School & District Management

Kevin Johnson Eyes Role in Sacramento Schools

By Dakarai I. Aarons — May 25, 2010 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Kevin Johnson, the former NBA star who is now mayor of Sacramento, Calif., is angling to have more influence over how his city’s schools are run.

Johnson, who is engaged to District of Columbia Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee, told the Sacramento Bee that he is paying close attention to who decides to run for school board this fall, and will even recruit candidates himself if he doesn’t like who is in the race.

California law keeps mayors from running school districts, but that hasn’t stopped Johnson from making his own mark in Sacramento education.

He’s a charter school founder, and in December, he started a new nonprofit, called STAND UP for Sacramento Schools. That venture, funded in part with seed money from the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, will support the growth of new schools and create a report card to grade Sacramento schools.

Meanwhile, Rhee, who was in Sacramento yesterday, spoke in favor of allowing mayoral control in California.

Related Tags:

A version of this news article first appeared in the District Dossier blog.