Changes being discussed for South Lake Tahoe schools

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) is considering some changes to operations and will be conducting public meetings in the next two weeks to get feedback from staff and parents.

Senate Bill 328 and newly instilled Education Code 46148 require the school day for the middle and high schools to begin no earlier than 8:00 a.m. and 8:30 a.m., respectively, effective no later than July 1, 2022.

With this state-required change, LTUSD leadership looked at how it will work, and what other changes will have to be made. Changes to the South Tahoe Middle School (STMS) and South Tahoe High School (STHS) will directly impact the elementary school start times in order to accommodate bus transportation

Some of those proposed changes are far from being set in stone and LTUSD is reaching out to get feedback.

"We are proposing a change, but far from making a change," said LTUSD Superintendent Dr. Todd Cutler. "We are now reaching out to get feedback.

The conversation for community schools came up since LTUSD has busses moving from Meyers to Stateline as students can currently pick what school they want to attend, not just the one closest to their home.

Dr. Cutler will be at each elementary school between January 12 and 20 (see schedule below) to meet with faculty and parents to exchange ideas and get feedback about a current solution on the table, community schools.

"We believe this will create more diversity in our schools and district," said Dr. Cutler of community schools. "This wasn't the reason, but the driving force."

LTUSD is considering dividing the district into three elementary school regions to not only streamline transportation but to create neighborhood schools. Region 1 would be for Bijou and Sierra House elementary schools, Region 2 would be Sierra House and Tahoe Valley, Region 3 would include Meyers and Tahoe Valley. Parents in each region could select either school for their children.

In the map above:
Region 1: Bijou & Sierra House (green outline)
Region 2: Sierra House & Tahoe Valley (red outline)
Region 3: Meyers & Tahoe Valley (blue outline)

The two-way immersion program at Bijou would remain under the plan, but only for those residing in Region 1 unless currently a student in that program. The Lake Tahoe Environmental Science Magnet School (Meyers) would be for those in Region 3 only unless a student attending school there wants to remain.

Each school will continue to focus on science, STEM, math, social studies, and all of the other curricula they currently teach.

Should a student remain in a school out of their region, the parent would be responsible for transportation since a region's buses would remain only in that region. If any of the schools outside a region have openings, students on a waiting list could change to that school but the parent would be responsible for transportation.

Dr. Cutler said they are going to listen to people, determine if they will go forward with any plan, make changes if that is what they hear during meetings. He said it is important to get the facts out to the public to open the conversation.

"In the end, a board decision will be based on what the community wants," said Dr. Cutler. "Our goal is to get the best schools, great people leading them, great teachers teaching them."

If changes were to happen in the Fall, decisions need to be made in February by the Board of Trustees.

Also being discussed is moving South Tahoe High School from a 4-by-4 schedule back to a traditional school day where students have the same classes each day instead of every other day. Principal Justin Zunino will be meeting with school leadership to weigh out the pros and cons of each type of schedule. If the 4-by-4 were to end in the Fall it too would need to be decided by February so schedules could be created.

Dr. Cutler said the Board, parents, and staff brought the subject to him when he first started two years ago. There are some subjects, including advanced placement classes, that benefit from daily classes for the school year. Classes held during a shorter time each day also creates more equity for the student body, Cutler said.

A future LTUSD Board of Trustee meeting will be held to either finalize a decision, table it for now or abandon any changes.

School Community Meetings

The following meetings have been scheduled at each of the school sites with Dr. Cutler and the school site principals to allow for our community to provide input and have questions answered:

Bijou Elementary: January 12, 2022, 5:30 p.m.

Sierra House Elementary: January 18, 2022, 5:30 p.m.

LTESMS: January 19, 2022, 5:30 p.m.

TVES: January 20, 2022, 5:30 p.m.