I’m not your stepping stone…

A story in today’s Sacramento Bee highlights the city council race for District 5. It’s an informative article that features the rise of SCUSD trustee, Patrick Kennedy, who was elected in 2008. He ran unopposed.

Kennedy’s opponent in the race is Jay Schenirer, a former SCUSD trustee.

The underlying nuance in the article fails to mention that Kennedy’s position on the school board appears only to have served him as a political stepping stone for a higher ambition.

Conversely, Schenirer’s history on the school board (and the decisions he made regarding Sacramento Charter High School) may serve as a stumbling block.

If Kennedy’s seat on the board is vacated because he is elected to a higher office, his replacement needs to be singly devoted to helping our district solve problems and find solutions to the current devastating budget crisis. Instead of spending time raising money for a city council candidacy, he or she needs to be building consensus and focusing on the issues affecting our schools.