Alert From the Sacramento Comprehensive High School Coalition

From the Sacramento Comprehensive High School Coalition:

An update is in order for anyone hopeful that the Sac High campus might be reclaimed for use as a pedestrian-friendly comprehensive high school. A sizable group of families from the West Campus community oppose any move that re-locates, or significantly expands their campus and culture. When combined with St. HOPE's vigorous defense of the Sac High campus, it would appear that the "swap" option faces two very well-organized, and determined opponents. 

For residents in "Central City" neighborhoods that formerly attended Sac High, the absence of a "swap" option leaves two outcomes as the likely scenarios for Board approval: 1) nothing changes; or, 2) Sutter moves to Kit Carson, and a high school is established at Alhambra and J Streets. (A third option, Sutter stays put, and a HS is established at Kit Carson has been studied at length, and determined infeasible due to environmental concerns. Likewise, co-location of a public high school at the campus occupied by St. HOPE as been studied, and determined unworkable).

Of these two remaining options, "change nothing" certainly offers the path of least resistance. Yet it comes with its own set of consequences which will dramatically affect families with YOUNGER children in the Sac High attendance area. Issue #1 is the District's looming deficit, which Darrel Woo suggested may be as high as $35M next year. That deficit could severely curtail inter-district transfers. Your child may no longer have the option of fleeing this district to attend High School in other districts, as 624 students did last year. Without inter-district transfers, waiting lists at West Campus and HISP would certainly grow, and become more competitive, as those two programs are already maxxed-out in their current configuration. Which leads, inevitably, to Issue #2: St. HOPE, as the only campus with facility enough to accommodate more students, would become the "defacto" comprehensive high school for the Central City, competing against Hiram Johnson and Rosemont as the only options for full-scale public high schools.

We believe the SCUSD School Board, and District 2 representative Jeff Cuneo, are about to make a decision with tremendous, long-term consequences to Central City residents. If you are a property owner, a parent, or an educator in this community, we urge you to attend Wednesday 6:30 meeting at David Lubin Elementary, to voice your concerns about this issue. Our Coalition remains committed to the "swap" as the solution that best addresses the economic, educational, environmental, and social challenges facing this District. We need all the support we can get to make this cause a success.