The Sacramento Bee from Sacramento, California • B1

yiovna 0921-0 I "IVNId 3383VS -Q- The Sacramento Bee METRO SCANNING THE STATE For 24-hour updates on news from around California, go to www.sacbee.comstate THURSDAY, JANUARY 25, 2007 V1N39VIAI Del Paso Heights School District Sacramento SACRAMENTO CO Del Paso district wants to retake control of schools FCC will probe radio station 80 TL sj North Ave. I 1 ST 1 12 mile W. El Camino Ave. Garden Us ArdenWV- Arrie, 9 160 Sacramento Bee monitors district budgets, has downgraded the Del Paso Heights district's financial certification out of concern that the district can't afford to go it alone. By ending its contract with Grant, Del Paso Heights must hire a superintendent and central office administration by June 30.

But the new arrangement likely will be short-lived, because Grant, Del Paso Heights and two other school districts in northern Sacramento County are in the process of merging into a single K-12 district. As that proposal has wended its way through the approval process, Del Paso Heights has DISTRICT, Page B3 New board majority votes to dump management pact with Grant. By Laurel Rosenhall BEE STAFF WRITER A new majority on the Del Paso Heights school board is unraveling a management agreement with the Grant Joint Union High School District, prompting fears that a period of relative calm soon could end in the tiny elementary school district with a history of tumultuous leadership and academic failure. The Sacramento County superintendent of schools, who first business day after Strange's death. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin called for an investigation in response to a letter sent Monday by Sacramento attorney Roger Dreyer, who also represents Strange's family in a wrongful death case to be filed today.

(Martin) was troubled by the information presented in the letter and wants to commission to ascertain the facts," FCC spokeswoman Tamara Upper said. Billy Strange, Jennifer's widower, lauded the FCC's decision to look into the case. "I think it's a positive response to know that they understand at least and recognize that something like this is not just a mistake," he said. Dreyer's letter sent Monday calls on the FCC to terminate KDND's license, saying the station's conduct was "oppressive, irresponsible and ulti- FCC, Page B3 Agency's chairman is 'troubled' by information about the death of woman following contest. By Christina Jewett BEE STAFF WRITER The husband and mother of Jennifer Strange spoke out for the first time together Wednesday, the same day the Federal Communications Commission chairman ordered an investigation of the radio station contest that preceded Strange's death.

Jennifer Lea Strange, 28, died Jan. 12, hours after participating in a contest to drink as much water as possible without using the bathroom to win a Nintendo gaming console. The competition aired on KDND (107.9 The End), which fired staff of the "Morning Rave" the DEL PASO HEIGHTS SCHOOL DISTRICT Includes four elementary schools and one preschool. Serves about 1 ,900 students; about 59 percent are English learners and 92 percent receive subsidized lunch. Performs in the bottom 1 0 percent statewide on academic achievement tests.

Is governed by a five-member school board elected by voters in Del Paso Heights. Some are elected. Some are appointed. Either way, student school board representatives are being heard. County may cut medical plan for lots of retirees Sacramento supervisors are scheduled to vote on a staff proposal to require ex-workers to pay all their expenses.

By Ed Fletcher BEE STAFF WRITER More than 14,000 current and former Sacramento County employees will have to pay for all their post-employment medical and dental expenses, if county leaders go along with a staff recommendation. For the past 27 years, the county has voted to help pay for those benefits on a year-to-year basis. The program pays retirees up to $244 a month for medical expenses and $25 a month for dental care. Under a staff plan scheduled for a Board of Supervisors vote Tuesday those retiring before June 29, 2003, would continue to receive the subsidized medical and dental care. Anyone after that wouldn't.

In recent years, the extra subsidy survived on a 3-2 vote. This time around, Supervisor Jimmie Yee occupies former Supervisor Ilia Collin's old seat. Collin consistently voted in favor of the benefit. The association representing county retirees said the move would be like "the county pull(ing) the rug out from under" unsuspecting retirees. "This is without a doubt the most cruel work force recommendation that I have ever seen," said Mike DeBord, a board member of the Sacramento County Retired Employees Association.

