cash problem must be addressed, but getting through the next several months is not enough,” White wrote in an email to The Sacramento Bee.
“The district also needs significant ongoing savings to achieve long-term financial stability. As County Superintendent, I will do everything within my authority to assist SCUSD to restore its financial health while protecting students and educational programs.”
White, who has more than 20 years of experience in education, began her career as a teacher in Twin Rivers Unified and most recently served as an assistant superintendent at the county office. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and economics from Saint Mary’s College of California in Moraga.
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White’s remarks reflect the county office’s longstanding position that short-term cash solutions cannot resolve the district’s $222 million structural deficit. County officials have repeatedly made that argument when discussing the rescinded agreement between the district and its teachers union, saying its immediate relief would merely postpone the fiscal crisis.
The district says the agreement’s projected $97.6 million in fiscal relief over three years would buy it time to develop long-term solutions, while county officials have urged the district to drop provisions extending the teachers contract through June 2030 and giving the union any raises or benefit improvements granted to other employee groups.
The dispute has also put the county office at odds with State Superintendent Tony Thurmond, who has warned that he could assume its fiscal oversight authority if he determined its actions were ineffective. An effort by the statewide county superintendents association to limit that authority fell short last week when its proposal was never introduced as a bill.
Gordon, who increasingly clashed with district officials in his final months in the role over how to address the fiscal crisis, will remain as a special adviser to White and the county Board of Education through June 2027, helping with the transition and Sacramento City Unified’s fiscal crisis. He has led the county office since 2004 after serving nearly a decade as Elk Grove Unified’s superintendent.
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