Sacramento County Education Digest

The federal student loan payment pause is coming to an end. Here’s how to get ready to make payments again.

Many of the state’s most outspoken supporters of the parents’ rights movement are newly elected school board members in the Sacramento region. They are confident that their cause—fed by the conviction that schools have become centers of leftist indoctrination—will only gain strength.

The Board of Trustees of Galt Joint Union High School District heard a presentation about the possibility of issuing bonds to raise funds for future projects. In one example, an expert estimated that the district could raise about $40 million over five years.

Previously, the state planned to award grants from the state’s general fund to the colleges, but Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers shifted to asking them to borrow money in an attempt to save costs amid declining state revenues. But that new structure is untenable for community colleges, say a coalition of presidents and chancellors.

Citrus Heights Police presented findings from a study that reviewed the feasibility of placing a police officer on each of the high school campuses within the city, estimating a cost of more than $300,000 annually.

According to a report from the National Endowment for the Arts, since the 1980s, as public schools disinvested in arts education, white students experienced no change in their access to the arts but students of color experienced reductions of around 40%.

The legacy of Arnold J. Adreani was celebrated when a neighborhood park was dedicated to him. The Elk Grove educator worked as the principal of Joseph Kerr Middle School for 26 years before dedicating much of his retirement to providing scholarships to local students.

A new law allows community colleges to offer bachelor’s degrees, an option for students unable to attend a four-year institution. But California State University officials are objecting to many of those proposed programs.

Last year California began providing free school lunches to all TK-12 students, regardless of family income. Now, with an influx of state and federal money, school districts are revamping kitchens and training staff so they can provide freshly made, healthy meals.

A record number of first-year California residents were admitted to University of California schools this year—and 38 percent of them are Latino, according to preliminary data released Aug. 8.

More than 70% of people have been exposed to medical or health-related misinformation, according to a GoodRx Health study. This means many people are struggling to tell the difference between factual information and false information.

Two recent reports on sexual harassment complaints filed against Cal State employees conclude inconsistent data collection makes it difficult to determine a reliable number.

The community is ready and eager for the ribbon cutting and dedication on the long-awaited Rio Linda High School Baseball and Softball complex.

Center Joint Unified School District unveiled the new Rex Fortune Elementary School—the first school to open in the district since 2005. It’s the brainchild of former superintendent Rex Fortune.

The Sacramento History Museum located in Old Sacramento State Historic Park has debuted an exhibit titled Mómtim Péwinan, River People curated by the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians Exhibits and Collections Center.

The race is on for a vacant seat on the Natomas Unified School District board of trustees with several candidates already vying for votes. The filing period ends Aug. 11 for candidates seeking to run in the November special election.

The Sacramento City Unified School District Board of Education voted to rename three schools: Miwok Middle School (formerly Sutter Middle), Suy:u Elementary School (formerly Peter Burnett Elementary), and Umoja International Academy (formerly Kit Carson).

Since 2021, California’s Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has given out about 90,000 free tablets to people incarcerated across the state. The distribution builds on a pilot program and is in line with a shift toward rehabilitation.

After several high-profile sexual harassment cases, Cal State needs more training, staff and outreach to students and employees, an outside firm concludes.

James Sutter this month became the president of a union that represents more than 3,000 teachers, librarians, and other educators in the Elk Grove Unified School District. The sixth-grade teacher ran unopposed in May.

Rhoads Schoolhouse, a one-room school structure in Elk Grove Regional Park, is gradually undergoing repairs following vandalism this spring. The school is part of a living history program to introduce children to educational life in the 1890s.

The branch of the Sacramento County Public Library at 11601 Fair Oaks Blvd. has reopened following an extensive refresh, its first since opening to the public in 1976.

Seven dual language immersion programs are in the Sacramento City Unified School District, with programs taught in Mandarin, Cantonese, Hmong, and Spanish. But while the elementary school programs are a “great experience,” kids are left unsupported once they graduate.

Mildred García will take over a system confronting a budget shortfall, declining enrollment and complaints about how Cal State officials have handled sexual misconduct allegations.

Sacramento State is one of the most diverse colleges in all of California—a state that stopped allowing race to be a criteria for admission in its public academic institutions in 1996 with the passage of Proposition 209.

A proposal to set up degree completion funds for California student athletes has met with stiff opposition from universities and the NCAA. College athletes could earn a share of the revenue they generate under the bill — as much as $25,000 for each year that they played their sport. But the bill’s author has delayed it until 2024 after opponents charged the fund would draw money away from less lucrative sports like gymnastics and swimming.

Many California colleges and universities define “first-generation college student” differently, creating a confusing situation for students to navigate.

The debate continues over whether local Elk Grove Unified School District libraries should remove books that some parents consider to be obscene. This conflict began in April and returned at the school board’s June 27 meeting.

Sacramento State was part of the Second Chance Pell Experiment, a pilot program aiming to expand college access to people in prison. But until this month, most incarcerated individuals were barred from receiving Pell grants.

A budget deal between lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newson includes $227 million more for the state’s Middle Class Scholarship, part of a commitment to eventually remove any reason for public university students to go into debt. The revised program debuted last year, sending an average of nearly $2,000 to 300,000 students.

The City Council last month appointed seven individuals to a limited-term committee tasked with assessing the feasibility of Citrus Heights forming its own school district.

Breaking from over a decade of traditionally not raising tuition for its students, Cal State leaders on Thursday released a proposal that would start annual increases in fall 2024. They say it’s the only way to make up a shortfall between operating costs and revenues.