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How Elk Grove built a reputation for community and quality of life through cooperation

As a public servant, I spend a lot of time addressing problems. Allow me to refocus for a minute on what a great place to live the City of Elk Grove is, and some of the people who make it so.

Even a pandemic has not slowed the growth of Elk Grove. New homes continue to pop up in an effort to meet the demand for housing. As it has been since Elk Grove incorporated as a city in 2000, our new neighbors continue to be drawn to safe, master-planned residential communities with nearby parks and trails, and good schools. This environment is the result of cooperation among the overlapping local governments that serve this area.

Of the three, the Elk Grove Unified School District (EGUSD) is the largest. The Cosumnes Community Services District (CCSD) is almost entirely nested within the school district, and the City of Elk Grove is entirely nested within both. The three local governments hold regular meetings of their respective leadership teams, called “2x2” meetings because they include two members of each organization’s governing board (or Council for the city). In these meetings, we address joint challenges, unilateral problems, and how to leverage our resources to best meet the needs of our shared constituents.

These entities reflect the strong sense of civic engagement and cooperation exemplified by the residents who quickly mobilized to deliver meals to seniors at the start of the pandemic, and who organize creek cleanups, or volunteer in schools, and who power the city’s service clubs.

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An example of how residents benefit from this culture of cooperation came at the very start of the pandemic when recreational activities ground to an abrupt halt, schools and child care centers closed, and first responders and healthcare workers remained on call.

The school district wanted to reopen child care programs for essential workers but the private providers with which it had contracted were either unwilling to open or unable to hire sufficient staff.

The community services district was suddenly left without work for its extensive recreational staff.

The two organizations worked together to open child care programs on school district sites staffed by CCSD recreational employees, who due to the nature of their work already met the security requirements.

It wasn’t until much later that EGUSD leaders learned that this arrangement had helped the CCSD avoid laying off a single full-time employee due to the pandemic shut-down. Many of these employees are Elk Grove residents and the parents of EGUSD students.

The growth in the City of Elk Grove over the last decade has resulted in my having 25% percent more constituents than my fellow school board members except for my colleague who represents the Rancho Cordova area.

Growth at this pace can result in traffic gridlock on surface streets, and schools and parks that are beyond a walkable distance. But thanks to the collaboration between the city, the school district, and the community services district during the planning process, new residents are moving into neighborhoods with the same amenities other residents are enjoying.

Quality of life continues to be the main draw to Elk Grove.

I regularly meet people who moved to the area for jobs in Woodland, Stockton, Modesto, Fairfield or Chico, but who chose to live in Elk Grove. On the network of trails and creeks that crisscrosses the city, you will find cyclists commuting to work, kids learning to ride their bikes, runners, parents pushing strollers, retired people on walks, horses, people fishing, and me pointing out the wildlife to my scooter-riding son.

Nancy Chaires Espinoza is a member of the Governing Board of the Elk Grove Unified School District, a 15-year resident of the City of Elk Grove, and a regular user of CCSD parks and trails.