No lotteries, but larger classes possible
By Stacy Lawrence
To the relief of many a kindergarten parent, there will be no random drawings at any Alameda elementary school for student slots in the coming school year, Alameda Unified School District student services chief Jeff Knoth told The Island.
He said enrollment during the two-weeks of kindergarten round-up in January was “a little lower [...]
School board talks plan, tax
Tuesday’s Board of Education discussion about a proposed master plan that would guide the district’s priorities through 2015 erupted into a firefight over class sizes and school closures – and whether voters will be willing to pay higher taxes to maintain local schools.
Board President Ron Mooney and Vice President Mike McMahon backed the plan and [...]
Leaky pipes send Encinal students home early
Just got a note from a parent that Encinal High School’s sent students home for the day due to a “water problem” that has rendered most of the school’s toilets inoperable. Students were sent home shortly after 11 a.m.. But school will be back in session Wednesday.
Apparently there was a leak in the school’s water [...]
School board to talk tax
The Board of Education is set to talk about different scenarios for a new, replacement parcel tax, one of many big items on an action-packed agenda tonight.
District staff will present scenarios for generating between $12 million and $16 million a year by implementing a flat tax for all parcels, a charge per square foot or [...]
RECALL RECALLED
Proponents of a recall of three school board members who voted to implement anti-gay bullying lessons in Alameda’s public schools have called a halt to their recall efforts.
“S.E.R.V.E. Alameda, proponents of the Recall of Jensen, Mooney, (and) Neil (sp) Tam, are withdrawing from our signature-gathering campaign, thus no longer seeking to recall these three Board [...]
School Board okays Chipman charter
The School Board voted 5-0 Tuesday night to approve The Academy of Alameda Middle School charter. The school, which is being eyed as a replacement for Chipman Middle School, is expected to be up and running next fall.
“Now comes the hard part,” Bill Schaff, vice president of the school’s founding board, told The Island on [...]
Police chase ends at school
Dozens of students at Otis Elementary School got a little pre-Halloween surprise on October 28 when a police chase ended on the school playground while school was still in session.
Police arrested Ralph Wayne Beckman, 47, of Alameda for a host of vehicle code violations, evading police officers and resisting arrest. Beckman led police on a [...]
Chartering a course
The School Board okayed a new policy on charter school applications over the objections of leaders from two of the Island’s existing charters who said they wanted to have the chance to provide input on the new policy.
The board voted 4-1 for the new policy, which lays out a preferred submission date and time lines [...]
Survey says
More than three-quarters of people who took the district’s survey on magnet schools said they’re interested in having one. The most popular themes? Language immersion, science and technology and arts.
Of 249 parents and school staff who responded to the district’s online survey, 78 percent said they were interested in magnet schools. Nearly 65 percent of [...]
That other lawsuit
Back in August, Alameda Unified and yacht merchant and local landowner John Beery reached a settlement agreement on Beery’s suit to invalidate the district’s Measure H parcel tax. The school district agreed to set up a committee to write a new tax to replace both H and the Measure A tax, with Beery and one [...]
School board tables charter policy revision
The School Board decided Tuesday night to hold off on a proposal to change a freshly approved policy on charter schools. District staff had said the changes are needed to establish firm process and accountability rules for new charter applicants in response to a spate of inquiries from people considering new charter schools on the [...]
