Community meeting to discuss ideas to improve Stege Elementary

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West Contra Costa Unified School District (WCCUSD) Superintendent Kenneth C. Hurst Sr. announced in an email that the Stege Elementary School campus will temporarily close for a rebuild and that the school's students and staff will be relocated for the start of the 2024-25 school year. "This will ensure the safety of students and staff, and allow our facilities department to begin the Stege rebuild project ahead of schedule," Hurst said. "WCCUSD will implement a contingency plan until Stege students and staff are able to return to their newly remodeled campus." The announcement comes in the wake of a lawsuit filed against the WCCUSD citing long-running poor building conditions at Stege, as well as ongoing teacher vacancy issues at Stege, Helms Middle, and Kennedy High School. These conditions violate the rights of students to the "basic tools necessary for a quality education," according to Public Advocates, a civil rights law firm that filed the lawsuit with help from pro bono counsel Munger, Tolles & Olson. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of six educators, staff and parents, is the first brought under the Williams v. California settlement. The settlement empowers families, students and teachers to file an administrative complaint with school personnel and require a remedy within 30 days and a response within 45 days, according to Public Advocates. Public Advocates says the WCCUSD failed to properly resolve complaints about school conditions within the 30-day timeline. Its petitioners demand immediate remedies to the stated violations, saying poor campus conditions lead to high turnover among educators. According to reporting by EdSource, Superintendent Hurst stated at a recent board meeting that the district human resources team is working hard to fill hundreds of open positions, including 76 elementary teacher roles, 23 secondary teacher roles, 13 special education teacher roles and 247 classified positions, mostly paraprofessionals. 
Stege Elementary at 4949 Cypress Ave. in Richmond.

Help West Contra Costa Unified School District “re-imagine” Richmond’s Stege Elementary.

Families are asked to join the district’s Board of Education in a community conversation on ways to better serve Stege Elementary School students and their families on Tuesday, Feb. 26.

The conversation will run from 6:30 pm-8 pm at DeJean Middle School, 3400 Macdonald Ave. in Richmond.

“Parents, students and community members are invited to attend a Board of Education Study Session where they can give their input on what kind of school best serves the needs of the students and families.”

Families can also take a survey at www.wccusd.net/stegesurvey.

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