Al Tahoe Elementary could reopen if California bond measure passes

Closed due to declining enrollment since June of 2004, Al Tahoe Elementary School could reopen if a $9 billion bond measure passes in California this November. There is now an increase in enrollment in grades K-5 in the Lake Tahoe Unified School District, with an average grade size of 300, compared to an average of 274 students in grades 6-12. Its because of a growing lower grade population and a movement towards children starting school at the age of 3 that Al Tahoe would be used to house the younger students.

"If the District opens Al Tahoe it will be a theme school for Pre-kindergarten through grade 2 using all rooms at the site," LTUSD Superintendent James Tarwater told South Tahoe Now.

This would mean the Boys & Girls Club and all other offices at the school site would have to relocate. The club's director, Jude Wood, said they are actively looking for a new location, and were planning on moving before the news of the pending bond issue came to light. Wood said they've outgrown the current location and she'd like to have a non-school atmosphere for the kids to enjoy after they get out of class.

But, nothing is being planning officially until the November 8, 2016 election.

Tarwater said the "new" Al Tahoe Elementary, if the plan moves forward, would have a theme aimed at the younger students, much like the themes the other elementary schools have. Lake Tahoe Environmental Magnet School is environment themed, Tahoe Valley is performing arts themed, Bijou School's theme is two-way immersion and Sierra House is athletically focused.

Another aspect of the new school would be to provide school for even younger students than those participating in the Pre-K program at Tahoe Valley Elementary. Currently, chosen students need to be four-years-old, the new student could possibly be as young as three.

Studies show that children become better students later when they have positive educational exposure as a young child. Research shows that learning gaps open early and widen as kids age, eading advocates to call for comprehensive early education as an important tool to prevent lower-income kids from falling irreversibly behind their peers.

The California Public Education Facilities Bond Initiative would authorize the issuance and sale of the bonds, and their proceeds would be stored in a 2016 State School Facilities Fund.

From that fund, $3 billion would be used for the construction of new school facilities; $500 million for providing school facilities for charter schools;
$3 billion for the modernization of school facilities; $500 million for providing for facilities for career technical education programs, and $2 billion for acquiring, constructing, renovating and equipping community college facilities.