School Board

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Nev. - Election officials have released their first post-election day tabulation of the ballots for Douglas County races. 86.27 percent of the voters have cast their vote: Mail 19,727 50.69%, Early Voting 10,448 26.85%, Election Day 3,399 8.73%. So far, ballots from 33,574 of the 38,918 eligible voters have been counted.

DOUGLAS COUNTY COMMISSIONER, DISTRICT 1

Danny Tarkanian - 25,293 75.34%

DOUGLAS COUNTY COMMISSIONER, DISTRICT 3

Mark Gardner - 21,639 64.45%
Charles Holt - 9,337 27.81%

DOUGLAS COUNTY COMMISSIONER, DISTRICT 5

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - There are three open seats on the South Tahoe Public Utility Board of Directors this election season, two for a four-year term and one for a two-year term.

South Tahoe Now reached out to the candidates and below are their answers to a set of questions. For the two four-year terms, incumbent Kelly Sheehan is running for reelection, Duane Wallace is running after being appointed to fill Jim Jones's spot on the board until this election, and they are joined by David Peterson.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) is planning and preparing for what the 2020-21 school year will look like, whether it is held virtually, in person, or is a hybrid of different options.

The July 21 LTUSD School Board meeting will continue the conversation of reopening at their last meeting and address options and concerns with a final decision by then end of the month.

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Nev. - The race for the Douglas County Commissioner for District 1 has been a tight one. As of Tuesday, June 16, challenger Danny Tarkanian is ahead of incumbent Dave Nelson by 12 votes. Ever since voting ended on June 9, the count between these two candidates has been a close one. Nelson had been leading during the first week of tabulated results but Tarkanian has now moved ahead.

As of Tuesday at 5:00 p.m., ballots from 57.18 percent of the county's 20,818 eligible voters have been counted. Results from those ballots:

County Commissioner District 1

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The Lake Tahoe Unified School District will be holding a regularly scheduled board meeting on Tuesday, May 26 at 5:00 p.m., followed by closed session.

The meeting can be viewed on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHZeyuZYC9ZXKyTO2k-sJ5Q, and public comment can be made in three ways (see at the end of the story).

A provisional board member will be selected Tuesday night. Three people have applied to fill the seat left vacant by the resignation of Barbara Bannar. Vying to fill out her term are Chris Proctor, David Wise, and Lauri Kemper.

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Calif. - Since Superintendent Terri White announced her retirement at the end of February, the Douglas County School Board has been searching for her replacement.

On Monday, May 4 at 1:00 p.m., the board will hold a special meeting to interview three candidates via ZOOM and the public is invited to watch and participate. According to their agenda, a new superintendent could be chosen and announced by the end of the meeting.

The ultimate mission of the Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) is to help youth thrive. Sadly, it is our students - not we, adult, decision-makers - who will most suffer climate change. LTUSD must also support the future health and well-being of our students.

So, in 2017, the School Board formally resolved to:

Increase reliance on clean, renewable energy sources to power the District’s facilities, in line with and in collaboration with, the City of South Lake Tahoe’s recent pledge to power 100 percent of our electricity use with renewable energy by 2030.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Students at Sierra House Elementary School will be walking through the doors of their school for the first time this year, two weeks after the rest of those in the Lake Tahoe Unified School District.

When a fire damaged the school in November 2018, little did anyone know that it would take almost 10 months to reopen.

ZEPHYR COVE, Nev. - Both Douglas County schools at Lake Tahoe are going to start off the new school year with a new principal, Shawn Lear.

During Tuesday's school board meeting, Lear's hiring appeared on their consent agenda. It was approved, making him the principal of both Zephyr Cove Elementary School and George Whittell High School in Zephyr Cove.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - County Supervisor Sue Novasel was honored by Assemblyman Frank Bigelow as the 5th District's Woman of the Year during a special ceremony on Monday during a Floor Session in Sacramento.

Each year, the California Women’s Legislative Caucus sponsors and hosts its Woman of the Year event to honor women from around the state for all they do in their communities.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Attending the December 6 special meeting of the Lake Tahoe Unified School Board were concerned parents, teachers and staff from Sierra House Elementary, enough to fill the room and into the hallway. They were there to ask the Board why the school was reopened just two days after the November 11 fire that took out a hallway, a reading room, teacher's room and caused damage to ducts and panels above the ceiling.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The community could see a new Boys and Girls Club in South Lake Tahoe as early as Spring 2021.

During their November 13 meeting, the Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) Board voted unanimously to approve a ground lease between them and the Boys and Girls Club of Lake Tahoe (BGCLT), enabling the nonprofit youth club to build on a lot owned by the district adjacent to their current location at Al Tahoe Elementary.

