Category Archives: Education

Education, Local Government

DNUSD To Sell Surplus Vehicles Starting Monday

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Thumbnail photo: Del Norte Unified School are selling 10 surplus vehicles next week. The sale will start 7 a.m. Monday and last through 4 p.m. Friday. | Photo courtesy of Michael Hawkins

Though he initially balked at the plan, Michael Greer eventually came around to approving a resolution authorizing the sale of 10 surplus Del Norte Unified School District vehicles.

Greer said he worried that DNUSD wasn’t adequately getting the word out that it’s selling these vehicles and was giving its employees more of an advantage as a result. However, according to DNUSD Transportation Director Jenna Lussier, because the vehicles are worth less than $2,500 each, the process for providing public notice is more relaxed than if they were more than $2,500.

Plus, Board President Charlaine Mazzei and Trustee Area 2 representative Abbie Crist argued, the public discussion they were having about the vehicles counted giving public notice.

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Education, Transportation

New Transportation Director Describes Smooth Start To School Year

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Thumbnail photo by Jessica Cejnar Andrews

Jenna Lussier raved about her bus drivers and staff.

Four days after students returned to class, the new transportation director told Del Norte Unified School District trustees that her staff has been working extra time to make sure Klamath students are picked up. She also mentioned special efforts being made for youngsters at Redwood and Pine Grove schools.

“We are working diligently to get our children where they need to go,” Lussier said. “We had a couple of hiccups, but I think today those hiccups have been resolved…. I just want to thank my drivers because they’re making it awesome.”

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Articles, Education, Elections, Local Government

School Board, City Council Seats Still Open To Candidates; Crescent City Harbor District Lineup Set For November Election

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Thumbnail photo: Del Norte County’s Veterans Memorial Hall was used as a polling place during the June primary. | File photo by Monique Camarena

A slew of director and trustee positions are still available for candidates who want to help shape policy concerning local water use, fire protection and the education of Del Norte County’s youth.

The filing period for two of the three seats up for grabs on the Del Norte County Unified School District Board of Trustees has been extended until 5 p.m. Wednesday. The incumbents in both the Trustee Area 1 and Trustee Area 5 seats did not file their election paperwork by Friday’s deadline.

So far, two candidates — Briannon Fraley and Ron Bates — have filed election papers for the Trustee Area 5 seat that represents Klamath and communities south and east of Crescent City. Incumbent Michael Greer is seeking the California State Assembly District 2 seat currently held by Chris Rogers and is not seeking another term on the DNUSD Board.

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Articles, Education

After 16 Years, Don McArthur Retires From DNUSD School Board

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Thumbnail photo: DNUSD Trustee Area 1 representative Don McArthur (center) is flanked to the left by Charlaine Mazzei and Frank Magarino and to the right by Abbie Crist and Michael Greer. | Photo courtesy of DNUSD.org

Before he bid Don McArthur a happy retirement, DNUSD Superintendent Jeff Harris gave him and his colleagues an idea of just how long he’d been on the School Board.

“We were talking at the graduation,” Harris said. “Every kid who walked across the stage, you were on the School Board when they were in kindergarten.”

Three of McArthur’s colleagues on the Board read and approved a resolution honoring his service. The resolution applauds McArthur’s “strong commitment to public education” and his “genuine desire to do what is best for students.”

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Articles, Education, Infrastructure

DNUSD Faces Daunting Task Of Updating Surveillance System Hardware, Software Amid Skyrocketing Tech Costs

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Thumbnail photo courtesy of DNUSD Communications Director Michael Hawkins

Ryan Bahten summed up a setback to Del Norte Unified School District’s new system for monitoring emergencies in real time using its surveillance cameras with one word: RAMageddon.

DNUSD’s Information Network Services director said that in order for the district’s new ActiveNet system to work efficiently, the network video recorders at each school site need replacing. But the current skyrocketing costs in memory chips — driven, Bahten says, by the prevalence of artificial intelligence — means that won’t be cheap.

“Dell, as an example, will only give us a quote for six days on a server because every six days they expect pricing increases,” Bahten told trustees Thursday, describing 30-to-50% increases in technology costs month over month. “Right now, today, if I was to buy an NVR, we’re probably looking at anywhere from $35,000 to $40,000 per unit for that one box. But, unfortunately, we’re at a point where what we have is failing out there for our security camera hardware.”

