The Burlingame Voice

BHS Lock Down

Here's the story of today's lockdown as reported in the Daily Journal

Burlingame High School was briefly locked down Friday and a student detained after he sent an email to administrators claiming he had a gun and a bomb, according to police.

The school, located at 1 Mangini Way in Burlingame, was locked down shortly after 2 p.m. and police responded to the campus, according to Barbara Tufo, an administrative assistant with the San Mateo Union High School District.

Administrators identified the student and determined he was on campus while police evacuated the school. Police detained the student and searched his backpack and lockers but found no weapon or explosive device. Police also swept the campus with a bomb-sniffing dog. The student was cooperative and police are investigating whether the threat was real, a hoax or a case of mistaken identity, according to police.

The lockdown was lifted shortly after 2:30 p.m. and parents were permitted to pick up their students at the school, Tufo said.

An automated call went out to parents notifying them of the incident, Tufo said.

It was a quick response with the full team including the dogs.

Burlingame is Mayberry in so many ways.

Here's proof. There ain't nothin' like the feeling surrounding the "Little Big Game."

 

Fall Sports Wrap-up

Here are a couple of local excerpts from the Daily Journal's sports wrap-up as we enter the post-seasons:

In Division III volleyball, Burlingame earned a No. 5 seed and they'll face No. 4 Valley Christian on Thursday.  Mercy--Burlingame is also in Division IV. They are the No. 10. They'll travel to Santa Catalina.

After posting another undefeated league season, the Burlingame tennis team is the No. 5 seed in the CCS team tournament. They'll face the winner of Carmel and Aptos.

In the singles tournament a couple of weeks later, Brooke Tsu of Burlingame is seeded sixth, she'll face Najah Simmons of Santa Teresa.

In girls water polo, Mercy-Burlingame earned the No. 11 seed and will face No. 6 Presentation on Wednesday. While the boys' team finished No. 10 Burlingame and will play No. 7 Aptos.

And the Little-Big Game is this Saturday at 11am at San Mateo where the 4-5 Panthers will face off against the 1-7-1 Bearcats for the Paw!  Here's the San Mateo band marching last year and here is this year's program.

Go Rangers????? Why Not?

I know it's tough to root for the Texas Rangers even though you may feel sorry for them after our SF Giants beat them 4 games to 1 in last year's World Series, but as the Daily Journal poll notes you can root for the Rangers with B'game's own Scott Feldman as a reliever or the Cardinals with Daniel Descaiso from RWC playing infield.  You know what to do here, B'gamers!

Scott Feldman is a true B'gamer having gone to Lincoln, BIS and then he pitched for the BHS Panthers back in 2001.  I had dinner with his Lincoln kindergarten teacher last week and apparently he was a nice boy even then.

Tonight he came into Game 5 with one man on and one out in the 6th inning when the Rangers were down 2-1.  He hung a curveball that went for a single, but then got an infield out and a K to end the inning.  Well done, Scott, and the Rangers came back to win 4-2.

Here's the Panthers' field of play in Washington Park with some guys who are about Scott's age playing in the alumni game.  We're lucky to have such a historic field that teams travel from far and near to play on every chance they get!

Tax Policy Here - Measure E

From where I sit, the best taxes are those that stay close to home and close to the reason they are put into effect.  That's why school bond measures like the current Measure E are the best use of our tax policies.  As the volunteers fan out to knock on doors this weekend, the flyer notes that it gives local control and stable funding (see the next post on how tenuous such stability can be).

I also like when taxes and bond measures are designed with contingencies in mind.  For instance, Measure E includes this contingency:

Reduction in Tax if Result is Less Other Government Support

The collection of the education parcel tax is not intended to decrease or offset any increase in local, state, or federal government revenue sources that would otherwise be available to the Burlingame Elementary School District during the period of the education parcel tax.  In the event that the levy and collection does have such an effect, the Burlingame Elementary School District shall cease the levy or shall reduce the education parcel tax to the extent that such action would restore the amount of the decrease or offset in other revenues.

This is critically important since there is no way to predict what will happen in Sacramento over the next four years.  And with the vagaries of how school funding works (e.g. Basic aid districts, etc) it's better to be safe than sorry.  So.........

State Budget Woes - January Timebomb

Here is an Oakland Tribune editorial that has the ring of real-world sensibility to it.

A budget land mine is in the path of California's fiscal future. It's been there for several months waiting to go off on schedule in January. It's the budget trigger that could mandate up to $2.5 billion in additional state spending cuts, most of which would be borne by already diminished K-12 education funding.

