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School district receives thumbs up from Grand Jury

Mary Thompson

Lake Tahoe Unified School District received rave reviews and a few recommendations in a report published by the El Dorado County Grand Jury.

The final report issued June 9 by the 1998-1999 Grand Jury said:

“The administration of the South Lake Tahoe school system and its teachers are of the highest quality. The students are on task and growing intellectually. The curriculum is well chosen. The school system has a wonderful array of courses for all students, regardless of their intellectual capacities and/or socioeconomic status. If a student anticipates college, this is as good a school system as exists in the state, all things considered.”



The items that were of concern to the Grand Jury included:

n Cafeterias at the South Lake Tahoe schools are too small for the number of students being served.



n Crowded class facilities, notably at South Tahoe Middle School.

n Lack of funding for vocational programs for children not planning to attend college.

n Campus security is almost nonexistent, with the exception of the three, full-time law enforcement officers at the South Tahoe schools. The middle school also has a security guard on duty four days per week.

Addressing the security concerns, the Grand Jury recommended the South Tahoe Middle School use a full-time security guard and put up a fence along the perimeter of the school grounds. The Grand Jury also called the existing school budget inadequate and recommends an increase for vocational programs such as wood shop, auto shop and metal shop.

Lake Tahoe Unified School District Superintendent Rich Alexander said the Grand Jury’s compliments and critiques on the school district are welcome observations.

“I’m pleased with the positive aspects of the report,” Alexander said. “And we take the Grand Jury’s recommendations very seriously and will be looking into the issues.”

The job of the Grand Jury is to investigate and report on procedures and methods used the local governments. It can also examine written complaints and investigate alleged misconduct by public officers.

The El Dorado County Grand Jury is comprised of 19 volunteers from El Dorado County. The jurors, who are selected through a voluntary application process, are expected to work six hours per day, three days per week, for the period of one year and maintain an impartial, objective viewpoint on the matters they investigate. Jurors are paid a per diem amount of $10 per day for each day worked.


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