SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – The last Lake Tahoe Unified School District board of education meeting before graduation and summer for the students saw the board consider the budget for 2024-2025, celebrate the student board representatives, athletic achievements, and district employees of the year among other items.

Before the open session, the board took a moment to mourn the death of Giada Lancellotti, a South Tahoe middle schooler who was hit by a car and killed last weekend. Student representative Scott Yamaoka said, “This last week has been a mix of emotions… and there are no words to explain the sorrow.”

The board and Yamaoka also thanked Barton for providing mental health support to the community during a difficult time.

Budget for 2025-2026

After a closed session including labor negotiations, much of public comment concerned the steep increase in health insurance for Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) teachers, which was anticipated at a 24.7% increase. However, for many teachers, that increase was greater and represented hundreds of dollars more spent on healthcare.

Nicole Mora, a teacher who is part of the South Tahoe Educators Association, spoke to the value of retaining teachers through choosing better insurance options that wouldn’t put financial strain on them. “No one should have to choose between healthcare and paying rent or putting food on the table,” she said.

Other teachers expressed their surprise that the district was not offering to pay money towards the increase, selecting a different insurance or otherwise aiding teachers who would be impacted. Dr. Todd Cutler, LTUSD superintendent, said the budget was not finalized and would be subject to negotiations.

Yamaoka acknowledged their concerns and expressed support for the teachers who talked about the major impact it would have on their lives.

Later, Kelly Buttery, chief business officer, presented on the interim budget and the 2025-2026 proposed budget, which will be adopted at the next board meeting. Districts are required by the state to submit a budget before the state releases its budget, so revisions are expected then as well. One of the primary items expected to bring in some revenue is that the district is charging for bus services and athletics participation, along with other items.

The board adopted the interim budget and will make a decision on the 25-26 budget soon, though they acknowledged the statements that teachers gave during public comment.

Student and employee recognition

Student representatives Mia Valenzuela and Yamaoka spoke to the whirlwind of emotions around graduating and their time with the board, where they gained many new skills and even developed a new process for selecting juniors to serve as student representatives. Valenzuela expressed her hope to change future generations, while Yamaoka said he hoped that all students would have the chance to have their voices heard.

Board president Lauri Kemper stated, “You have really helped lead not only the student body, but us as a board.” Kemper especially commended their bravery in leading the student body after a tense election season. Trustee Valerie Mansfield was brought to tears while recognizing the two students.

The spring athletes on the track and field teams and swim and dive teams were celebrated by the board.

For track and field, the boys and girls teams netted seven new records between them. They finished 4^th out of 23 teams for the boys team and 2^nd for the girls team at states, with the girls team having six or less athletes.

For the swim team, the boys team was regional champion for the first time in a decade and placed 3^rd at state. The girls team finished 2^nd at regionals and 5^th at the state. The diving team placed 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd place at both regional and state. The coach gave a shoutout to Kathy Haven and Eddie Kollar, who both helped facilitate the dive team’s trainings.

For the employee of the year, it was divided between classified and certificated employees.

The classified employee of the year was Liesbeth Melis, an instructional aide at Meyers. Melis was not present at the ceremony, but Cutler acknowledged how difficult the year had been for her, especially with her husband’s death. Cutler also spoke to her efforts at the school, including composing the Meyers school anthem.

The certificated employee of the year was Larry Lambdin, a teacher at South Tahoe Middle School. Lambdin will be leaving teaching, but he spoke and said it was an honor to teach in the community and to work on Club Live with the support of his wife.

Cutler also recognized the Leaders and Learners seminar participants, Jen Peck, Cristina Ramos, Matt Bishop, Norma Candelario and Samantha Muñoz.

Barton partnership

Chris Proctor, director of community benefit and business development at Barton Health, helped to introduce students Damaris Ambriz and Lyla Landy, who worked with Barton to create the Health and Heart Club at their school. The student club met monthly to discuss topics around health and wellness, including mental and community health awareness, coping skills especially around protests and ICE raids, substance abuse education and community support and resources.

Students launched a community impact program by providing essentials like food and hygiene products in to-go bags for students who needed it. Though the project was unfinished this year, they said it would continue next year with new leadership.

Ambriz and Landy also showed a film called “Fentanyl High” at South Tahoe High School (STHS) to bring attention to the risks and realities of fentanyl use, which has impacted the south shore community in the past. They hoped to build a strong foundation for the next year’s Health and Heart Club leaders and students.

Educational services

The board also received presentations on the success of the STHS Single Focus Plan, Career and Technical Education (CTE) plans, the K-2 reading difficulties screening program, and the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP).

The STHS staff felt they generally succeeded in their three goal areas of helping students to chunk and process content and engage with their lessons in meaningful ways. The teachers saw more assignments submitted in challenging classes, more engagement in conversations about assignments as well as higher quiz scores and exit ticket engagement.

The CTE program seen consistent success and plans to continue investment in the program with a makerspace and business incubator program, after school career academies, work-based learning and capstone projects.

For K-2 reading difficulties screening, the panel unanimously selected Multitudes from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), a free reader screening program provided in English and Spanish. The schools will begin screening new students within 45 days of enrollment, which could help guide decisions to recommend further assessments such as eligibility for special education or dyslexia screening.

Additional training for the intervention team and K-2 teachers will start at the beginning of next school year. A request to approve Multitudes as the screener will be heard at the next board meeting.

STHS Principal Zunino and registrar Stacy Lopez requested the board to consider a change in policy for international students. Currently, international students are not attending STHS because the policy requires tuition fees. With the revision, they would remove the tuition fees barrier to promote more international exchange students, who could also be counted for average daily attendance. The board will have an official hearing of the item at a later meeting and it would go for approval on July 24^th.

Measure U bonds

Measure U bonds updates were provided by George Rojas of the Cumming Group. The softball field will have work done on it beginning on July 10^th, while Tahoe Valley Elementary school’s work will begin sometime next year.

The next board meeting will take place on June 26.

Eli Ramos is a reporter for Tahoe Daily Tribune. They are part of the 2024–26 cohort of California Local News Fellows through UC Berkeley.