Reducing costs while minimizing impact on students was the focus of the third meeting of the SCUC Operational Sustainability Committee (OSC), held on March 25, 2026, in the board room of the William Malish Building. Seated at seven separate tables with department leaders, OSC members began discussing how possible budget reductions could affect students, staff, and programs.
Brian Moy, Chief Financial Officer for SCUC, reminded members that budget decisions affect real people. “You might think eliminating program X is no big deal,” Moy said. “Someone across the table might think you’re ruining his son’s life.”
One example discussed was eliminating certain bus routes for students who live within two miles of their campus, including routes where students currently avoid crossing busy roads or walking in areas without sidewalks. This change could save the district more than $386,000 but would affect 676 students. Neal Hurst, a parent of secondary students, acknowledged the challenge.
“It puts you in a position where you have to think about the hard ‘no’s’ and the backlash you may get from the community that doesn’t understand the scope,” he said. “If you keep kicking the can, and can’t do the hard ‘no’s’, we’ll be like other school districts, arguing and fighting amongst ourselves because we didn’t stop the bleeding early.”
At the counseling table, members discussed a proposal to reduce one College, Career and Military Readiness (CCMR) counselor at each traditional high school. This could save about $150,000.
“A lot of seniors seek out CCMR counselors much more than their own counselor,” said Justin Linthicum, making the case why that proposal warrants further discussion.
Scott Lehnhoff, SCUC Athletic Director, led discussion on possible changes to athletics, including eliminating some high school “B” and “C” teams and junior high “C” teams. “It’s proven students do better academically if they belong to athletics, Fine Arts and JROTC,” he said.
In April, OSC members will convene to continue to look for solutions to reduce the district’s shortfall. A final meeting in May is expected to focus on reaching agreement on recommendations to present to the SCUC Board of Trustees.
