Major school district on brink of collapse as staff get staggering pay packets: ‘Absolute havoc’

A major California school district teeters on the verge of collapse after out of control spending and hiring.

Santa Rosa City Schools, which are about 1.5 hours north of San Francisco, have been reprimanded by Sonoma County education chiefs for blowing stacks of cash.

Staff saw bumper pay packets and brought in too many new workers for the revenue it was generating, authorities said.

Meanwhile the district has seen student enrollment dwindle from 16,000 in 2016 to under 12,000 last year across 24 schools in the region.

In a stark warning, Michael Fine, CEO of the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team, told the school in a January board meeting: “You have some serious cash issues.”

He added: “Far more serious than any other district in the state. I don’t understand why you are always out of cash.”

The union president for the teachers also tore into the district, claiming it had made temporary fixes to systemic problems at the schools.

Kathryn Howell said: “It’s a house of cards, it looks like to me.” The main focus for investigators has been over hiring staff on huge salaries while enrollment tanked over the past decade.

Schools districts in California earn money based on the number of students enrolled, but the numbers in the district has steadily declined over the past five years.

Despite this, the upper crust of Santa Rosa City School officials have been making over $1 million combined, the Post can reveal.

Lisa August Hulme, the now interim Superintendent for Santa Rosa City Schools, has a base salary of $261,537.

That is in the 90th percentile of California’s superintendents and closer to salaries in larger districts with over 20,000 students.

Other top salaries include Dr. Vicki Zands, an assistant superintendent making over $222,000 a year after benefits.

Roderick M. Castro, assistant superintendent of teaching and learning, had a total pay of $243,410.60.

Stacy A. Desideri, the executive director of wellness and engagement earned a total compensation of $198,000.

The 2025-2026 Santa Rosa City schools management salary schedule also reveals above average payment for various positions including $170,000 for a high school principal, the California average is $135,000.

Other factors have also turned students away from their classrooms. At Montgomery High a 16-year-old student was fatally stabbed by another student in 2023.

Jayden Jess Pienta, was knifed in a classroom and later died at Santa Rosa Hospital.

The district was also plagued with budget problems after it lost a large number of students during Covid and wildfires in 2017, burning over 5,600 structures and killing 22.

Given the budget issues, some of the district’s executives have taken pay cuts to try to help with the budget deficit.

Calls for comment to Santa Rosa City schools weren’t immediately returned.

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