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Articles, Education, Local Government

DNUSD Board of Trustees Recap, June 25, 2026

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Thumbnail photo: Don McArthur (middle) is retiring from his Trustee Area 1 seat on the Del Norte Unified School District Board of Trustees. | Photo courtesy of dnusd.org.

Trustee Area 5 representative Michael Greer was absent. Among the items discussed at Thursday’s Del Norte County Unified School District meeting:

Trustee Area 1 Vacancy: With Del Norte Unified School District’s longest-serving trustee, Don McArthur, announcing his retirement earlier this year, the Board of Trustees will soon have a vacancy.

DNUSD and the Del Norte County Office of Education will be seeking candidates interested in serving in the Trustee Area 1 seat. The Board expects to extend an appointment in July or August. For more information, email communications@dnusd.org.

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Articles, Crescent City, Education, Local Government, Youth

Uncharted Shores Academy Leases City-Owned Former Preschool Building At Peterson Park

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Thumbnail image courtesy of Uncharted Shores Academy

Uncharted Shores Academy has found safe harbor for its Offshore Resource Center thanks to a Crescent City Council decision Monday.

The Council’s unanimous approval to lease its property at 475 7th Street to the charter school comes roughly two weeks before Uncharted Shores was set to vacate one of its satellite locations at Washington Square, according to Executive Director Dan Cartwright. 

In addition to offering space for students in its homeschool program to meet with teachers, the Washington Square space also housed the school’s business office, Cartwright said. But because of Sutter Coast Hospital’s plans to use the building for medical offices, its current tenants need to be out by the end of the month, he said.

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Articles, Education, Local Government

Del Norte Unified Still Struggles With Budget Deficit Despite Improvements

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Thumbnail photo courtesy of Del Norte Unified School District

Del Norte Unified School District is still grappling with a budget deficit, but the district’s current financial picture has improved over last year, its assistant superintendent of business said.

DNUSD’s net budget shortfall heading into the 2026-27 fiscal year is $3.78 million compared to the $4.6 million deficit it was dealing with last year, Greg Bowen told trustees on Thursday.

At a public hearing roughly three weeks after California Gov. Gavin Newsom released his revised budget, Bowen credited a 4.31% cost of living adjustment, or “super COLA” and  a proposal to allocate additional funding for special education for the improvements. But Bowen said district officials are “cautious about what the future holds.”

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Articles, Community News, Education, Regional News, Smith River, Tribal Affairs

‘Respectful Recognition Of The Original People’; Smith River School To Acknowledge Its Place In Tolowa Territory

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Thumbnail photo courtesy of the Smith River School Local Organizing Committee

Updated at 11:07 a.m. Saturday to correct Andromeda Lopez’s title and clarify Amanda O’Connell’s title.

It took more than a year of “energy, passion and advocacy,” but the Tolowa community, parents, teachers and advocates finally received the green light to formally recognize that their school stands on Tolowa homeland.

Andromeda Lopez, a Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation citizen and a True North Organizing Network leader organizer, called the unanimous approval from Del Norte County Unified School District trustees to install a public land acknowledgment sign at Smith River Elementary School a landmark moment in local history.

But the Board’s decision on Thursday came after its president, Charlaine Mazzei, cut the public comment period short amid outcry over what she and her colleagues said was a misunderstanding over the definition of the word territory.

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Articles, Education, Klamath, Youth

‘This Situation Could Make Us Fail Our Finals’; Klamath Students, Parents Approach School Board, Again, About Late Buses

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Thumbnail photo by Jessica Cejnar Andrews

Skylar Lambeth was blunt — the bus being late 48 times is inexcusable.

The Del Norte High School student said her first grade has suffered and she’s missing “entire units” of history due to the late bus. Her peers could have made similar statements to the school board, she said Thursday, but they rely on the bus to return home.

“I feel Klamath kids have been forgotten about too many times,” Skylar said. “Klamath kids often get seen as lazy and not caring about grades, but that’s just not true. Us Klamath kids have bright futures, but this takes education away from us and that’s just not fair. This situation could make us fail our finals.”

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