BYLP advocates tell Elk Grove Unified Trustees and administrators they lack courage, question why they are educators

During their Tuesday, September 6 meeting, Trustees and administrators of the Elk Grove Unified School District heard over one hour and 20 minutes of public comment that was exclusively critical of their school management policies. While most of the comments were from parents from the EGUSD Inclusion Stays group, they were not the only ones with pointed comments.

The district was also criticized by two individuals speaking on behalf of the Black Youth Leadership Project (BYLP). Those speakers were Lisa Stanley and Loreen Pryor. As part of the group’s mission, they monitor discipline directed toward Black students in the Sacramento region, which is statistically more significant than other groups.

“Four of our five complaints just this [school] year, all come from Elk Grove,” Stanley told the Trustees. “Another school year has started, and nothing has been done to rectify the damage done to Black students.

Stanley claimed last school year, the BLYP expressed a desire to work with the district to address concerns but was ignored.

Stanley concluded her comments by saying, “we know the district will tell you anything to try to appease you, but as you can see, they are not in the business of truly making a drastic change because that would take, courage.”

Following Stanley, Pryor started her remarks by asking Trustees and administrators a rhetorical question.

“Why did you get into this business,” Pryor queried.

After a long pause, Pryor continued by saying people claim to enter the education field because they care about children.

“That is not evident to me,” she said.

Stanley and Pryor’s full commentary can be viewed in the video below.