Sacramento district made St. Hope board member resign. She’s back at the school

After being forced to resign from the board of St. Hope Public Schools last year, Cassandra Jennings has returned to leadership within the charter school — serving in an interim “triumvirate” alongside two other administrators following the former superintendent’s recent death.

Sacramento City Unified School District, the school’s charter authorizer that mandated her resignation as a part of its charter renewal agreement with the school last year, was unaware of her renewed involvement until recently and said that the issue will be addressed.

Jennings was compelled to step down last year in the wake of a third-party audit investigation that alleged a range of major violations plaguing the charter school — including conflicts of interest among its top officers, improper use of public funding, deficient accounting processes and the employment of a largely unqualified teaching staff.

Then-Board Chair Jennings was cited by the auditor for a potential conflict of interest because of her dual roles on the board and as CEO of St. Hope Academy and St. Hope Development Company, two related but separate nonprofits that provide back office services for the school. Jennings was paid $190,840 in 2023, according to the nonprofit’s 990 filing.

The school’s leaders insisted that Jennings engaged in no illegal or immoral behavior in her dual role, but Jennings resigned from the board Sept. 30, according to St. Hope board meeting minutes.

“Despite the fact that I took that role after seeking legal guidance to ensure it was proper and did not pose a conflict of interest, my dual role is being mischaracterized,” Jennings wrote in her resignation letter. “A misguided narrative about my involvement with the school board is complicating the charter renewal process for PS7 and Sacramento Charter High School, and taking the spotlight away from the great work the schools are doing each and every day.”

Lisa Ruda, who had served as St. Hope Public Schools’ superintendent since summer 2022, died of cancer on May 1. To act in Ruda’s role until a replacement can be found, the St. Hope Public Schools Executive Committee voted May 13 to establish an interim leadership team to take over Ruda’s job.

Jennings is one of the three leaders — she is tasked with managing the administrative functions of the school. Current Director of Operations Elisha Ferguson Parsons will handle day-to-day and academic operations, while former Superintendent Jim Scheible will oversee “special projects,” namely agreements between the school and the district.

Why Sacramento City Unified is concerned about Jennings in charge

SCUSD spokesperson Alexander Goldberg said that the district was not made aware that Jennings assumed this role. He said that following Ruda’s death, the district reached out to St. Hope to ask about interim leadership. Board Chair Carolyn Veal-Hunter responded that Ferguson and Scheible would be their points of contact, and that Jennings would provide some support.

Goldberg said that there was no further communication on the matter, and that they learned of her role after reviewing public St. Hope board meeting minutes.

“SCUSD does have concerns that Cassandra Jennings participating as part of a leadership triumvirate would not align with the spirit and intent of the District’s notice to cure and St. HOPE’s corresponding written response, aiming to reduce potential conflicts of interest.”

Goldberg said that the issue will be addressed in a new draft of a memorandum of understanding that will be presented to the board next week. The district board rejected the staff’s last version of the MOU, asking that more conditions be added to the document following the Sacramento Bee’s investigation into allegations that a Sacramento High football coach partied with students.

Ferguson Parsons said that the interim leadership plan allowed St. Hope to serve students and provided the board time to approve a more formal leadership structure for the next school year while undertaking a search process to replace the superintendent. She did not immediately respond to an inquiry about whether the triumvirate will remain in place until a permanent superintendent is hired.

She said that nothing has changed about the contractual relationship between St. Hope Public Schools and St. Hope Academy, and that Jennings does not receive any compensation from the school.

“It has always been the case, and continues to be so, that the St. HOPE Public Schools board approves any contracts with (St. Hope Academy) and (St. Hope Development Company),” Ferguson Parson said. “Ms. Jennings has no conflicts of interest and does not approve contracts with (St. Hope Public Schools).”

St. Hope’s main argument in its defense of Jennings last year was that she recused herself from discussions and votes pertaining to contracts between the school and the nonprofits she led. In an Aug. 24 response to the district’s notice, Ruda wrote that she led the discussion and advised the board that the scope of work and cost were set by school staff and that Jennings did not advise or engage with her about it.

Now, Jennings holds a leadership position that encompasses some of Ruda’s responsibilities.

St. Hope plans to commence a search for a replacement superintendent by October, and identified June 2026 as the goal for appointing someone permanently, according to June 6 board meeting minutes.

This story was originally published June 18, 2025 at 5:29 PM.

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.