Gov. Jerry Brown's and the Legislature's hope was that somehow an additional $4 billion in previously unanticipated capital gains tax revenues would appear in time to defuse the trigger.  But as the state's weak economy continues without significant recovery in sight, it is, or should be, clear that billions of extra tax money is not forthcoming.

I missed this next part, but it is unfortunate that the Supreme Court keeps meddling in things they have no real-world understanding of

Adding to the state's fiscal woes, the California Supreme Court stayed legislation that dissolved California Redevelopment Agencies. That means the state won't be able to grab $1.7 billion from redevelopment districts.

The money that wasn't there in June, when the budget was passed is still not there today and is not likely to be there before the December deadline on deciding whether to deploy the trigger in January.  It was a mistake to rely on rosy capital gains tax projections to balance a state budget, as their record of volatility demonstrates.

Boy is that an understatement--too bad more newspaper editorial boards (like our local ones) don't understand this!

But the worst is yet to come. If the trigger is pulled in January, K-12 schools might lose up to $1.5 billion in funding and be forced to cut their academic years by seven days. However, even that would not be enough to accommodate the trigger.

What is most dismaying is that the budget land mine that is about to explode in January is not a one-time disaster. Unless there is a major overhaul of fixed state costs, such as pensions, there will be no real fiscal relief for years to come.

California also needs to place a freeze on selling bonds, including the $10 billion bond authorized to build the state's high-speed rail boondoggle. Interest on state debt is at a high 7.8 percent of budget, nearly twice the national average even with low interest rates. It cannot be allowed to grow.

We hope that should the current budget implode that at least some lessons will be learned and that the necessity for structural reforms finally will lead to action.

Sorry for the Monday morning downer................

Weekend in Our Little Town

B'gamers had to get over the fact that the Giants' season is done by getting out and about in town.  Aside from the great fun to be had at the Pet Parade, the parents at McKinley School were doing their part to build a stronger school community.  The McKinley car wash was a great effort to raise funds so that all the students could afford to go to to the Outdoor Education program.  Doing car washes at the high school age is easier since the kids can do more of the work.  At the elementary age, the parents do the heavy washing.

 

And the St. Catherine's annual Faire was in full swing with a chili cook-off, rides, a climbing wall and a visit from Lou Seal.  Here's Lou showing the youngsters how "the dance" is done!

 

Council Campaigns Kick-off

I missed the Jerry Deal and Terry Nagel campaign kick-off parties.  I was out of town for Jerry's and Terry's invite got lost in the mail.  But I was back for Ricardo Ortiz' kick-off which he held at his parents' house on Vancouver yesterday.  Today, Labor Day, is the traditional start of the Council campaigning and you should expect to see more lawn signs, door hangers, precinct walkers, mass mailings, etc from now to November 8th.  It's a three-way race since the fourth guy never actually filed to run.

Ricardo Ortiz' kick-off speech was set up like a business person would report their results for the quarter:  what does the City need to do to increase revenue and what does it need to do to contain costs?  It's a nice approach that will play well in this economic environment.  Ortiz endorsed Measure E for school funding and the talk around the event was how Terry Nagel has alienated the school parents that used to support her.  Will that be enough of an opening to beat a candidate who has run strong before?  We'll see.  Here is Ortiz (on the right) delivering the opening salvo.

 

$76 Skool Bond is On

From the Daily Journal piece today, the second game is on:

On Thursday morning, the Board of Trustees approved 4-0-1, with Trustee Liz Gindraux absent, to put a $76 annual tax for four years on the November ballot, which would create about $589,000 yearly for the district, according to a staff report by Chief Business Official Robert Clark. Such a measure requires two-thirds support to pass.

While the district had considered such a measure for months, a push came after the spring when the district faced about $1 million in cuts. The community responded with the Game On! Campaign — a fundraising effort that raised about $500,000 to maintain services.

The Game On! signs have been proliferating nicely, so keep up that good work.  Construction appears to be moving along as well.

SMUHSD has 7 Applicants

Per today's Daily Journal article

Seven have applied to fill the vacancy on the San Mateo Union High School District Board of Trustees created by the May election of Dave Pine to the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors.

Applications turned in this week resulted in seven contenders: Rhonda Collins, Marc Friedman, Elizabeth Frykberg, Jose Gonzalez, Michael Loy, Robert Mason and Charles Zelnik. The board will hold a special meeting Thursday, July 14 to interview applicants and appoint a new trustee.

Pine’s four-year term was scheduled to end this November. Rather than hold a special election, the appointed person will fill the position for the remainder of the term, Superintendent Scott Laurence said previously.

Special elections are expensive so this seems like good stewardship from a financial perspective.  Then the person will have to defend the seat in four months.