A teacher and a state attorney are running for Sacramento’s open school board seat, Area 1

Three seats on the Sacramento City Unified School District Board of Trustees are on the ballot this fall. The election follows an eight-day strike that shut schools earlier this year and two years of learning under pandemic restrictions.

Area 1 is an open race with two first-time candidates on the ballot. Incumbent Lisa Murawski chose not to seek reelection.

The candidates vying to succeed Murawski are Tara Jeane, a high school teacher who works in Lincoln; and Anna Molander, a deputy attorney general and former Sacramento planning commissioner.

The district they’re running to represent covers the Land Park, Hollywood Park, much of midtown and downtown.

Tara Jeane

Party: Democratic

Age: 41

Birthplace: Santa Cruz

Residence: Sacramento

Occupation: Teacher

Education: Bachelor’s degree in English education

Offices held: n/a

Campaign website address: Tara4SacCity.org

If elected, how would you address labor issues in the district that led to April’s teacher and staff strike?

I work in a school district where adults come together to address our issues. My experience shows that labor-management collaboration leads to a healthy, thriving school district. On the SCUSD School Board, I will expect our school district to engage personally with our labor partners, not use outside consultants or lawyers for labor relations. We need to work together to address staffing shortages and ensure that monies are spent on the students that generated them. It is up to the school board to demand that our investment in our schools has the return of student success.

What should the district do to improve conditions for Black staff members and students who said they’ve experienced ongoing harassment on campus?

This problem goes so much farther than ongoing harassment. Black students are overidentified in Special Education programs and underrepresented in specialized and advanced programs. Black boys and girls are more likely to get into trouble for behavior that doesn’t get their white peers into trouble, which leads to suspension and expulsion rates disproportionate to population percentages. Black teachers are not only underrepresented, but report experiencing harassment. We know that students succeed when teachers look like them. To improve conditions, the district should establish a focused effort on recruiting staff who reflect the diversity of our community. They also should provide comprehensive, mandatory, and ongoing implicit bias and anti-racist training so current staff is empowered to do better by both students and colleagues. These actions can shift SCUSD culture.

What can the district do to attract more families and students after recent enrollment declines?

As I chat with community members, I consistently hear deep concern that something in Sac City is just not working. The district doesn’t appear to be well run and is not seen as an attractive place for students or staff. While ongoing controversies have resulted in loss of trust, declining enrollment, and a hiring crisis, the district has not publicized its wide range of educational opportunities for students. For example, SCUSD currently offers: dual immersion programs in Spanish, Cantonese, Mandarin, and Hmong; public Waldorf inspired schools from kindergarten to high school; small high schools that focus on internships, science and engineering, and health professionals; and Career Technical Education (CTE) that includes construction and building trades. SCUSD is also developing a Universal Transitional Kindergarten program as well as before and after school wrap around programs to support students. These are incredible opportunities for both students and teachers! As a board member, I will celebrate our current successes and work with the community to meet unmet needs. By restoring trust, I hope to attract teachers and thereby attract families to SCUSD.

Anna Molander

Party: Democratic

Age: 49

Birthplace: Chicago Heights, Illinois

Residence: Sacramento

Occupation: Deputy attorney general

Education: UC Hastings College of Law, Juris Doctorate; Cornell University, bachelor of science degree

Offices held: No elected offices; formerly commissioner, City of Sacramento Planning and Design Commission

Campaign website address: www.AnnaFights4Kids.com

If elected, how would you address labor issues in the district that led to April’s teacher and staff strike?

We need to re-establish community trust so we can all work together to provide a great education for all our kids. We need to work on trust between the administration and labor partners and between the District and the community. To do that, the District needs to deliver on its promises and be a reliable and accurate source of information for parents, caregivers, families, students, and the community. Once we’ve re-established trust, we can begin the task of resolving the underlying issues.

What should the district do to improve conditions for Black staff members and students who said they’ve experienced ongoing harassment on campus?

Our District needs an unambiguous zero tolerance policy on harassment that is backed up by action. We need to start with the following: (1) stop the use of out of school expulsions/suspensions; (2) conduct implicit bias training for administrators, teachers, staff, students, and parents/community members (The Black Parallel School Board has a great training.); (3) make a concerted effort to hire and support more Black staff members; and (4) ensure students have sufficient onsite supports for dealing with harassment and microaggressions at all levels and include our Black Student organizations in developing programs to support students.

What can the district do to attract more families and students after recent enrollment declines?

SCUSD has a huge number of successful specialty programs that, if advertised even a smidgen, would be a draw for families who commute to downtown. (And, one of the issues I am working on right now, make RT far more accessible so that students can go to middle and high school outside their neighborhoods.)

More important, we need to create a far more stable and reliable District. Families flee because of the numerous uncertainties and roadblocks with sending children to SCUSD. Let’s stabilize our District so families will come back and celebrate the many successes our District holds.