SCUSD Superintendent Jorge Aguilar. (Photo: SCUSD.org)
Sacramento City School District Email Claims ‘Racism is Prevalent Throughout This Country, Including in Sacramento’
This is exactly what they think of you
By Katy Grimes, June 2, 2020 4:39 pm
In an email sent out June 1st by officials in the Sacramento City Unified School District, the subject – “Advisory of Citywide Curfew” – deviated from the purpose of the message about the curfew straight into offensive shaming and pandering.
Dear Sac City Unified Community:
We acknowledge the pain associated with the death of George Floyd and the racism that is prevalent throughout this country, including in Sacramento. We value protest. However, we learned that due to instances of violence and looting, the City of Sacramento is imposing a curfew beginning tonight at 7:00 pm with an increased police presence.
We are asking parents/guardians to partner with our district, the City of Sacramento and the Black Child Legacy Campaign to account for your student in compliance with the curfew mandate.
Thank you for your contribution to the safety of our youth and community.
Copyright © 2020 Sacramento City Unified School District, All rights reserved.
The email message went to all SCUSD employees, parents of SCUSD students, and community members.
A teacher friend was livid, and responded saying the statement about this city, its residents, and the country, is vile.
This is the same school district which killed a wildly successful Competitive Academic Program because Sacramento school district officials deemed it “too white.” Parents reported white and Asian kids were purposely removed from program lottery.
California Globe reported recently when Sacramento City School District Superintendent Jorge Aguilar took a significant pay increase, while schools are closed, and after stating last year that he would not accept a salary increase while the District had significant financial issues.
Superintendent Aguilar’s total compensation climbed from $380,692.47 to $414,818, an increase of $34,126 or 9.0%. This does not include Mr. Aguilar’s second salary from UC Merced.
And the same school district continues to be in dire financial straits. The California State Auditor reported in December that the Sacramento school district is facing insolvency as early as 2020. “Because It Has Failed to Proactively Address Its Financial Challenges, It May Soon Face Insolvency,” the auditor wrote. The primary cause and effect is as the teachers union maintains complete control of the budget, “Sacramento Unified has not proactively addressed its financial problems and is close to insolvency—it projects facing a $19.1 million shortfall in fiscal year 2021–22.”
In March 2019, California Globe reported Sacramento school district Superintendent Jorge Aguilar and seven other administrators spent more than $35,000 to attend a six-day conference at the Harvard Business School, while the district teetered on the verge of insolvency, and under the threat of state takeover as it struggled with a $35 million budget gap.
With all classes in the Sacramento school district cancelled likely until the end of the year according to Gov. Gavin Newsom, after receiving this offensive email message, don’t be surprised if many parents pull their kids for good.
This is exactly what they think of you.
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Your privilege is showing and it’s ugly. The District is poorly run but accurately acknowledging that racism, discrimination and a lack of police oversight is seen in Sacramento. Scott Jones has County residents on the financial hook for his department’s sheriff-contributing inmate and lethal force deaths. The grand jury called for oversight which he Trump-like ignored and he refuses body camera use. Yeh, that’s what systematic racism stems from!
@ Steph B – your racism, hate, envy and ignorance is showing and it’s morbidly ugly.
What’s your problem with white people, huh?
Racism is definitely alive and well in the chest cavity of this guy where his heart should be.
What hatred and hypocrisy. All this sort of talk ever serves is telling minorities it’s ok to hate, blame, abuse, etc … Caucasians. When they do they’re actually being racist against white people since their actions are based on race, but that never registers with them.
What a sick and evil little twerp this aguilar is.
Dear Ms. Grimes, your profile describes you as a truth-seeker. I respectfully offer you my perspective. Based on your picture and profession, I will assume that like you, I am a white woman with privilege. I don’t know anything else about you. I will tell you about me. I have lived in Sacramento since 1989 after serving in the United States Air Force. I have a Black son and an Asian Pacific Islander son. Both in SCUSD. I see from the front row how they and other students of color are downdrafted, discounted and mislabeled to their detriment in their educational records, leaving a stain that forecasts their future teachers’ assessment of them before they even meet them. I am very engaged in all levels of parent engagement, at the school and District level. If you have followed the governance of this District since Superintendent Aguilar arrived 3 years ago, you will know that he and other members of the Board of Trustees and Cabinet frequently state the fact that the educational system is racist by design. Based on a number of quantifiable metrics measured by the District and independent data. Not to shame or pander. But to speak the truth and inspire action to right the wrongs. I would argue with you that the oft-repeated statement by the leadership in the curfew email is not a deviation from the purpose of the email, but rather goes right to the heart of it. Racism drives police brutality and disproportionate impacts from COVID19 which drives the community’s need to protest which also instigates anxiety and unfortunately prompts some looting and vandalism which triggers the curfew. That is not a circuitous route at all, but rather a 400-year-long steel cable that connects the curfew to the root cause: Racism. I notice that you deviated from the purposes of the email, delving into stale issues (not new news) like the Superintendent’s pay and decisions to dismantle specialty programs that favor white students. Since you are a truth seeker, I will offer to you that the federal Office of Civil Rights has confirmed that the SCUSD GATE (gifted) programs systemically discriminated against students of color, and that a national audit of the District’s special education programs found that the District significantly discriminated against Black students, English language learners, and students with disabilities — even far above the statewide trend of significant disproportionality against these student groups. And the trip to the Harvard Business School was 100% grant funded. I can provide source documents for each of these statements if you are interested. Reasonable people can and do debate the salary issue. But, to your point, it deviates from the issue of the curfew email. There is no shaming or pandering here. There is a call to action, which I am hearing and acting upon. Will you join me?
Everything you said is bravo Sierra. And I’m a minority.
Administration at our nearly all white private school sent similar emails in support of BLM this week asking parents to teach their kids about racism including links to anti-racism for white people, tolerance, how to talk about racism and violence. Needless to say we were not happy. We were already considering leaving to homeschool next year. This is not helping.
We all know that the reopenings are a product of data and of conscience.. the problem though is while we are patiently waiting for three months, all of the tension that is building up has no place to go and has led to the fury in the streets that we are witnessing now let alone the economic fallout also… we cant wait any longer… we should reopen right now while quarantining the sick and the high risk and monitor the healthy!!! Let the healthy and able go back to work…. This is like Moses let my people go b4 more of the wrath of the situation is unleashed in dire fury.. What does it take to see that you cannot pen Gods people up like this without consequences…
Again quarantine the sick like the lepers of the Bible were separated, and monitor the healthy and protect the women and children…