Category Archives: Education

Articles, Community News, Education

DNUSD To ‘Sell or Junk’ Dilapidated Vehicles; New Vehicles Are On The Way, Superintendent Says

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Thumbnail photo by Persephone Rose

Del Norte Unified is planning to sell or junk a plethora of surplus vehicles, the newest of which is a 17-year-old Chevrolet van.

Though most of the vehicles run, none are in good, or even fair condition, DNUSD Superintendent Jeff Harris told trustees on Thursday. They include six vans, three pickup trucks, a box truck and two buses. Their condition grading ranges from zero to two.

“Zeros are scrap, one is inoperative and two is severe wear and tear,” Harris said. “We don’t have any vehicles on this list that are normal, fair or good. They’re all basically not something we want to put staff or students in.”

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Articles, Community News, Education

Local Education Officials Are Monitoring Changes at the Federal Level, But Don’t Anticipate Major Impacts

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Thumbnail: Del Norte Unified School District logo

Del Norte County’s top education official said he doesn’t anticipate a major impact if the Trump administration makes good on its threat to shut the U.S. Department of Education down.

Del Norte County Unified School District Superintendent Jeff Harris told trustees Thursday that he foresees responsibilities being shifted to other departments at the federal level. There is concern about the Trump administration stopping discretionary dollars that had gone to the Department of Education, but Congressionally-mandated monies likely won’t disappear, Harris said.

“There will be government agencies that oversee them potentially,” he said. “If there is a reduction in funding — we call them Title Funds — just know there are always reductions in Title Funds and always increases to Title Funds. We’ll keep an eye on those as we go ahead.”

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Articles, Crescent City, Education, In Media Res

Del Norte County Office of Education Hosts Inaugural ‘Building Bridges’ Family Summit 

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Event signage in front of school entrance.

Climbing the stairs that lead to the main entrance of Crescent Elk Middle School feels an awful lot like stepping through a time machine. 

It’s not just the building’s 1930’s Art Deco aesthetic that immerses me in nostalgia every time I walk through its doors. I graduated from the school in 1999, sure, but I’ve wandered through those halls for a myriad of reasons over the decades. Most recently, I found myself returning to my adolescent alma mater for an entirely new reason. As the parent of a student, I was invited by the Del Norte County Office of Education and the Del Norte Unified School District to their inaugural “Family Summit” event. This conference, called “Building Bridges”, was an effort undertaken by DNCOE and DNUSD to strengthen student and family connections between home, school, and resources available within the broader community. 

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Articles, Community News, Education, Youth

Del Norte High’s First Poetry Out Loud Champion Advances To State Competition

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“I have a lot more hope for the future,” 

J.Rowe, one of the three guest teachers participating in Sunset High School’s Poetry Out Loud competition, came from the Sacramento area to teach poetry to local students. She is a social activist and spoken word artist who explores themes of empowerment, social justice and love through her poetry. The students at Sunset High have a lot of big ideas and the courage required to put those ideas into motion, she says. 

“These students I’ve been blessed to work with are very much ahead of their time.” Rowe told Redwood Voice Community News at the Poetry Out Loud Open Mic event Friday.

Continue reading Del Norte High’s First Poetry Out Loud Champion Advances To State Competition →
Articles, Community News, Economy, Education, Health, Infrastructure, Local Government, Transportation, Youth

Trump’s Attack On Federal Funding Could Impact Del Norters’ Access To Health Care, Senior Services, Education, Local Nonprofits Say

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Open Door Clinic operates a clinic at the Del Norte Community Wellness Center. At a discussion with Congressman Jared Huffman on Monday, the organization’s CEO Tory Starr said he was worried about being unable to serve patients should their federal funding be frozen. | Photo by Persephone Rose

Nearly a week after a judge temporarily blocked a Trump Administration directive to freeze federal funding, Open Door Clinic CEO Tory Starr said his organization is still bracing for the worst.

Open Door operates more than 14 clinics across Humboldt and Del Norte counties, providing behavioral health, medical, dental and obstetrics care to 60,000-plus patients and employing nearly 800 people.

