McKinley East Sacramento Neighborhood Association (MENA)

Kit Carson may be converted to “small” high school

May 31, 2006

Neighbors have banded together to oppose a proposal to convert Kit Carson Middle School into a high school. The conversion is designed to satisfy a lawsuit resulting from the closing of the old Sacramento High and it?’s reopening as a charter school. The lawsuit settlement requires the district to establish a comprehensive high school within two miles of the old Sacramento High attendance boundaries. Kit Carson, located at 5301 N Street, is within that boundary and is the first choice of the district.
Those living in the neighborhood surrounding Kit Carson disagree with the SCUSD staff decision.
Among the major concerns are:
Lack of public input - The district did not solicit any public comment prior to the decision and there is no evidence that any community meetings would have been held prior to the school board vote if not for the efforts of neighbors and the school.
Unfair to current students and parents - Kit Carson has improved API scores by over 50 points in the last year. Kit Carson is a model for schools around the state trying to improve test scores. There could be detrimental effects from forcing current students to move to other schools or from mixing them with older high school students.
Lack of vision for the new high school - The district hasn?’t provided a comprehensive plan for the proposed school. Kit Carson is too small to accommodate all of the facilities necessary to support the activities of a high school.
Traffic and safety ?– The neighborhood streets around the school can?’t handle increased traffic. M Street is a designated bike lane and has substantial bike and pedestrian traffic. Additional traffic may place pedestrians and bikers at increased risk.

SCUSD has discussed the issue and heard comments from the public at their April board meetings. School board meetings are scheduled for May 4th and 18th but no agenda has been set.
The MENA board voted to oppose the conversion of Kit Carson into a high school at the April MENA board meeting.
More information about the proposed conversion can be found at the district?’s website, www.scusd.edu, or at www.savekitcarson.com.