MEETING THE EDUCATIONAL CHALLENGES OF OUR NEIGHBORHOODS

By Sam Ciraulo

For far too long, the educational needs of our neighborhoods have been neglected. Here's my plan to meet the needs of our neighborhoods:

These areas will grow rapidly over the next five years, yet Los Rios only offers limited classes in these communities through our local outreach center at Natomas High School.

Let's expand conveniently scheduled classes so that working men and women can update the skills they need to remain competitive in their jobs without having to sacrifice quality time with their families!

NORTH SACRAMENTO/DEL PASO HEIGHTS

A single mother moving from welfare-to-work must take two buses and light rail just to get to the closest campus. Our campus childcare facilities are limited - in fact, at American River College this semester, there were over 300 applicants for only 96 positions.

Let's work with Regional Transit to provide more direct public transportation to campus from our poorest neighborhoods - and we can do it without raising taxes!

NORTH HIGHLANDS/McCLELLAN

Let's not penalize McClellan workers for their years of government service! Let's apply their years of experience towards a fast-track certificate so they can compete for jobs in the public marketplace.

THROUGHOUT SACRAMENTO COUNTY thousands of high-tech, high-paying jobs go vacant each year because our district has not trained enough workers for these positions. Let's work with local business to target specific high-growth occupations and meet their demand for highly-skilled workers!