Elk Grove Unified Loses 110 Minutes of Zoom Board Meeting; Public Commentary Gone

EGUSD Zoom Virtual Platform

Elk Grove Tribune was in attendance at its monthly board meeting hosted on Zoom Tuesday evening January 18.

There were public comments about the discipline rates among Black students within the district. By contrast, the level 3 lock-down at Consumnes Oaks High School was, again, referenced. Many came to seek justice for the family of student, Ariana Washington, and others addressed below living wages for Para-educators.

As the meeting progressed, public comments increased in urgency for the district to make notable changes to disciplinary protocols. Importantly, community members are demanding answers. They want school officials to take accountability for their actions, and inconsistent leadership. Many people in the community expressed anger and discontent with school personnel.

Minutes Lost

After the meeting adjourned, the district announced that, “110 minutes of the virtual board meeting were lost.” This included all of the public comments. The district’s YouTube channel shows a version of the meeting that omits all public commentary. The recording starts with an agenda item led by Food and Nutrition Services.

What remains in question is how the District lost those 110 minutes of the recorded Zoom meeting.

Below are excerpts that EGT was able to obtain from the public comments:

Public Comments From Concerned Community Members

“Our district has the responsibility to provide a safe space for all children on all campuses. We continue to hear stories about Black children being targeted, and not fully welcomed. Is it any wonder that we remain number 1 in the state for disproportionate discipline? Teachers, Administrators, and frankly all adults must build a bridge to help our kids heal from racial trauma, and do the work to connect and build relationships.”
-Erin Somers, Elk Grove resident

“I appreciate the time to come in front of the board and the District Leadership. I stand in solidarity and partnership with the Washington Family. They have been coming to this meeting for months requesting justice for their daughter regarding the events that took place at Katherine Albiani Middle School. We are all aware of the events that took place related to Ariana being locked out of the locker room, and being forced to change clothes outdoors. This was a very traumatic event for Ariana and her parents.”
-Joel Boyd, Elk Grove resident

Public Comments From Local Youth Advocates

“My name is Exquisitive Hundley. I am an advocate with Black Youth Leadership Project. I want to address the egregious behavior of several staff and administrators when it comes to disciplinary actions against Black students. The oversight and lack of accountability, common sense and “investigation” measures of said incidents that involved Black students. J’alen Flenory and Ariana Washington are two of our babies that have been traumatized by your administration and nothing has been done to rectify the trauma inflicted on these babies.”
-Exquisitive Hundley, Black Youth Leadership Project

Community members are demanding the opportunity to speak their allotted 3 minutes plus the minutes that were lost at the next EGUSD school board meeting on February 1