Arcadia teachers began picketing their schools to protest what they feel is lack of progress in contract negotiations with the Arcadia Unified School District.
Some Sierra Madre parents want to split from the Pasadena Unified School District and join the Arcadia Unified School District because of Arcadia's high-ranking CAP scores and low dropout rate. Members of Arcadia's Board of Education question whether they could handle the influx of new students.
The Los Angeles County Commission on School District Organization voted 9-0 to deny Sierra Madre's petition to join the Arcadia School District. The matter will go to the state Board of Education, which may take 3-4 months to make a decision.
Each year, Richard Onderdonk's archeology class conducts a dig on the high school campus. They attempt to duplicate the work done by professional archaeologists. Their efforts so far have yielded few artifacts.
About 1500 people went to a hearing before the county Commission on School District Organization to discuss the possible transfer of Sierra Madre schools from the Pasadena Unified School District to the Arcadia Unified School District. The hearing is the first step in a long process that involves approval by the state Board of Education and local voters before an area can transfer to another school district.
There was a large crowd of parents at the school board meeting where the closure of two elementary schools was discussed. The board will make its final decision after the public hearings have been held on December 10 and January 8.
According to Superintendent of Schools, Stephen Goldstone, if Governor George Deukmejian's budget passes as it now stands, the Arcadia School District will have to make "tremendous cuts" in personnel.
Protest by about 1/3 of 300 teachers in Arcadia Unified School District on stalemate in contract negotiations at school board meeting. ATA President Priscilla Tedesco and other teachers appeared before microphone to protest.
Members of the school district Long Range Space Utilization Task Force have been visiting all the elementary schools in the district to gain an overview of all the facilities before they recommend which should be closed.
A reduction of 4 or 5 teachers in the Arcadia schools has been proposed as a means of cutting next year's budget. The district hopes to achieve this by attrition.
Petitions are being circulated that are aimed at thwarting the possible closure of two elementary schools. The savings would amount to only .7% of an $18 million school budget - not enough to justify closing the schools, according to the parents of students at Bonita Park and Baldwin Stocker.
About 800 Arcadia High School students walked out of classes and gathered on the library lawn to demonstrate support for their teachers and to protest the cancellation of the senior assembly, an annual high school tradition.
Arcadia schools have received $377,665 from the California state lottery and the district expects another, slightly smaller, payment for January-March 1986.
Though Arcadia Unified School District has had to cut back on employees due to lack of money from the state, it will soon hire and elementary school counselor thanks to some imaginative use of state grant money.
A recent meeting between Asian parents, police and school district members was quite successful, School Board Member Robert Kladifko told the Board. He said recent fights between Asians and Caucasians at the Arcadia High School and the Arcadia Library were not racially motivated.
Dr. Ed Ryan, district superintendent, told the Board of Education that the teaching staff in the Arcadia School District must be reduced next year by 30. There are several reasons for the cut, including decreased enrollment and lack of funds. Plans for that reduction and the position of the Arcadia Teachers Association are discussed.
School district gets CAP test scores. Although Arcadia students remained comfortably above the 80th percentile in most categories in California Assessment Program test scores, the influx of Limited English Proficient (LEP) students into the district is having a definite impact. In 1976, there were 63 limited or non-English speaking students in Arcadia school district. As of October 1 this year, 539 students are in the LEP program. 78% of LEP students are Asian; 14 % are Spanish, 2 % European, with the remainder from other cultures. Fifteen languages are represented. See hard copy in Box 51.