Arcadia Unified School District Board elections next week. At issue are dual enrollment and transparency. There are four candidates runnings for two seats.
A message supporting embattled former Arcadia High School cross country coach James O'Brien, sent by a concerned parent named Michael Yamane, was forwarded to the police by a school board member. Yamane's email urged the district to reconsider its firing of O'Brien, accuses district officials of abusing employees, lying about a CIF-SS investigation into O'Brien's program, and suggested officials might be breaking state law. Yamane is concerned about his constitutional right to free speech, after his email was forwarded to police. Yamane is also a proponent of the "Recall Arcadia" campaign, which seeks to recall three school board members.
Veronica Yamane, an Arcadia High School sophomore star of track and field, is CIF Athlete of the Week for being the Apaches' second-fastest girl in the 3,200 meter race after running at 11:08.48 in the rated portion of the Arcadia Invitational last Friday. Sergio Gonzalez of Arcadia High School is on the CIF "Honor Roll" for his run time of 9:05.33 in the 3,200 meter race.
Arcadia Unified School District's Board of Education upholds its decision of having fired cross country coach James O'Brien. There were no details about the reasons of his dismissal.
Arcadia firefighter Michael Herdman, who went missing and was found dead on June 27 at the bottom of a cliff in Los Padres National Forest, had drugs in his system when he died. Ventura County Medical Examiner toxicology report said he had alcohol, Ecstasy, and Adderall in his body.
Gary Kovacic is Arcadia's mayor for the sixth time since 1998. Mayor Pro Tem is Roger Chandler. Mayor Kovacic is in the final year of a second consecutive four-year term. Due to term limits, he will have to step away from Arcadia City Council for at last two years after he concludes his current term as mayor, next April.
Fired Arcadia High School cross country coach James O'Brien questions reason for dismissal. The Arcadia Unified School District's Board of Education upholds its decision to not reappoint Mr. O'Brien as head coach for the 2013-2014 year. He will continue to teach at Arcadia High School.
Why is council member Mayor Pro Tempore Sho Tay spending campaign money after being appointed for an extended second term because he was the only candidate in his 3rd District. Campaign contributions Tay received from Tony Chen and James Chou have been spent on mailers in both Districts 2 and 5 to support candidates Bob Harbicht and Roger Chandler.
Meet Arcadia High School's Head Coach Andrew Policky. He coaches the football team. It is his sixth year at Arcadia's helm and he is an Arcadia High School alumnus.
Arcadia Unified School District's First Avenue Middle School music teacher Michael Danielson is one of only 16 teachers to be recognized as a 2019-2020 Teacher of the Year.
Arcadia Unified School District school board refuses to reinstate James O'Brien as the cross country coach. The school board expressed appreciation for all the individuals who shared their perspectives on the Arcadia High School cross country program at the Board of Education meetings. Mr. O'Brien continues to be employed as a teacher at Arcadia High School. Coaching assignments are made on a year-to-year basis.
Arcadia High School senior Sergio Gonzalez won the CIF State Division I championship race with the second fastest time of 15:05. His team, the Apaches, finished second, behind Trabuco Hills.
Profile on Arcadia High School senior Ammar Moussa, a runner that has won CIF-Southern Section and CIF State Division I championships. Moussa may be the best distance runner in Apaches history and Coach Jim O'Brien says Moussa is the best he has coached in his 15 years at Arcadia High School.
The ad (open letter to the Arcadia community) that was paid for by the three members of the Arcadia Unified School District Board of Education who are targeted for recall--Cung Nguyen, lori Phillipi, and Kay Kinsler--was printed in the Pasadena Star News August 11, 2013. Fired Arcadia High School cross country coach James O'Brien and his supporters say the letter was a public relations bid to derail the recall effort. See hard copy of the letter in VF "Arcadia High School." See also Arcadia Weekly, p. 1 and 27, August 15, 2013.