Like Dorothy and Toto, the Whitney and Jackman families have been unwillingly swept up in the cyclone of the corporate Waste Connections move and sent to the Land of Oz (or, as it’s more commonly known, The Woodlands, Texas).

The two families won’t return to the school in September as a result of Waste Connections, Inc. moving its corporate headquarters out of California.

Fourth grader Kelsey Jackman, seventh grader Jack Whitney, sophomore Margaret Whitney and junior Cooper Jackman will all be moving, along with their parents’ employer, to the Houston suburb this summer.

Waste Connections was founded in 1997 and has rapidly grown into the area’s largest publicly traded company, according to a Sacramento Bee article.

Its move, said vice president of finance and mother Mary Anne Whitney, was “inevitable” with the company’s growth.

When Waste Connections was founded, it was primarily focused on the West Coast. Now, however, the company has operations in 30 states and is “better served by being more centrally located (i.e. in Texas),” Whitney said.

Additionally, “California doesn’t go out of its way to make itself attractive to companies, whereas on the other hand, Texas does, especially in tax rates,” Whitney said.

“California is just not a very business-friendly state.”

In the largest sense, the difference in taxes boils down to varying recruitment opportunities.
Where California has a 10 percent, possibly soon-to-be 12 percent, state income tax for its top earners, the rate in Texas is 0 percent. This means that, according to Whitney, potential “recruits” will be more likely to come work for a Waste Connections with its corporate headquarters in Texas than in California since they’ll retain the 10-12 percent of their paycheck they would have lost in the Golden State.

And since about 80 percent of the company’s employees are expected to move, according to Whitney, the Sacramento area will be losing about 75 or so jobs. But in a sense it will be losing far more than that; it will be losing roughly 75 families who call this city “home,” including those of parents Worthing Jackman, chief financial officer for Waste Connections, and Whitney.

And the effect of the Waste Connections move radiates outward, touching the lives of far more than just those involved.

Country Day will lose scholars, artists, athletes and dedicated parents to what senior Richard Whitney describes as a “soulless,” pre-planned Texas community.

Over the past five years, Katrina Jackman (mother of Kelsey, Cooper and senior Cabot) has become an integral part of many different parts of the school.

With both her sons participating in the school’s ski team, Katrina was the team’s main driver when the team was young, according to coach Jason Kreps.

“When I needed a volunteer, she was there. If I needed someone to gatekeep (essentially refereeing for a ski race), she would do it—or at least hold one of her sons accountable to do it,” he said.

And Wendy Ross, director of institutional relations, saw Katrina as equally valuable, particularly in her running of the high school’s used-book sale.

“(The book sale) is hard, ‘dirty’ work, (and) Katrina has always been an energetic and spirited volunteer,” Ross said in an email.

While Katrina was raising funds at the used-book sale, her husband was making an entirely different financial contribution.

Worthing took his expertise as the chief financial officer of Waste Connections and applied it to his time as treasurer for the Board of Trustees.

Headmaster Steve Repsher considers Worthing’s leadership in this position a significant factor in getting the school on a “solid, sustainable fiscal path.”

“Especially with the school going through tough financial times, it was important to have a strong leader at the helm,” Repsher said.

Equally important to SCDS were the contributions of Mary Anne and Mark Whitney. Mark volunteered his time to the school’s infant lacrosse team, becoming “an essential part of the coaching staff,” according to team captain Donald Hutchinson.

Mark, who played lacrosse at Bowdoin College, was the only coach with experience as a defender.

“He knows all the formations, how to play ‘man-down’ defense; he’s freaking raw. His absence is going to have a huge impact on the team next year,” Hutchinson said.

In addition to coaching, Mark was out cooking

And while Mark was coaching and barbecuing, Mary Anne became a strong member of the Parents’ Association.

She’s also been the “room parent” for tenth, eleventh and twelfth grades, as her son, Richard, has been in them.

But Sue Nellis, head of high school, most appreciates Mary Anne’s time as a parent spokesperson for the high school forum, the school’s annual presentation of the high school to
eighth graders and their parents.

“She was so thoughtful in her presentation; she did it in both a parental and professional way and I think it really spoke to the parents,” Nellis said.

But the school won’t be losing dedicated parents; it will be losing dedicated students as well.

Starting with Richard and continuing with Margaret, the Whitney family has had a legacy of editorship on the Glass Knife. Both participated on the ski team and Margaret, who has participated in state championships both this year and last, was one of the team’s few girls. Jack has continued Richard’s participation on the Jazz Band and soccer team, and has become a representative on the middle-school Student Council as well.

Similarly, both Cooper and Cabot were avid participants of the ski team, and Kelsi was likely to follow suit, considering she frequently went up to the mountains with the team. Was Cooper not moving, he would also be returning as a four-year veteran of the golf team.

And, according to Ross, “The Jackmans have also been incredible ambassadors for the school, bringing a number of families to join us,” she said.

“They will be sorely missed.”

As sorry as Country Day is to see these families off, the students are even less enthusiastic.

“Even if we had to move, the last place I would have chosen would be Texas,” Margaret said.

A two-year staffer for The Octagon, Margaret had hoped to focus on her journalism skills when presenting herself to colleges. But this changed when she realized she was moving schools.

“There’s no newspaper at our school in The Woodlands, so I’ll have to choose another focus, probably art,” she said.

Although Cabot, who will be attending Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., next year, and
Richard, who will be a student at Williams College in Williamstown, Mass., won’t be spending much time in Texas, they are also both very unenthusiastic about the move.

“It’s sad to know that, where all my friends from the grades above me have come back to visit Country Day, I might not have that as much,” Cabot said.

“Even more than that, while all my friends will be coming home to Sacramento, I’ll be coming back to The Woodlands where the only other person from my senior class is Cabot—but thank God at least he’ll be there,” Richard said.

Kelsey isn’t quite as unhappy.

“I kind of want to stay, but I kind of want to leave,” she said.

“It’s really, really nice there and everyone was really kind, but it’s depressing that I’m going to leave all my friends.”

While Kelsey’s off making new friends, Sacramento will mourn the loss of a $3.6 billion company.

But Country Day will miss the Jackman and Whitney families far more.