Today, Sacramento State will have a forum called “Wealth, Poverty, and the Future of Education in California.” It will be held at the Hinde Auditorium inside the University Union from 2 to 4 p.m.

This free event will focus on the educational and economic status of students with disadvantages. The forum will also deal with students who don’t do well in poorer schools and the problems associated with them. Some of the problems include vandalism, outdated textbooks and materials and inexperienced teachers.

The panelist that will be joining in the discussion are State Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg; Susanna Cooper, associate editor at the Sacramento Bee; Wanda Shironaka, principal of Fruitridge Elementary School in South Sacramento; and Tascha Hill, a fourth-grade teacher at Mark Hopkins Elementary School in South Sacramento. The moderator of this event is going to be Sac State Education professor Ken Futernick.The first hour will be an open discussion, the panelists will discuss their views and provide solutions for people who live in the poor, urban neighborhoods in the greater Sacramento area.

The second hour will provide the audience a chance to speak up on their issues and ask the panel some tough questions. Among the urban neighborhood communities are Oak Park, Meadowview and North Sacramento.

School districts such as Sacramento, Elk Grove and Grant Unified have schools that are located in poorer neighborhoods, including Hiram Johnson High School, Grant High School and Fruitridge Elementary. Other cities such as Oakland and Los Angeles also have schools that are located in poorer neighborhoods.