![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/SAC_0083_PK_20260415_CARVER.JPG\" "\\"The")
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The exterior of George Washington Carver School of Arts and Science in Rancho Cordova on Wednesday, April 15, 2026.<\/p>\n
PAUL KITAGAKI JR.<\/p>\n
pkitagaki@sacbee.com<\/p>\n
After years of struggle and declining enrollment, the end could be coming for George Washington Carver School of Arts and Sciences.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, the Sacramento City Unified School District Board of Education is set to consider closing the school at 10101 Systems Parkway in Rancho Cordova, according to a meeting agenda for the board.<\/p>\n
Carver, one of five dependent charter schools in the district and a public Waldorf high school, has lost around half of its students in recent years. It has also witnessed a staff exodus and is projected to become insolvent during the 2026-27 school, with a deficit of $388,211. The deficit represents around 15% of the school\u2019s $2.5 million budget.<\/p>\n
\u201cCharter schools, under law, are required to be financially solvent because there\u2019s no broader entity to bail them out if they run out of money,\u201d said Amanda Goldman, SCUSD\u2019s director of innovative schools. \u201cSo with a charter school, you either have enough money or somebody has to give you more money.\u201d<\/p>\n
The district has the option, as outlined in the board\u2019s agenda for Thursday, to give Carver money to help it out of its budget jam. But funds are tight at SCUSD, <\/p>\n Phil Roberto said he felt terrible about leaving Carver roughly two years ago. Roberto taught art at the school for more than 15 years and helped establish it as a Waldorf school.<\/p>\n \u201cI would have loved nothing more than to do my entire career at Carver,\u201d said Roberto, who now teaches at West Campus in Sacramento. \u201cI bought my house only a mile and a half away from Carver. I\u2019m definitely part of the community.\u201d<\/p>\n He is far from the only person to leave Carver in recent years.<\/p>\n In Roberto\u2019s day, the school had 275 students consistently, with enrollment reaching as many as 325 students. Carver had 150 students as of last week, according to Yvonne Spruell, the school\u2019s registrar. It needs 190 students to generate a small surplus, according to information included in Thursday\u2019s school board agenda.<\/p>\n Spruell blames the enrollment drop on the school\u2019s current leadership.<\/p>\n The principal, LaNiecia Kobelt, said Tuesday that she was \u201cnot allowed to talk to the news\u201d without district permission. SCUSD spokesperson Al Goldberg said Kobelt was free speak with the media. A subsequent call to Kobelt went to voicemail.<\/p>\n According to Kobelt\u2019s LinkedIn page, she has been principal of Carver since September 2021, leading the \u201csmall, arts-integrated Waldorf-inspired high school through fiscal hardship, staffing transitions, and community rebuilding.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Roberto said he was one of the teachers who left because of Kobelt. He said the same 12 teachers were at the school for more than a decade, but within a year of Kobelt becoming principal, eight teachers departed and enrollment fell from 270 to 168.<\/p>\n \u201cShe would not let me speak in meetings,\u201d Roberto said about Kobelt. \u201cEvery time I spoke, she would interrupt me and cut me off. So I stopped sharing, I stopped speaking.\u201d<\/p>\n Roberto cited Kobelt\u2019s management style as one of the reasons for Carver\u2019s decline in enrollment, but not the only factor. He noted that secondary schools statewide have drawn fewer students since the pandemic, with more students opting for independent study.<\/p>\n Others who\u2019ve left Carver in recent years have also clashed with Kobelt.<\/p>\n Maryna Kravchuk, a Carver alum, worked as an office technician at the school for about a year. She left last November. \u201cShe may have had good intentions in a way,\u201d Kravchuk said of Kobelt. \u201cBut she was very disorganized. It was kind of very hard to see a project through with her.\u201d<\/p>\n Kelli Hirabayashi used to do campus security for Carver before moving to Rosemont High School. She criticized the principal for a range of factors including poor communication and playing favorites.<\/p>\n The Waldorf approach emphasizes individualized learning with an emphasis on the arts and hands-on outdoor learning activities, according the Waldorf Education website.<\/a><\/p>\n Under Kobelt\u2019s watch the school renewed its Waldorf charter, but some have questioned the school\u2019s ability to live up to the standards of the Waldorf system.<\/p>\n Rochelle Reed ran Carver\u2019s after-school program through a nonprofit during the 2024-25 academic year. She said Kobelt declined to bring her back at the end of the school year and she now works at a different school.<\/p>\n Reed had previously taught at another Waldorf-oriented Sacramento school for several years and had trained with Kobelt\u2019s predecessor and longtime Carver principal Allegra Alessandri Pfeifer. What Reed saw when she got to Carver struck her.<\/p>\n \u201cWaldorf education wasn\u2019t happening,\u201d Reed said.<\/p>\n The agenda for SCUSD\u2019s board meeting on Thursday presents three options for Carver: closure, which would take effect June 30; allowing Carver to operate for the 2026-27 school year, with SCUSD potentially contributing $200,000 to $400,000; and deferring the decision, which isn\u2019t recommended.<\/p>\n Current and former staff interviewed for this story have generally resigned themselves to the fact that Carver will shut down.<\/p>\n \u201cI am really saddened to say that I think it will be closing, and I think it\u2019s really in the best interest,\u201d Reed said. \u201cIt cannot be a Waldorf school, that\u2019s for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n To this point, Carver has drawn students from different geographic areas, with an ability to help students who\u2019ve had behavioral issues.<\/p>\n The district surveyed parents of Carver students about what they would if the school closed. Of the 76 students who live within SCUSD limits, only 15 were likely to attend the school near their homes.<\/p>\n \u201cThe school is actually really wonderful,\u201d Spruell said of Carver. \u201cIt\u2019s a good school that\u2019s needed by certain students who can\u2019t fit in at those bigger, comprehensive high schools.\u201d<\/p>\n Reed is passionate about Waldorf education.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m a firm believer in the model of meeting young people where they\u2019re at developmentally and guiding them and learning with them,\u201d Reed said.<\/p>\n Kravchuk said she was saddened, noting she had a daughter who is entering middle school. She isn\u2019t surprised Carver could close, though she also hasn\u2019t lost all hope.<\/p>\n \u201cI just really hope you know that it can be brought back as a good school for the community and for the students in the area,\u201d Kravchuk said. \u201cBecause I know it can be a good school for them.\u201d<\/p>\n Related Stories from Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/SAC_0050_PK_20260415_CARVER.JPG\" "\\"SAC_0050_PK_20260415_CARVER.JPG\\"")
The exterior of George Washington Carver School of Arts and Science in Rancho Cordova on Wednesday. PAUL KITAGAKI JR. pkitagaki@sacbee.com Why students and staff have left Carver in recent years<\/p>\n![\"George](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_RP_PSAT_Jade_studies_2_1_MG63RFDC_L170155264.JPG\" "\\"IMG_RP_PSAT_Jade_studies_2_1_MG63RFDC_L170155264.JPG\\"")
George Washington Carver School of Arts and Science students go over study material in Rancho Cordova in 2015. RANDY PENCH Sacramento Bee file <\/p>\n![\"Former](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_RP_PSAT_principal_4_1_6H63RFEB_L170202901.JPG\" "\\"IMG_RP_PSAT_principal_4_1_6H63RFEB_L170202901.JPG\\"")
Former George Washington Carver School of Arts and Science principal Allegra Alessandri goes over the rules before students begin the PSAT test in 2015. RANDY PENCH Sacramento Bee file \u2018A good school that\u2019s needed by certain students\u2019<\/p>\n
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