Tag archives: schools

No More “Anonymous”
By Montecito Journal   |   September 13, 2018

I was pleased that President Trump stands four-square behind public disclosure on opinion pages and has come out so strongly against the use of “Anonymous” as cover for accountability. I would hope that the Journal would adhere to our president’s common sense and stop allowing letter writers to be “Anonymous” when stating their opinions in […]

On the Money
By Richard Mineards   |   May 31, 2018

The Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara, which since its founding in 1962 has awarded a handsome $108 million to more than 50,000 county students, marked its annual gift-giving with a dinner for 245 guests at the SB Museum of History. This year, $8.3 million was awarded to 2,620 students in ceremonies in Santa Maria and […]

Dr. Surber of Laguna Blanca Lower School
By Sigrid Toye   |   May 31, 2018

As I entered the parking area on the Laguna Blanca Lower School campus, everything looked as I remembered it at the end of the 2016-17 school year. Children were happily playing, staff were all present and accounted for, spring flowers could be seen placed artistically in the carefully pruned landscaping that surrounds the perimeter of […]

MUS Latest
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   March 8, 2018

On March 5, the Montecito Union School Board voted to move forward with expenditure reductions to help mitigate the reduction in revenue expected from the Montecito mudslides. The exact decrease is not yet known, but it could be as high as 13 percent next school year.  Superintendent Dr. Anthony Ranii recommended three categories of reductions […]

A Tale of Two Schools
By Sigrid Toye   |   March 8, 2018

The last couple of months have been, well, to put it mildly, a massive challenge. As a result of the Thomas Fire, some of us have been impacted by loss, many others by smoke inhalation or voluntary and mandatory evacuations, along with ensuing respiratory issues. Then, within a few days, tragedy struck again with the […]

Montecito Union Latest
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   February 15, 2018

During a special meeting last week, Montecito Union’s school board discussed several important issues at length, all related to the recent mudslide and its effect on the school’s finances, enrollment, and facility updates.  Unlike 95% of elementary schools in California, MUS is a basic aid funded school, meaning that its revenues come from District property […]

Reopening the Village
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   February 1, 2018

Within the last week, Montecito started to return to normal, with the gradual reopening of the upper village shops, the YMCA, Montecito Library, several preschools, and Montecito Union School.   The shops and restaurants in the upper village were closed a significant portion of December, due to mandatory evacuations during the Thomas Fire. Reopened for […]

School Updates
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   January 18, 2018

Several Montecito schools – Montecito Union, Cold Spring, Crane, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Laguna Blanca, All Saints-by-the-Sea – have resumed classes at various locations. “Getting the students back in school and on a regular schedule is a top priority, and MUS administration and staff have been working around the clock to bring this about,” […]