WHAT: Groundbreaking ceremony to mark the beginning of construction of a new, state-of-the-art campus to replace the aging facility.

WHEN: Monday, June 2 at 9:00 a.m.

WHERE: Fern Bacon Middle School, 4140 Cuny Ave, Sacramento, CA 95823

VISUALS: Elected and school officials will break ground with a shovel ceremony and make remarks. Students will be in attendance to witness the beginning of construction.

Sacramento, CA - Sacramento City Unified School District will hold a groundbreaking ceremony on Monday, June 2 at 9:00 a.m. to begin construction of a new campus at the site of Fern Bacon Middle School. The new Fern Bacon will be the fifth new school to begin construction in Sac City Unified during the past two years and will be the first middle school to be built by the district in 48 years. When completed in Fall 2027, the ultra-modern campus will feature an oversized multipurpose room, a STEAM lab, a community room, several shade canopies, a U14 soccer field, and an overall focus on energy efficiency and environmental conservation.

Fern Bacon Middle School was named after one of Sacramento’s most important women in education. Fern Huston Bacon dedicated 40 years of her life to teaching students from the Pacific and Sac City Unified School Districts, until her retirement in 1965. The school was built in 1949 to provide education to a booming post-war Sacramento region that included a newly built Campbell’s Soup factory located nearby on Franklin Blvd. The school site was later annexed to Sacramento City Unified in 1958.

The age, location, and demographics of the school were all key factors in the District’s decision to construct a new campus at the Fern Bacon site. The upcoming construction of the new Fern Bacon Middle School is a direct reflection of Sacramento City Unified’s unwavering commitment to equity and improving the outcomes of students who have been historically underserved. SCUSD’s belief is that facilities planning is community planning, and that approach is reflected in the design of this ultramodern campus.

The start of construction of the new Fern Bacon Middle School begins just as Sacramento City Unified completes the two-year builds for Cesar Chavez, Nicholas, and Oak Ridge Elementary Schools that began in the summer of 2023. All of these campuses were specifically chosen for improvements based on high segregation and poverty indicators and other factors identified by Sac City Unified’s award-winning Facilities Master Plan Equity Index that can be found at www.scusdplan.org.

“Although the students at Fern Bacon now will be in high school by this project’s completion, this new campus will be an integral part of the community for their younger siblings, and even their children one day in the decades to come.” said Lisa Allen, Superintendent, SCUSD. “This new campus will change the trajectory for both the South Sacramento community and our students for generations.”

“I am hopeful that our Fern Bacon families will see this groundbreaking as our district’s long-term commitment to uplifting neighborhoods that were overlooked in the past,” said April K. Ybarra, SCUSD Trustee Area 4. “This beautiful new school is going to foster a sense of pride for the community and change the landscape in a positive way.”

“South Sacramento and Bowling Green communities are receiving a crucial investment in their community thanks to the voter approved facility improvement funds,” said Jasjit Singh, SCUSD Board President. “The voters continue to support our efforts to improve schools like Fern Bacon Middle School, and we strive to show our appreciation by building the best schools in the region.”

The beginning of construction is the culmination of years of strategic planning and community collaboration, beginning with the passage of Measure H by Sacramento voters in March of 2020. The $750 million general obligation bond provided Sac City Unified with the funding to begin making some of the estimated $4.4 billion in facilities needs identified across the district. Voter-approved funds from Measure D ($543 million) passed in 2024 will be used toward future projects identified in the $4.4 billion in facilities needs.

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