The South Lake Tahoe Children’s Choral Society sent two choirs to Vallejo, Calif., May 10 for the Music in the Parks Festival competition. The middle school group, Bella Voce, took second in its division and fifth out of 10 performing choirs while the high school group, Blue Ribbon Choir, won its division and took fourth out of 10 other high school groups.

Stacy Wright from the Bella Voce choir won the outstanding soloist award for middle school-aged singers.

The South Lake Tahoe Children’s Choral Society won the Esprit de Corps trophy. Only one group out of 20 choirs and 30 bands is chosen, according to a choral society press release.

Lake Tahoe Unified School District offers one South Tahoe High School choir class, but otherwise doesn’t provide a choral program. The nonprofit South Lake Tahoe Children’s Choral Society offers an after-school enrichment program for students enrolled in third-grade and above under the direction of STHS math teacher Paul Kushner.

“We are very proud of these dedicated students who have brought honor and fame as ambassadors for our community,” Kushner wrote in a press release.

For more information, contact Kushner at pkushner@ltusd.org.

In other news

Students wrap up school year with concerts

The Lake Tahoe Unified School District Elementary Spring Concert will take place tonight from 6-6:45 p.m. The middle school students will follow the performance with the South Tahoe Middle School Spring Concert from 7:30-8:45 p.m.

Both concerts are free and will take place in the STMS multi-purpose room.

The Whittell High School spring concert will take place tonight at 5:30 p.m. in the WHS commons.

College to present ‘Rent’

Lake Tahoe Community College Theater Arts Department will present the Tony Award-winning musical “Rent” by Jonathan Larson.

Performances will take place June 14-15 and 20-22 at 8 p.m., with Sunday matinees on June 16 and 23 at 2 p.m.

Tickets for LTCC’s “RENT” cost $15 for general admission, and $12 for seniors, groups of eight or more, students with a valid student ID, and children under 13. Starting June 3, tickets may be purchased in advance at the college’s bookstore Monday through Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., and Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The box office will open for ticket sales one hour prior to performances, but seating is limited.

Set in New York City’s East Village, “Rent” follows the lives of a group of impoverished young artists and musicians as they struggle to survive and create in Manhattan’s Lower East Side during the days of the Bohemian Alphabet City.

The show is for mature audiences and not recommended for children under 18.

For more information, call 530-541-4660, ext. 207.

Children’s triathlons kick off

A Tahoe Tri Kids event will take start Sunday, June 30 at the South Tahoe Recreation Center at 3 p.m. The Tahoe Kids Triathlon Series events will take place July 21, Aug. 18 and Sept. 8 at Lake Baron starting at 10 a.m.

The triathlon events for children aged 3 to 14 years old are geared toward beginner, intermediate and advanced triathletes and aim to expose children to a multi-sport lifestyle.

For more information, visit http://www.tahoetriclub.com or contact Jason Collin at 530-307-3316 or jason@tahoetriclub.com.

The Tahoe Tri Club also offers tri swim Fridays at 4:30 p.m. and Sundays at 5:30 p.m. at the South Tahoe Recreation Center pool. New this year, the tri club will hold bike and run trainings Wednesdays at 5 p.m. starting at the Pearl Izumi parking lot.

Census Bureau: California 36th in school spending

California ranked 36th in the nation for per-pupil spending during the 2011 fiscal year, according to a recent report from the U.S. Census Bureau.

While the state spends more than any other state on education, the average amount of per-pupil funding was $1,421 less than the nationwide average of $10,560.

The U.S. Census Bureau report released this month contains 2011 financial statistics relating to public elementary-secondary education. It includes national and state financial aggregates and displays data for the largest 100 school systems by enrollment in the U.S., according to the report.