Second interim financial reports were on the agenda of the Plumas County Office of Education and Plumas Unified School District regular meeting held in Quincy March 11. Teachers and librarians also showed up with ideas to reverse layoffs, which they raised in the public comment period.
PCOE second interim report
All PCOE board members attended the meeting except for Matthew DeLaMontanya of District 5. Chief interim business official Stephanie Shatto presented the second interim financial reports for both PCOE and PUSD. Shatto said the second interim report shows a snapshot of the financial situation, with information from the first half of the fiscal year, July 1, 2025, to Jan. 31, 2026.
“These reports tell us what our current projections are looking like. We can then make drastic changes addressing red flags if needed,” said Shatto. “We also get a first glimpse of the governor’s budget,” she added.
On the PCOE side, expenses broke down into three categories: 26% operation costs, 41% PUSD billback and 33% grant-funded programs. The local control funding formula had a .02% increase.
PCOE second interim numbers
| Unrestricted | Restricted | Total | |
| Revenues | $4,866,015 | $1,770,739 | $6,636,754 |
| Expenditures | $3,356,152 | $2,050,739 | $5,406,891 |
| Fund balance | $6,798,329 | $2,286,920 | $9,085,248 |
PCOE District 2 board member Cindy Crim asked about purchasing priority. She asked Shatto if moving purchasing funds to cover the PUSD layoffs would work.
Shatto said, “We do not have the power to do that.”
Crim then asked if Fund 1, which houses $500,000 in PCOE reserves, could be moved to PUSD for district expenses.
Shatto replied, “Everything is in Fund 1, even the reserve fund, which is an earmark.” Shatto said, “PCOE can’t fund the district, but we can do a temporary transfer loan.”
Crim said PCOE has more money than PUSD and that she would like to see the nurses and special education staff moved under the PCOE budget.
Shatto replied, “We consider every option across the board.”
Board member Chelsea Harrison seconded Joleen Cline’s vote to accept the PCOE second interim report with discussion.
Harrison said, “I still don’t understand the big picture. Can a MOU <labor memorandum of understanding> be changed within a school year?”
Shatto replied that it can. Looking at MOUs is an ongoing process, she added. They can be changed if they include an “opener.”
Shatto presented a list of a dozen grants expiring this year. Some were expiring because the district did not have the capacity to spend them, she said. Board member Joleen Cline asked if there still was a grant coordinator; that was her job when she worked for the PCOE for 25 years. Cline said she would be happy to help with grant writing. White said there is a PCOE staff person who writes grants.
Cline, Harrison and Johnson voted to approve the report with a “positive certification,” indicating that PCOE can meet all its financial obligations. Crim voting no, saying she was “holding off because of concerns.”
