Parents express ongoing frustration with Elk Grove Unified School District Trustees, administrators
One parent says they are just performing
During the Tuesday, February 21, 2023, meeting of the Elk Grove Unified School District Trustees, several parents spoke during the public comment portion.
While the parents covered topics including bullying of students at Sheldon High Schoo, district-wide racial discrimination, and the discontinuation of a program for at-need children, there was a common theme. Each parent expressed frustration with the inaction by EGUSD administrators and Trustees to address these ongoing problems.
Speaking on behalf of the EG Speaks group, Brandon Morgan noted the Trustees approved a proclamation recognizing Disability Awareness Month.
“As a district, we should be asking ourselves, if we approve resolutions, what are we doing to improve the lives of those who are being recognized by these months,” Morgan said.
He added, “I want to make sure that when we pass these resolutions that it is no longer performative, but the action behind those words.”
Morgan and another parent from EG Speaks who spoke, Dustin Noble, are pushing the district to provide information and justification for the district’s discontinuation of the Inclusive Education Program. The district discontinued without informing parents at the start of the school year.
Other speakers included Lisa Stanley and Loreen Pryor of the Black Youth Leadership Project. Both parents have been regular speakers at trustee meetings and have pressed the district to address what they argue has been institutional discrimination against Black students.
During her comments, Lorren Pryor said he agreed with Morgan’s assessment of the performative nature of the trustees and administrators.
“We are tired of waiting for you all to do something about what’s going on on your campuses,” Pryor said.
District trustees and administrators could not respond to the comments because they were not on the meeting agenda.
The speakers can be seen in the video below.
0:00 Parent 1 Jennifer Ariano – students being bullied at Sheldon High School
3:20 Parent 2 Brandon Morgan
5:02 Parent 3 Dustin Nobles
8:13 Parent 4 Lisa Stanley, Black Youth Leadership Project
10:14 Parent 4 Lorren Pryor
13:14 Parent 5 Exquisitve Huntley
