Natomas School Board Faces Critics

BY EMILY MIBACH, NP3 INTERN
THE NATOMAS BUZZ | @natomasbuzz

A handful of picketing Witter Ranch Elementary School students set the tone for Wednesday night’s Natomas Unified school board meeting.

The students marched outside the Natomas High School theater, where the meeting was held, holding signs protesting layoffs of their P.E. and art teachers as well as raises for school district administrators at the board meeting on Feb. 28.

More than half the theater seats were filled with teachers and students from all over the district who planned to speak during the public comment. Some were turned away, however, when the public comment period were limited to the first 20 speakers who turned in comment cards.

“I don’t believe two minutes is enough, but I’ll give as much as I can,” Natomas High student Christopher Yee said.

Nearly all comments demanded school board members recognize teachers for their efforts in the classroom and called for unity between teachers and schools and between the school board and the rest of the district it oversees.

Calls were also made by several longtime teachers in the district, 5th graders from Witter Ranch Elementary School, and student school board member Brian Levingston who reminded trustees to fulfill promises made while running for election.

Natomas High student Savneet Takhar reprimanded board members for not attending positive events at the high school campus. Shortly after public comments finished – after more than an hour of testimony – most of the crowd left the meeting.

(Read our “Cover It Live” transcript from the meeting here.)