COUNTY, Page B2 Fires renew push for city inspections The city is urged to require regular monitoring of rental homes for unsafe conditions. Sacramento BeeAnne Chadwick Williams FOLSOM CORDOVA UNIFIED SCHOOL BOARD: Folsom High senior Kendra Stanley, 1 7, takes her place at a recent board meeting, next to elected member Roger Benton. Her mom, Teresa Stanley, is the board's president. "I always thought she was a nice little mommy, until I saw her in action," she says of her mother. YOUTH AUTHORITY By Walter Yost BEE STAFF WRITER De Doan arrives at Sacramento City Unified School District board meetings dressed in a dark suit, carrying his laptop computer, ready for business.

The 1 7-year-old senior from West Campus High School is a student representative on the board. His counterpart in the Folsom Cordova school district, Kendra Stanley, isn't afraid to speak her mind, even if it means arguing with the superintendent or the board president who happens to be her mother. "My opinion represents other students. It's the only voice they have," said the 17-year-old Folsom High senior. While a majority of school boards in California have student representatives, they're often perceived as token members with no real voice in decision making.

But some educators note a change in today's student board members an increased maturity and sophistication. They don't settle anymore for reporting on My opinion represents other students. It's the only voice they have. 55 Kendra Stanley student representative on the Folsom Cordova school board By Jocelyn Wiener BEE STAFF WRITER If Mouang Saephan's house had been inspected by authorities, would they have noticed she had no working smoke detector? Would her two young grandchildren, Annie and Kyle Bienh, still be alive? Quite possibly, said housing advocates, Asian community leaders and a handful of Sacramento City Council members who gathered Wednesday morning on the sidewalk in front of the pale green house where the two children died. Behind them, the charred hulks of sofas and a coffee table melted by the Jan.

6 fire rested on the browning lawn. Fire officials said the home where the children died had a smoke detector, but the device had no battery. Saephan, who suffered burns over 90 percent of her body, is in fair condition at the UC Davis Medical Center. At a media conference designed to generate support for a mandatory citywide rental housing inspection ordinance, several Asian community leaders said immigrants often are afraid to complain about housing conditions for fear of eviction or increases in rent. An inspection program that in- CITY, Page B3 only engaged, but involved," she said of student representatives' roles.

Student representatives these days are better able to "articulate their point of view," said June Thompson, executive director of the California Association of Student Councils. "They're in a unique position. The information they can provide (to school boards) is vital," she said. But giving decision-making power to 16- and 17-year-olds alarms many education leaders who argue that students don't have the maturity or STUDENTS, Page B3 SACRAMENTO CITY UNIFIED SCHOOL BOARD: Student representative De Doan, 1 7, a West Campus senior, listens to a discussion last week about strategic planning. He was elected to the board by his peers.

"I see myself as representing them, not myself," he says. Sacramento BeeCarl Costas the homecoming dance, then going home while the adults do the real work. Karen Young one of the adults has served on the Sacramento City Unified board since 1996. "In the last 10 to 12 years it has evolved from having a token presence to one that is not ONLINE INDEX Regional Digest B2 Obituaries B4 Editorials B6 Weather B8 COMMENTARY Governor's approval rating spikes A new poll by a nonpartisan think tank says his post-partisan world is playing well among Democrats, independents and Republicans. I Daniel Weintraub, B7 OBITUARY Bereavement counselor Wife and mother Audrey Craig, who died in the massive crash on Interstate 80 Saturday, had a gift for listening and a desire to help.

I B4 Breaking news For 24-hour updates on news from around the region, go to: www.sacbee.comlocal OUTPUT: 012407 23:07 USER: BFINLEY BEEBR0AD MASTER 06-26-02.