Hear what the two candidates for El Dorado County District 5 Supervisor have to say during the Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce (Tahoe Chamber) Candidates Forum on Thursday, Sept. 20 from 5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. at Tahoe Beach Retreat in South Lake Tahoe.

There are several opportunities this election season for South Lake Tahoe area residents to represent their community on the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors (1), LTUSD School Board (2) , City Council (3), City Clerk (1), City Treasurer (1), South Tahoe Public Utility District (2), Tahoe Paradise Recreation and Park District, and now, Lake Tahoe Community College Board of Trustees (2).

The positions all have residential requirements with both LTCC and LTUSD have further area boundaries.

The filing period opens on July 16 and ends at 5:00 p.m. on August 10, 2018.

Just under 40 percent of the registered voters in Douglas County cast their ballots in the primary election Tuesday. With 100 percent of the precincts counted in Douglas County, the following results are in:

Sheriff

Coverley, Dan 6,954 53.79%
Duffy, Joe 3,173 24.54%
Brady, David J. 1,971 15.25%
Paris, Dean 830 6.42%

County Commissioner District 2

Engels, John 4,445 52.57%
Thaler, Steven (incumbent) 4,011 47.43%

County Commissioner District 4

Rice, Wesley A. 4,420 52.69%
Murphy, Janet 3,968 47.31%

Douglas County Assessor

Tholen, Trent 4,222 51.31%

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The three member visiting accreditation committee from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) finished up their review at South Tahoe High School (STHS) today, parting with very positive comments about their experience.

"It is amazing what I've seen in two years," said Cheryl Townsend, Director of The Reach School in Sebastapol, Calif., and the only member of the accreditation team that originally reviewed the school in 2016. "There is a great level of intensity and quality at this school, give yourselves a hand."

What is currently six portable buildings at the Al Tahoe school site could be a new home for the Boys & Girls Club of Lake Tahoe (BGCLT). That is the idea Jude Wood presented to the school board Tuesday night.

Wood, the BGCLT Executive Director, spoke in front of the Lake Tahoe Unified School District's Trustees, giving them a look into a proposed partnership and future facility use agreement with the District with a new Clubhouse built on District owned property. The Club would fully fund the new building.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – The Barton Foundation is delighted to announce the appointment of Troy Matthews as its new Executive Director.

Matthews’ commitment to serving his community is exhibited through his involvement and leadership in multiple organizations including Tahoe Regional Young Professionals, the South Tahoe Drug Free Coalition, Progress for Tahoe, El Dorado County Housing Task Force, LTCC Theater Arts Task Force, Leadership Lake Tahoe, and serving on the Lake Tahoe Unified School District School Board.

Kingsbury Middle School has fallen out of escrow after the buyer, Lake Parkway LLC, failed to secure financing on the $3.15M purchase by the required date of July 31.

It is that time of year again. It is time for the youth in our beautiful community to take the big plunge. We, the members of the Lake Tahoe Unified School District Board of Education wish to congratulate each and every member of South Tahoe High School and Mount Tallac High School class of 2017 for all their hard work, not just for the last 4 years, but for the last 12. We are deeply proud of our seniors, and we hope that moving forward you never forget the closeness and care of a community like South Lake Tahoe.

The last day of school for students in the Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) is still unknown, it could be June 16 or June 27, or some point in between.

LTUSD asked for a waiver of the seven snow / flood days they used in January. Today, the District Office heard from the California Department of Education (CDE), but just to let them know it'd be another two weeks until they had an answer for their request.

The annual joint board meeting with the Lake Tahoe Community College and Lake Tahoe Unified School District to discuss common goal strategies will be held on Tuesday, March 28 in the LTCC board room, L104, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

LTUSD will start off the evening with a closed session at the Education Center Board Room at 5:00 p.m. before moving over to the college. They will then reconvene their open session back at the Education Center Board Room at 7:30 p.m.

During the last meeting of the Lake Tahoe Unified School District Board of Trustees, discussion about neighborhood schools and theme schools surrounded the proposed STEAM Academy at Al Tahoe Elementary when it reopens. STEAM - science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics - would be the focus of all students at the school, much as the themes surround all other local elementary schools.

At the request of the board, LTUSD Superintendent Dr. Jim Tarwater will present the demographic data from each school in relation to where they reside.

The Lake Tahoe Unified School District trustees will continue their discussion into the future use of the old Al Tahoe school site during a study session prior to their normal board meeting Tuesday.