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(FOX40.COM) — On Thursday, at the Sacramento City Unified School District Board of Education meeting, community members called for the termination of President Jasjit Singh. This announcement comes as tensions continue to rise surrounding the removal of two prominent teachers — Jeanine Rupert and Mark Henrikson — at Phoebe Hearst Elementary School.
Emotions at the meeting ranged from heartbroken students who said they miss their teachers, to pure anger from parents who said they were fed up with the district leaders and what they’re calling their lack of transparency.
FOX40 spoke with people in attendance including Leia Wallace. Wallace has a son currently at Phoebe Hearst Elementary School. She said when she first moved to the community, she immediately saw the school as a safe space.
“The energy and the feeling you get when you walk in that campus… it was home,” Wallace said. “And it’s like taking the heart and soul out of this place.”
According to many people in the Sacramento City Unified School District, Phoebe Hearst Elementary School isn’t about pencils and assemblies.
“I feel like we need Mr. Henrikson and Ms. Rupert to thrive,” one student told FOX40.
Chea Kim and his younger sister Amy have a deep history with the school. They said the teachers are a critical part of the education process. Chea said he had Ms. Rupert as a teacher last year, so he was hoping to visit her this year. Ever since he learned she was no longer with the school, the student said he has been fighting for change and asking district leaders to help.
“It’s different from, like, listening and hearing,” the now 7th grader said. “[The Board of Education] heard what we said, but they weren’t truly listening to us.”
Phoebe Hearst parents told FOX40 that nearly 250 students missed school Monday morning — standing in solidarity with Rupert and Henrikson.
There are still many unanswered questions surrounding the beloved teachers’ removals. The school district removed the two long-term teachers from their classrooms this semester. According to the district’s board of education, this is a “human resources” concern, but parents said it feels like retribution. While the school district has yet to answer questions directly from our team about the circumstances leading to either teachers’ removal, parents told FOX40 that this entire incident stems from Rupert removing a ripped carpet from her classroom without formal approval. They said Rupert believed it was dangerous because students had tripped over it in the past. Parents added that there were concerns it could have been a source of fleas residual from a past flea outbreak.
“My daughter actually tripped on it,” Wallace said. “So it was a tripping hazard.”
Caitlin Beckett has been an advocate for the two teachers since everything first unfolded. She also attended Thursday’s meeting to speak.
“It is crazy,” Beckett said. “It’s a teacher who is trying to make her classroom better — safer.”
Around 24 parents publicly demanded change at Thursday night’s board of education meeting. At the end of Beckett’s public comment time, she served President Jasjit Singh with a notice of intent to recall, or remove, him from office.
“If you won’t do your job, we will remove you and elect someone else,” Beckett said.
This bold action resulted in waves of applause from the audience, but was met with minimal reaction from the board members.
Thursday morning, prior to the meeting, the school district held firm on their stance. In a statement, the district’s superintendent said the Sacramento City Unified District Board of Education remains confident in their personnel process.
“I’m proud to be a Phoebe [Hearst Elementary School] parent,” Wallace said. “I’m not proud to be a Sac City Unified parent. It’s embarrassing.”
The superintendent also said, in a message to parents, that the board is not changing any decisions — implying leaders did not regret nor plant to soon-reverse Rupert’s location re-assignment and Henrikson’s administrative leave.
However, students told FOX40 they are still hopeful and ready for their teachers’ return.
“Bring miss Rupert back. Yeah, bring miss Rupert back,” students chanted.
“I really hope the board actually listens to us this time,” Chea said. “Because last time, they kind of brushed us off.”
Now that President Singh has been served, parents told FOX40 that they will begin petitioning to have him removed. If they get the required number of signatures — approximately 20% of district constituents — things could head to the polls, at which point the decision will be up to voters.
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