As various groups voice their opposition to a plan to close 11 Sacramento City Unified School District schools–including one in Rosemont–one prominent state politician has come out backing it.
Senate President pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) said in a statement Wednesday that he supported the plan, which would close James W. Marshall Elementary School and 10 others, and urged school board members to vote in favor of it.
"The alternatives to closing under-enrolled schools would be far worse," Steinberg said in the statement. "No one wants to see across-the-board classroom and program cuts. Superintendent Raymond is not making his recommendation lightly, and I have confidence he is doing so after thoroughly exploring the viability of any other options."
Shortly after, a Hmong group that has organized protests against the cuts responded. Hmong Innovating Politics, which organized a march on the district's headquarters this week, called Steinberg's opinion "puzzling" and "disappointing."
"Crafted in an absolute vacuum and with zero parent or community input, the Superintendent’s 'wrong-sizing' proposal jeopardizes the quality of education for Senator Steinberg’s district, puts Senator Steinberg’s students at risk, and does little to resolve the district’s fiscal struggles," the group said in a press release.
The Sacramento Bee reported Thursday that one trustee seems to learn in favor of the plan, at least two trustees have expressed concerns about the plan, one hopes to vote on schools individually and another hopes to move forward with a plan that doesn't single out any communities. Read that article here.
Rosemont's representative on the board, Christina Pritchett, has been publicly opposed to the plan.
The school board will vote on the fate of 10 of those schools Thursday, and will hold a separate vote on another next month.
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Sacramento City Unified School District Board of Education meeting
6:30 p.m. Thursday
Serna Center, 5735 47th Ave.
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