Sac City argues in court against overturning school closures
Published: Friday, Jul. 12, 2013 - 12:00 am | Page 1B
Attorneys for Sacramento city schools told a federal judge Thursday that blocking seven elementary campuses from closing would be costly for the district.
Such a move, only weeks before the Sept. 3 start of the school year, "would immediately put the district into a negative budget situation," said Sloan R. Simmons, co-counsel representing the Sacramento City Unified School District.
Further, he said, hundreds of students have already enrolled in their alternate schools of choice.
A dozen students and their parents filed suit last month in federal court, complaining that the district chose to close campuses in low-income and predominately minority neighborhoods that are "without political influence or organization" and, instead, kept other schools open in predominately white neighborhoods.
School officials have said the closures are necessary to help balance the budget and estimated the district can save millions of dollars over several years by eliminating campuses that are
Money flows to California schools, but little goes to summer programs
Published: Friday, Jul. 12, 2013 - 12:00 am | Page 1A
Restoring library hours and reducing class size are high on the to-do lists of Sacramento-area school leaders now that more money is flowing their way.
But summer school may have to wait.
During the recession, state lawmakers allowed school districts to divert their summer school money to other purposes. Though California is again spending more on K-12 education, local districts have been slow to restore summer school, focusing instead on reversing cuts to the regular school year.
"In the final analysis, the most important thing is the core academic program," said Bob Blattner,