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- Written by: Mendocino College
Students and staff are encouraged to use their own discretion based on the safety of roads when making the decision to attend classes.
Students are asked to contact their instructors if they are not able to attend class due to road closures and flooding.
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- Written by: Jill Ruzicka
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Thousands of Lake County students from transitional-kindergarten through eighth grade participated in high energy assemblies earlier this month by author Alane Adams.
Last fall, after hearing about the Mendocino Complex fire, Adams reached out to Lake County Superintendent of Schools Brock Falkenberg.
Adams wanted to give back to Lake County by offering two to three school visits to the fire-affected schools.
When Adams realized that every Lake County school district had been impacted by at least one wildland fire over the last few years, she offered to visit as many schools as she could fit into her schedule.
Adams performed at 20 assemblies, in 12 schools, in each of Lake County’s six school districts during the week of Jan. 28 to Feb. 1. Adams said she was so busy that she often missed lunch.
Carly Swatosh, education specialist with the Lake County Office of Education, coordinated the visits.
“Alane is the kindest human. We just wish there were more hours in the day so she could have visited every school in Lake County,” Swatosh said.
Each student also received a grade-appropriate book written by Adams. Young adult readers received one of the books from her “Legends of Orkney” fantasy mythology series. The younger students received one of Adam’s picture books based on her father’s life during the depression.
In addition to the fun, high-energy assemblies, Adams in partnership with First Book, is donating $3,500 to each Lake County school district to purchase books from First Book’s online marketplace.
The Lake County Office of Education preschools will receive $3,000 to spend on books for their eight locations.
Adams also donated a complete set of her books to the libraries of each school visited. More than 3,500 books were donated to Lake County students and schools courtesy of Adams, the Rise Up Foundation, and First Book.
Adams created the Rise Up Foundation to impact the lives of children through the power of reading by supporting, funding, and helping create innovative and traditional literacy-based projects. More information can be found at www.riseupfoundation.org.
First Book is a nonprofit social enterprise committed to elevating educational opportunities for children in need. More information can be found at www.firstbook.org.
Jill Ruzicka is communications coordinator for the Lake County Office of Education.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The LCFB Scholarship Program was organized to give financial aid to Lake County students who show a desire to pursue a career in the agricultural industry.
The scholarships are awarded annually and are based upon academic achievement, career goals, extracurricular activities, leadership skills, and a commitment to study agriculture.
In 2019, Lake County Farm Bureau is proud to partner with Wildhurst Vineyards in awarding scholarships to honor two outstanding families. The Hans and Carol Dobusch Scholarship is available to an eligible Lake County student who is pursuing a credential or degree in any field.
The Myron and Marilyn Holdenried Scholarship will be offered to a Lake County student who will pursue agriculture or science. In addition to these two scholarships, Lake County Farm Bureau will continue to offer multiple agriculture-focused scholarships to Lake County students.
Eligible students must be a resident of Lake County who are enrolled or plan to enroll in a college or vocational school during the 2019/2020 year.
To apply for the LCFB scholarship, students must complete an application, provide transcripts from each school attended and include two current and dated letters of recommendation. The entire packet must be received by LCFB on or before April 12 to be considered by the Scholarship Committee.
Applications are available at Lake County Farm Bureau’s website www.lakecofb.com and at the office located at 65 Soda Bay Road in Lakeport.
Students can also get an application by contacting their local high school counselor or through the Mendocino College scholarship Web page.
Lake County Farm Bureau is proud to serve the agricultural and rural interests of Lake County and is the county’s largest farm organization, representing over 500 farm families and individual
Members.
For more information, contact Brenna Sullivan, executive director, at 707-263-0911.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
SB 126 specifically ensures that charter school governing boards observe the same open meeting, conflict-of-interest, and disclosure laws as traditional public schools.
This measure is essential for ensuring that, as public schools, all charter schools are good stewards of the public funds they receive.
“Though charter schools are publicly funded, they currently lack the same accountability and transparency requirements that traditional public schools already comply with under the law,” Sen. Leyva said.
“SB 126 directly responds to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s call for swift action to resolve ongoing charter school transparency issues, as well as codifies the attorney general’s recent advisory opinion related to charter schools,” said Sen. Leyva. “This bicameral response will ensure that charter school governing boards, in accepting public funds, meet the same requirements as other public schools. I thank my joint author Assemblymember O’Donnell for his collaboration on this issue and look forward to this important bill providing communities, especially parents, fair and open access to participate in the decisions and collective missions of their charter schools.”
Under the Ralph M. Brown Act and the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act, all meetings of a state body or a legislative body of a local agency must be open and public, with everyone being allowed to attend.
The California Public Records Act requires state and local agencies to make their records publicly available. Government Code Section 1090 prohibits public officials from being financially interested in any contract made by them in their official capacity, or by any body or board of which they are members.
“SB 126 provides safeguards so that our public school dollars are subject to transparency, common ethical practices, and good government laws that are applied to other governmental operations in California. The bill ensures that schools are learning centers, not profit centers. Our valuable education dollars must be used for student success, not to line the pockets of charter board members,” said Assemblymember O’Donnell.
There has been a longstanding debate over whether charter school board members are subject to the same open meeting, public disclosure, and conflict-of-interest requirements that school district board members already comply with under state law. The California Office of the Attorney General recently published an advisory opinion stating that good government laws apply to charter school governing boards.
While the Attorney General’s Office opinion greatly influences the debate about whether or not these laws apply to charter school governing boards, the opinion is not legally binding on courts, agencies, or individuals. SB 126 will codify the attorney general’s opinion and settle how these laws apply to charter schools.
Now advancing to the Assembly, SB 126 is supported by the ACLU, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees / Council 57, Association of California School Administrators, California Association of School Business Officials, California County Superintendents Educational Services Association, California Federation of Teachers, California Labor Federation,, California School Boards Association, California State PTA, California Teachers Association, Kern County Superintendent of Schools, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Public Advocates, Riverside County Office of Education, San Diego Unified School District, San Francisco Unified School District, School for Integrated Academics and Technologies, SEIU California, and Small School Districts’ Association.