Chester Elementary School

March 24, 2025

CES Happenings

Dear CES Family,

We have amazing students at CES. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed them this week. Was there any one thing in particular? Nope. But over the course of hundreds of interactions throughout the week, I found myself feeling very fortunate to spend time with our students. Thanks for entrusting your kids to us on the daily.

Two things for your consideration this week:

Report cards went home today. Additionally, if you are interested in seeing them online, they will be posted in your student's Parent Portal account tomorrow, 3/22/25. Any questions? Please don't hesitate to contact your child's teacher.
If you haven't yet heard, the Plumas Unified School District is experiencing a rather significant financial crisis. What does the current circumstance mean for for CES? Good news and bad news: the good news is that none of our teaching staff received a layoff notice for the 2025-2026 school year. The bad news is that several support staff did receive layoff notices. We have a special team at CES, so the potential loss of even one is a hit to us all. PUSD is experiencing both a structural deficit of up to $3,000,000 (hence the layoffs) and also a situation where interfund borrowing over the course of multiple years has caused the accrual of additional debt as certain funds were not repaid, resulting in a possible minimum amount for repayment of approximately $10,000,000. It could be more. This will result in PUSD needing to seek out a loan to cover this cost, which means a long-term debt repayment situation. Much is going to be needed to be done in order to get our fiscal house in order. This circumstance could result in a State administrator being assigned to our school district, with that person directing both the school board and district administration to take specific actions to make PUSD solvent. The next couple of months will reveal much. So, what do we do with this? Tough times, yes, but we're a tougher staff and community. Great things will continue at CES.

Thanks, again, for your overwhelming support of what we do on behalf of your kids. Chester is a special place!

Sincerely,

Scott Cory

Principal

3/26 6th Gr. North Fork Feather River (UPDATED)
4/3 5th Gr. Walking Field Trip
4/10 6th Gr. Snow School
4/14 - 4/18 Easter Vacation - NO SCHOOL
4/22 6th Gr. White Water Rafting
4/25 1st Gr. to Sacramento Zoo

PUSD Budget Deficit

There has been a lot of talk about the fiscal status of the Plumas Unified School District, and with good reason. As a result, you may have an interest in attending school board meetings either in person or via Zoom. Please click on the QR code for both locations and instructions on how to access meetings via Zoom, along with the agenda for each meeting of the Board of Education for PUSD.