During a virtual roundtable discussion hosted by Congressman Jared Huffman on Monday, Starr said that while a judge hit pause on the directive Jan. 28, guidance he’s received from the Health Resources and Services Administration suggests that federal dollars could still be at risk.

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Articles, Community News, Education

Former Del Norte High School Principal, DNUSD Named As Defendants In Sexual Assault Lawsuit

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A retired Del Norte High School principal has been accused of sexually assaulting a student in a recent lawsuit filed against both him and Del Norte Unified School District

The lawsuit, filed in Del Norte County Superior Court on Oct. 18, 2024 and amended Jan. 6, 2025, alleges that Randy Fugate was a teacher when he began grooming the plaintiff in 1999 in order to sexually exploit her. The complaint also alleges that Del Norte Unified School District was either aware, or should have been aware, of Fugate’s actions and did nothing to prevent them.

The plaintiff is seeking damages against both defendants for negligence — including negligent hiring, supervision and retention, and negligent failure to train, warn or educate — sexual battery and for violating the Tom Bane Civil Rights Act and California Civil Rights Act of 1976.

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Articles, Community News, Education, Youth

DNUSD To Seek Public Guidance As It Continues To Develop AI Policies

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DNCOE’s director of information network services showed the Board of Trustees this clip of a Morgan Freeman deepfake during a discussion last year about artificial intelligence in the classroom. Thumbnail courtesy of the Del Norte County Office of Education

A year after he showed trustees a YouTube clip featuring a Morgan Freeman deepfake, Ryan Bahten says Del Norte Unified School District will seek public input as it continues to draft policies around artificial intelligence.

The district will deploy a community survey starting next week, said Bahten, the Del Norte County Office of Education’s director of information network services. The input provided will guide him and other district and DNCOE employees as they differentiate between AI as a tool in the classroom and AI as a potential risk to student privacy.

Bahten said he is aiming to get a policy before the Board of Trustees in time for teachers to begin learning how to use AI next school year.

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Articles, Community News, Education

DNUSD’s Classified Staff Reject Tentative Agreement; District, DNTA Begin Mediation Process

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Thumbnail image includes the DNUSD and CSEA logos taken from the district’s Facebook page and Great Northern Chapter #178’s Facebook page.

Negotiations between Del Norte Unified School District and the union that represents its classified employees are set to start over after members of the union’s local chapter rejected a tentative agreement.

The rejection of the proposed agreement between DNUSD and the California School Employees Association Great Northern Chapter #178 comes as contract discussions between the district and the Del Norte Teachers Association head toward mediation.

It also prompted Jenna Lussier, lead negotiator for CSEA Great Northern #178, to step down from the union’s negotiating team.

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Articles, Community News, Education

Law Enforcement Report ‘Non-Credible’ Threat Concerning Crescent Elk; DNUSD Superintendent Fields Questions About Jan. 7 Lockdown

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Thumbnail: DNUSD logo

Hours after two parents confronted the school board over last week’s lockdown, Del Norte County law enforcement investigated another threat they ultimately deemed non-credible.

A report came to the Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office concerning a possible threat of violence at Crescent Elk Middle School, Del Norte Unified School District announced on Facebook at about 9:30 a.m. Friday.

The child that allegedly made the threats had been speaking with a friend from Humboldt County who was concerned enough to notify the Fortuna Police Department, Del Norte County Sheriff Garrett Scott told Redwood Voice Community News.

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Articles, Community News, Education

Contract Negotiations Between Del Norte Teachers Association, DNUSD Stuck Over Salary Increases

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Thumbnail: Del Norte Teachers Association and Del Norte Unified School District logos.

Contract negotiations between the union representing local teachers and Del Norte Unified School District have hit an impasse with a dispute over salaries being the primary roadblock.

DNUSD is offering a one-time cash bonus of $750 per certificated employee. Del Norte Teachers Association negotiators are pushing for ongoing salary increases for union members. But with COVID dollars having run out and the potential for millions in budget cuts in the next few months, DNUSD officials say the district can’t afford the union’s ask.

DNTA President Amber Tiedeken-Cron, who teaches seventh- and eighth-grade history and math at Smith River School, doesn’t buy that explanation.

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