A century in East Sacramento

Originally constructed in 1921, El Dorado Elementary School has stood for more than a century and has become part of the fabric of East Sacramento. Generations of families have passed through its doors, and it later became home to the A. Warren McClaskey Adult Education Center, including an adult day program for individuals with developmental disabilities and an artisan upholstery program that have no real equivalent elsewhere in the city.

Designed by Dean and Dean

The school was designed by the Sacramento architectural firm Dean and Dean, whose other work includes the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium, the Sutter Club, the Sutter Lawn Tennis Club, and Theodore Judah Elementary School. El Dorado Elementary reflects the same quality and character found in those buildings and contributes to Sacramento's historic built environment.

Our vision for the building

Rather than see the property sold for private development, neighbors are asking the district to consider adaptive reuse, a model where a historic school building is given new life as a community space. The example we point to most often is the Sierra 2 Center for the Arts and Community in Curtis Park, a 1920s school building that neighbors saved decades ago and that now serves as a thriving neighborhood hub. We would like to see McClaskey follow a similar path while keeping a permanent home for its existing adult programs.

A note on the numbers

The Sacramento Bee covered this campaign in March 2026. One detail worth knowing if the topic comes up: state law does not allow proceeds from a school property sale to go toward the district's general operating budget. Selling the building would not resolve the district's broader financial challenges.

The building's official name is the A. Warren McClaskey Adult Education Center, originally El Dorado Elementary School, at 5241 J Street (APN 008‑0111‑001‑0000). Built in 1921, it served as a public school for 105 years before closing.

It recently housed two active programs: an adult day program for individuals with developmental disabilities (The Warren McClaskey Adult School and Center) and an artisan upholstery program. Both of these programs described as having no true equivalent elsewhere in the city.

The advocacy campaign is being led by the "Save This School" / East Sacramento Neighbors for Smart Growth group, with input from the East Sacramento Preservation Association (ESP).

The community's preferred outcome is adaptive reuse, modeled on the Sierra 2 Center for the Arts and Community in Curtis Park (also a saved 1920s school). The vision: a self-sustaining neighborhood hub for maker spaces, education, and community use while keeping the existing adult day program housed there permanently.

Two developers have shown informal interest: Bay Miry (who did the Marshall School project) and Randy Sater (built Sutter Park); both attended meetings. Also contacted, the Teichert Foundation (Teichert likely poured the original concrete).

Key SCUSD contact: Chris Ralston, Assistant Superintendent of Facilities. the person the group has been strategizing how to bring on board (framing preservation as risk/liability transfer for the district rather than just historic sentiment).

Sunday, March 15 2026: the Sacramento Bee covered the story. Important nuance the article missed, worth repeating to anyone discussing it: proceeds from any sale legally cannot go toward SCUSD's general operating budget (per state law), so selling the building wouldn't actually help the district's insolvency problem.

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