Schools

Group Dismisses School Closure Lawsuit Against the District

The group that alleged the closure of several Sacramento-area schools was motivated by race has voluntarily dismissed their lawsuit against the district.

A lawsuit filed against Sacramento City Unified School District alleging that the closure of several schools was motivated by economic status and race has been voluntarily dismissed.

Back in January, the district voted to close 11 schools because of diminishing enrollment. Although four of the schools were saved from the chopping block, including Rosemont's James Marshall Elementary School, the district planned to move forward with the closing of seven schools. 

This prompted a group of a dozen minority students and their parents to halt the closures by filing a lawsuit alleging that the district chose the schools that would be closed based on economic status of the neighborhoods that they were based in and by race of the students attending them. 

“With dismissal of this lawsuit, SCUSD can focus its attention and precious resources on preparing every student at every school for college and 21st century careers, which is the district’s mission,” SCUSD Superintendent Jonathan Raymond said.

Last February, SCUSD’s Board of Education made the difficult decision to close seven under-enrolled elementary schools that drained resources from other schools throughout the district.

In June, a lawsuit was filed in federal court that sought to block the closures through an injunction. In July, U.S. District Court Judge Kimberly J. Mueller denied the injunction.

The list of schools set for closure are as follows:

Find out what's happening in Rosemontwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Find out what's happening in Rosemontwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Washington Elementary School

We want to know: Is the district justified in closing down these schools? Are there other actions they could take to boost the enrollment? 


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