FCMAT
Since December 2024, FCMAT has been engaged with the Plumas Unified School District because of a joint request from the California Department of Education, the Plumas County Office of Education and the Plumas Unified School District.
FCMAT's primary work to date has been to assess the current and immediate future fiscal condition of Plumas Unified School District. FCMAT's March and April 2025 work has concluded that the Plumas Unified School District will be cash insolvent by August 2025, necessitating immediate intervention by the state. This process is known as receivership. It is an alternative to protection under federal bankruptcy law, and it includes a fiscal stabilization and recovery process.
FCMAT's role is to shepherd the district through the initial receivership process, and to help determine the size of the emergency advance apportionment the state needs to provide to allow the district to do the following:
On April 28, 2025, the Plumas Unified School District Governing Board passed Resolution 1678, Requesting an Emergency Advance Apportionment. This resolution is the district's formal request for the state's assistance in the form of an emergency advance apportionment of funds, as provided for under the state's receivership statutes.
At the request of the governing board, the district entered state receivership on June 27, 2025, when the governor approved Assembly Bill 121 (Chapter 8, Statutes of 2025), which included an emergency appropriation for the Plumas Unified School District of up to $20 million to avert fiscal insolvency.
In June 2025, FCMAT conducted a series of listening meetings to solicit public input on the qualities and characteristics the district’s partners desired in the county administrator to be assigned to Plumas as part of its efforts to recover from state receivership. Those qualities and characteristics are linked below and were used to 1) inform questions and topics that FCMAT will ask applicants to respond to in their required letter of interest to FCMAT to serve in the county administrator role, 2) help develop the evaluation rubric used by FCMAT to vet the applicants, and 3) inform questions and topics that the county superintendent and other parties will use in the final selection process.
A recruitment for a county administrator to serve Plumas Unified School District is underway. It is anticipated that a selection will be made by early September.
During the months of August and September, FCMAT will conduct the first annual comprehensive review of the district, utilizing the Standards for Comprehensive Reviews (linked to the right) covering five functional areas: pupil achievement, financial management, personnel management, facilities management, and governance and community relations. The results of the comprehensive review are anticipated to be published in January 2026. Concurrently, in August, FCMAT will be conducting a review of the California Department of Education’s oversight of the district. This report will be published in September. Both of these reviews and reports are required by statute.
FCMAT is requesting applications of interest from qualified candidates to serve as the county administrator at the Plumas Unified School District (Plumas). At the request of the governing board, the district entered state receivership on June 27, 2025, with an emergency appropriation of up to $20 million to avert fiscal insolvency. FCMAT is the agency designated to identify and vet candidates to serve as county administrators or trustees for districts in receivership. The final selection of a candidate for Plumas will be made by the Plumas County superintendent of schools, with the concurrence of the state superintendent of public instruction and the president of the State Board of Education.
The county administrator serves under the direction and supervision of the county superintendent and provides day-to-day governance and administrative leadership. The administrator is not a superintendent, but rather serves as a hybrid of governing board, superintendent, fiscal expert, turnaround specialist, systems developer, master communicator, advocate for students, and strategic implementer, called upon to lead the district through the challenging initial steps of recovery in all operational areas.
Initial applications shall be submitted via email to plumas@fcmat.org no later than 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, August 6, 2025.
Questions may be submitted via email to plumas@fcmat.org.
Click here for the Recruitment Flyer and Application Instructions.
The statutes governing the Plumas receivership are:
Emergency Apportionment (Assembly Bill 121 [Chapter 8, Statutes of 2025], Section 98) and, where AB 121 does not conflict, state statutes on school district receivership - California Education Code 41320-41329.
Listening Meeting Notes from Plumas Partners – July 2025.
Plumas Unified School District, Notice of Receivership, July 15, 2025.
Emergency advance apportionment legislation regarding Plumas Unified School District (Assembly Bill 121 [Chapter 8, Statutes of 2025], Section 98).
Plumas Unified School District Governing Board Resolution 1678, passed on April 28, 2025, requesting an emergency advance apportionment.
FCMAT's April 6, 2025 management letter to Plumas Unified School District, which includes a multiyear financial projection for the district and associated analysis.
FCMAT's April 9, 2025 presentation to the Plumas Unified School District board and community.
Plumas County Office of Education and Plumas Unified School District website.