The Sacramento City Unified School District Board ended the controversy surrounding a plan to swap two central city campuses by tabling the proposal indefinitely at its meeting Thursday night at the Serna Center. The standing room only crowd broke out in enthusiastic applause when SCUSD Superintendent Jonathan Raymond made it clear what the Board intended to do. Strong feelings on all sides of the issue had been building after the proposals that contemplated the campus swap along with school closures and consolidations were first tendered. “Design teams” were appointed by the principals of each school that were composed of staff, parents, students and neighbors. The groups recently bega

How do you remember your high school years? Some of us, myself included, would not go back even if our lives depended on it. I recently had the opportunity to sit down with a group of current high school students. I walked away feeling a mixture of exhilaration and inspiration. Despite the gloomy headlines, I felt a glimmer of hope for our nation’s future. The impetus for this little sit-down was a conversation I recently had with my seventeen year-old son and his girlfriend Ebony. I had been fishing for good ideas for an article. In response to my question they both immediately replied, “You need to come to Sac High.” When I asked why, Ebony responded “Because they’re always writing arti

Editor's Note: The Sacramento Press editorial made a change to the headline of this article after it was published. We normally strike out incorrect information in an article, but since we cannot strike out a headline, we are adding an editor's note. We made this change to the headline because we do not have the actual ages of the females mentioned and we didn't want to use language that indicated an incorrect age range. Allegations that Mayor Kevin Johnson engaged in inappropriate conduct with three girls females are included in a new joint report from a congressman and senator, both Republicans. The report focuses on the firing of federal Inspector General Gerald Walpin, who was invest

From the lofty perches of the power players, in their skyboxes and bank towers, the public may look very small, almost antlike. Deal and decision makers are elevated and segregated from the little people, whose lives they influence. On Thursday, October 29, Mayor Kevin Johnson announced his "Rules of the Game" plan to build an arena and entertainment complex in Sacramento. The press conference was held 25 floors up, with a hazy overview of the city, extending from the historic rail yards to Cal Expo: two potential sites for a new and lucrative sports/real estate venture. In that same sweeping view, the mayor could look down on the central city neighborhoods. From Downtown, Midtown, East

Opponents have argued that one of Mayor Johnson's ultimate goals is to move Sacramento's public schools under the control of the city's mayor, however, the Mayor has consistently insisted that this is not the case. In Inside City Hall, Ryan Lillis gives us some insight into Mayor Johnson's intentions. The mayor maintains that he does not wish to take control of the schools, clarifying, "what's on my radar is the mayor playing a critical role in our schools." Fair enough, complete control and "a critical role" are two very different phrases. The Mayor then expands on what he has in mind. While he notes that he does not like the term education "czar", the Mayor confirms that he would like