Facing millions in budget shortfalls, Pajaro Valley and Live Oak school districts expect to make deep spending cuts as pandemic-relief funding expires and they confront the effects of declining enrollment. For PVUSD, that is likely to mean slashing expenses for mental health staff and programs.
K-12 Education
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Santa Cruz County public schools projected to have steepest enrollment decline in California
Santa Cruz County’s public schools are set to see enrollment drop by more than 21% over the next decade, the steepest decline of any county in California, according to recent figures from the state. The dramatic projections are escalating concerns among education leaders across the county. Officials from at least one local district say they may have to start discussing whether or not to close schools.
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State approves Pajaro Middle School reconstruction plans for flood damage
With the state’s approval of renovation plans for Pajaro Middle School, district officials say they’re confident the school will reopen in fall 2024. About 450 Pajaro Middle School students were relocated to nearby schools after the levee breach damaged their campus in March.
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Aptos High student Iman Moshari gets full-ride scholarship to any college for Bikes4All initiative
Iman Moshari, a senior at Aptos High School, found a way to provide bikes to people who can’t afford them, years after he himself struggled to afford a bike. His idea, Bikes4All, won him global recognition and a full-ride scholarship to any university of his choosing.
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Live Oak School District, seniors services clash over ‘illegal’ requirement to support teacher housing bond
Negotiations between Live Oak School District and two local seniors organizations renting a district-owned property have hit a roadblock over the district’s requirement that the organizations publicly endorse a bond measure for teacher housing as part of the lease agreement. Community Bridges, which runs Meals on Wheels out of the building, has called the demand illegal and a violation of the California Education Code. The district says the requirement is a response to comments by Community Bridges staff that they would campaign against the bond unless the district agreed to the organization’s lease terms.
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Survey shows majority of PVUSD voters would support bond measure
Pajaro Valley Unified School District board members are considering whether to pursue a bond measure on the November 2024 ballot to fund repairs to schools and classrooms and potentially build staff housing. A survey shows they likely have the support they need.
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Newsom bars school book bans: LGBTQ+ textbook bill signed into law amid growing culture wars
A new law signed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom will bring more scrutiny to school district curriculum decisions. Materials must feature “inclusive and diverse perspectives.”
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Aptos teen couldn’t find data on health of local waterways, so he invented his own award-winning tool
Pacific Collegiate School senior Jack Driscoll-Natale invented a low-cost water-quality monitor that’s easy to use and that he hopes will one day allow anyone from concerned citizens to environmental enthusiasts to understand what’s happening in the San Lorenzo River or the Santa Cruz Harbor.
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‘Kids are having to use their deadname’: Students say gender policies make schools feel unsafe
New policies requiring schools to notify parents if a student is gender-nonconforming are seeping into campus culture in ways some students find dangerous.
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Six months after levee breach flooded their classrooms, Pajaro Middle School students settle into new normal
The March 11 failure of the Pajaro River levee forced the closure of Pajaro Middle School until at least fall of 2024. Now at the start of a new academic year, the middle school’s more than 400 students are settling into their temporary academic home inside Watsonville’s Lakeview Middle School. Students say they’re getting into a routine but still miss their school.