Hundreds of Sacramento High students show support for school amid ‘concerning’ audit report

It was standing room only in the Serna Center Thursday night as hundreds of students, parents and teachers showed up to advocate for the charter renewal of St. Hope schools.

The Sacramento City Unified School District board held hearings surrounding the renewal of three charters within the district: Growth Public Schools, PS7 and Sacramento Charter High School.

The latter two schools, operated by St. Hope Public Schools, came under fire following the release of an audit report which alleged a range of major violations plaguing St. Hope Public Schools, including conflicts of interests among its top officers, improper use of public funding, deficient accounting processes and the employment of a largely unqualified teaching staff.

Sacramento City Unified School District Superintendent Lisa Allen, who penned the letter containing the report, wrote that the violations could affect the schools’ ability to renew its charter this year.

This threat to the schools’ existence may be what brought St. Hope families in droves Thursday night. The St. Hope schools community filled the room from wall to wall, donning their bright purple (Sacramento Charter High) or brick red (PS7) T-shirts, jerseys and polos that read “WE ARE FAMILY” in bold letters.

During the hearing, St. Hope Public Schools Superintendent Lisa Ruda, board president Cassandra Jennings and other school administrators presented on the success of St. Hope schools, touting recognition by the state for its higher test scores and college acceptance rates among traditionally underserved groups, particularly Black students.

Ruda concluded her presentation on PS7 with an acknowledgment of the report, promising to fully respond to the concern in the letter by the deadline of Aug. 26.

Around a dozen parents, teachers and students spoke directly to the board about their positive experiences with St. Hope schools.

“Sacramento Charter High School is more than a place to work. It’s a place where you can make a real difference, grow professionally, be part of a caring and committed family,” teacher Brad Bernstein said. “I also urge you to vote yes on the Sacramento Charter High School renewal so that we can continue working towards our mission and vision to provide Black and brown students with a robust and inclusive education that specifically prepares them for college attendance.”

Following his comments, Bernstein presented 400 letters of support he gathered to the board.

Reconciling stories of success and troubling audit report

The following board discussion centered around the board members’ attempt to square the outpouring of enthusiasm and support in the room with the troubling results of the audit.

“I have to reconcile in my own mind the many, many people who are sharing success stories and the many anecdotal stories that have come out that concern me and hurt my heart,” board member Tara Jeane said. “Because the truth is, students deserve to have the public funds that are meant for them. And in my interpretation, that means that money is to spend as close to the classroom as possible.”

Jeane was unhappy with Ruda’s response to her questions surrounding the key challenges the charter organization was facing. Ruda response to her question centered around encouraging students to attend school, increasing enrollment and growing programs to better performance outcomes, and Jean took issue with the fact that the superintendent did not speak to any of the concerns raised in the report.

Other board members shared a similar sentiment. Jasjit Singh spoke about his commitment to balance the positive sentiments he heard with the content of the report and said that he looked forward to seeing St. Hope’s response to the audit report.

“Understand that decision in September, for me, is not necessarily a decision of approval or denial, it’s a decision to see if we are actually going to step forward in community and actually find a way to proactively improve outcomes for our students,” Singh said.

The board will make their decision about all three charter schools’ renewals at the Sept. 19 board meeting.

This story was originally published August 9, 2024 at 5:00 AM.

Jennah Pendleton

The Sacramento Bee

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Jennah Pendleton is an education reporter for The Sacramento Bee. She previously covered schools and culture in the San Francisco Bay Area. She grew up in Orange County and is a graduate of the University of Oregon.