{"id":373313,"date":"2026-06-24T18:21:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T18:21:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/373313\/"},"modified":"2026-06-24T18:21:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T18:21:13","slug":"el-dorado-elementary-site-in-east-sacramento-faces-sale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/373313\/","title":{"rendered":"El Dorado Elementary site in East Sacramento faces sale"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Sacramento City Unified school board voted last week to declare a former East Sacramento elementary school as surplus property, setting the stage for the district to sell it.<\/p>\n

Known as El Dorado Elementary School before it closed in the 1970s because of earthquake safety concerns, the 4.83-acre site at 5241 J St. has been operating as the A. Warren McClaskey Center, where it has offered programs for adults.<\/p>\n

The school board voted to support historic designation for the site, which dates to the 1920s, but trustee Jasjit Singh said it was important \u201cthat we are maintaining this site to build housing.\u201d<\/p>\n

East Sacramento resident Shannon Ross left the Thursday school board meeting with a mix of feelings.<\/p>\n

Ross, who has advocated for the former school\u2019s preservation<\/a>, took an adult education class at the center before it closed in recent months. She served on the surplus property committee that recommended the district sell the center but also ensure preservation of the historic buildings, with a range of possible uses envisioned by the committee on the property\u2019s former schoolyard.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe housing part is fine, but I just don\u2019t understand why our leaders aren\u2019t speaking about what it could be, what else it could be,\u201d Ross said. \u201cWho are we leaving that decision up to?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Shannon Shannon Ross, right, co-founder of East Sacramento Neighbors for Smart Growth, and Alyssa McKrell pose for a photo at A. Warren McClaskey Adult Center in East Sacramento in March. HANNAH RUHOFF hruhoff@sacbee.com Why the former school is being sold<\/p>\n

The surplus property committee met four times between March and June. It determined the site was \u201cno longer needed by\u201d SCUSD and that the district could \u201cpursue disposition and redevelopment of the property\u201d provided certain conditions were met, according to the committee\u2019s report.<\/p>\n

The school board voted 8-0 last year to refer the site to the committee.<\/p>\n

The center formerly served people like Ross, who took an upholstery class there, and adults with special needs who were part of separate programming.<\/p>\n

Al Goldberg, a district spokesperson, said in a March 4 email that Charles A Jones Career and Education Center in south Sacramento had the space to absorb McClaskey\u2019s programs. Goldberg noted that just five classrooms at McClaskey were being used and that the center was also \u201cnot up to code to be utilized for TK-12 educational purposes without significant investment.\u201d<\/p>\n

The potential sale also comes while the district has faced serious financial challenges in recent months, with a possible deficit of about $170 million and potential state receivership<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Included in the surplus property committee\u2019s report were a broad range of recommendations. This included the construction of moderate and low-income housing that wouldn\u2019t be more than two stories tall, various community or educational uses of the property and striving \u201cto maximize the amount of open greenspace, landscaping, and outdoor community areas on the site,\u201d according to the report.<\/p>\n

Some of the committee\u2019s desired land uses for the site include community and native plant gardens, an area for children\u2019s play and a walking track.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe report outlined a lot of hopes and dreams for the property,\u201d Nathaniel Browning, the district\u2019s director of facilities planning and sustainability, told the school board last week. \u201cAnd it may not be fully tenable, but the intent of the report is sound.\u201d<\/p>\n

What happens now<\/p>\n

The district is opting to sell the property through a portion of the state\u2019s education code rather than the California Surplus Land Act.<\/p>\n

Browning cautioned the board that under normal circumstances, if it declared the site surplus property and no buyer were found after 60 days, educational code would call for an auction at an open meeting.<\/p>\n

\"The The A. Warren McClaskey Adult Center in East Sacramento in March. HANNAH RUHOFF hruhoff@sacbee.com <\/p>\n

\u201cImagine a whole bunch of folks up here, and you take the highest bidder,\u201d Browning said. \u201cYou have no control over what they do with the property.\u201d<\/p>\n

Instead, the district will seek a state waiver so it can craft a request for proposal reflecting its hopes for the property. The board didn\u2019t vote on the waiver Thursday, with Browning explaining it will require its own meeting. \u201cWe\u2019ll come back to you with that,\u201d Browning said as he stood in front of the board.<\/p>\n

The board then voted 6-0 to receive the committee\u2019s report, approve a letter supporting historic designation, declare the center surplus land and have staff refer to the report in evaluating initial proposals.<\/p>\n

More could happen with the property this summer. The Sacramento Preservation Commission heard a presentation from city staff on June 17 about placing the site on the local historic register. On Aug. 7, the California Office of Historic Preservation will consider placing the center on the National Register of Historic Places, according to Sean de Courcy, the city\u2019s preservation director.<\/p>\n

Ross was in attendance at the June 17 city meeting, as was Bruce Marwick of the Sacramento Art Deco Society. The school was built in phases over the years, though this didn\u2019t deter Marwick\u2019s group. \u201cWhat\u2019s most important to us is some of the additions, particularly the 1939 auditorium,\u201d Marwick said.<\/p>\n

\"The The auditorium at A. Warren McClaskey Adult Center in East Sacramento in March. The building, which is currently home to an adult education center, was once an elementary school. HANNAH RUHOFF hruhoff@sacbee.com <\/p>\n

Another member of the surplus land committee, Will Green, also attended the preservation commission and school board meetings last week. \u201cI think they\u2019re heading in the right direction,\u201d Green said. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of been a long journey to get there, but I\u2019m patient.\u201d<\/p>\n

Developer Bay Miry, whose firm Bardis & Miry Development<\/a> is currently working on a multifamily housing project at the old Marshall School site in midtown<\/a>, said via email that his company is \u201cgenuinely interested in the El Dorado site and have been carefully digesting the community\u2019s input and priorities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sacramento City Councilman Phil Pluckebaum expected that Miry’s firm wouldn\u2019t be the only developer interested in the former school.<\/p>\n

\u201cThem and everyone else that\u2019s ever pulled a permit for anything has been eyeing this site for decades,\u201d Pluckebaum said.<\/p>\n

Related Stories from Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Graham Womack<\/a><\/p>\n

The Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n

Graham Womack is a general assignment reporter for The Sacramento Bee. Prior to joining The Bee full-time in September 2025, he freelanced for the publication for several years. His work has won several California Journalism Awards and spurred state legislation.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Sacramento City Unified school board voted last week to declare a former East Sacramento elementary school as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":373314,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[121,123,122],"class_list":["post-373313","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sacramento","tag-sacramento","tag-sacramento-headlines","tag-sacramento-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373313","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=373313"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373313\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/373314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=373313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=373313"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=373313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}