![\"Edward](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/DSC06710-1024x576.jpg.webp.webp\")
Edward Kelley preschool on 3340 Bradshaw Road in Sacramento. (Denis Akbari)<\/p>\nThe Abridged version:<\/p>\n
Edward Kelley Preschool in Rosemont is set to close, as the Sacramento City Unified School District weighs millions of dollars in budget cuts.<\/p>\n
Parent participation preschool, where parents volunteer in the classroom, occurs on two campuses. A district spokesperson said the cost deficit for Edward Kelley\u2019s program is higher than its counterpart at Tahoe Elementary.<\/p>\n
The school district has hoped to keep the district\u2019s budget cuts as far from students as possible, but parents and experts have cast doubt on that likelihood. Families have petitioned the district for more time, and the preschool\u2019s only staff teacher has offered to forgo some of her compensation.<\/p>\n
Edward Kelley Preschool, one of two sites in the Sacramento Unified School District where parents get directly involved in the education and care of their young children, is set to close.<\/p>\n
Its demise would end more than a century and a half of operations at the historic schoolhouse that houses the program in Rosemont.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt used to be referred to as the crown jewel of the district at one point,\u201d said Amanda Chapman, the preschool\u2019s only teacher on staff. \u201cBut sadly, it\u2019s been forgotten about.\u201d<\/p>\n
In parent participation preschool, parents of toddlers and children volunteer in the classroom, help plan and run day-to-day activities. Many adults come away with their own education in parenting skills, Chapman said.<\/p>\n
However, due to program enrollment concerns and a multimillion-dollar budget crisis at Sacramento City Unified, Edward Kelley faces the chopping block. Parents of current preschoolers say the possibility leaves them in the lurch and would deprive future families the same opportunity.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe parents who come through this program are the parents who end up being involved\u00a0in PTOs and PTAs and going on field trips,\u201d said Alison Alexander, mom of three. \u201cSchools do not function without those parents.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Budget cuts hit<\/p>\n
Sacramento City Unified leaders have spent months looking for more than $100 million worth of budget cuts. <\/p>\n
Since the district\u2019s fiscal crisis first became apparent last fall, staff and school board members vowed to keep the impacts as far from students as possible. But parents and experts have cast doubt on that likelihood, given the depth of cuts needed and the very nature of a public school system.<\/p>\n
All parent-participation preschool classes were on the original elimination list, as of mid-November when staff first proposed a fiscal recovery plan to trustees. Two campuses \u2014 Edward Kelley and Tahoe Elementary School \u2014 offer the fee-based program.<\/p>\n
However, when board members approved that plan in their Nov. 20 meeting, they decided to cut Edward Kelly and retain Tahoe.<\/p>\n
Preschool has high cost deficit<\/p>\n
The district\u2019s stabilization plan has changed several times since November, amid staff turnover and leadership turmoil. But the elimination of Edward Kelley Preschool has stuck through each round of revisions.<\/p>\n
Parent participation preschool is meant to be a self-sustaining program, dependent on tuition revenue, said Al Goldberg, a spokesperson for Sacramento City Unified. Declining enrollment, exacerbated by the expansion of transitional kindergarten, means both campuses are falling short, he said.<\/p>\n
There are 15 students at Edward Kelley, which offers one morning class, Monday through Friday. At Tahoe, there are 14 preschoolers in the five-day course, nine kids in a four-day program and nine toddlers in a Friday-only class for 2-year-olds.<\/p>\n
Both campuses combined cost Sacramento City Unified about $345,000 annually, according to Goldberg. They bring in about $117,000 per year in tuition, leaving a $228,000 gap the district says it no longer can fill.<\/p>\n
Between the two sites, Edward Kelley represents the larger deficit.<\/p>\n
Goldberg said the Rosemont campus costs about $144,000 to run (including administrative costs like custodian overtime) and recoups around $45,000.<\/p>\n
Tahoe Elementary, he said, costs $121,000 and earns closer to $72,000.<\/p>\n
Edward Kelley preschool on 3340 Bradshaw Road in Sacramento. (Denis Akbari)<\/p>\n
Parents plead for a chance<\/p>\n
School board members Tara Jeane, April Ybarra and Jose Navarro met with Edward Kelley parents Tuesday evening.<\/p>\n
The discussion lasted almost two hours but reached no definite conclusions, according to Alexander, whose 3-year-old daughter is currently enrolled at the preschool.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was basically like, \u2018No promises,’\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
A Change.org petition started by Alexander has more than 1,200 signatures. She said she\u2019s confident families and community members would be willing to raise funds in support of Edward Kelley.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust give us a chance,\u201d Alexander said.<\/p>\n
Historic site\u2019s future unknown<\/p>\n
The potential elimination of Edward Kelley \u2014 a rare affordable option<\/a> in the world of childcare \u2014 means Alexander has been scrambling to find an alternative for her daughter next year.<\/p>\n But besides the impact to families like hers, one of Alexander\u2019s biggest frustrations, she said, is what closure would mean for the physical building and site.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re not closing a program; they\u2019re closing an entire school,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd they\u2019re closing a whole bunch of history.\u201d<\/p>\n Built in the mid-19th century and originally called the Brighton School, Edward Kelley has been on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places for decades<\/a>. It is the oldest, continually operating school in Sacramento County.<\/p>\n Goldberg said the district has not made any decisions yet about what would happen to the building if the preschool program ends.<\/p>\n \u2018Whatever I can\u2019<\/p>\n