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Are longer school days on the horizon for Visalia students? Your child may be in for a longer school day come fall. Negotiations are already underway after Visalia Unified trustees unanimously approved the district’s proposed expanded learning and opportunity grant, money meant to help both in-person and distance learners next year. This may mean longer school days for students, teachers and administration, though the finer details are still being ironed out between the district and union. “Our district has a historic revenue that comes along once in a generation. We need to put those resources to work in ways that accelerate our students and get the most bang for our buck,” said Greg Price, president of Visalia Unified Teacher Association. ....
Smoke shop near school gets OK from Visalia City Council View Comments Potential holes in Visalia’s municipal codes were exposed Monday night after the public and school board members questioned whether a smoke shop should be allowed near an elementary school. Ultimately, the Visalia City Council voted in favor of upholding the planning commission’s recommendation to allow a smoke shop, PRD Cigarettes, to operate around 500 feet away from Houston Elementary School in a 2-1 decision. The distance is less than two football fields away, or about 100 feet farther than centerfield of a typical baseball stadium. Council members Brian Poochigian and Brett Taylor voted in favor of the motion, while Councilman Greg Collins was the sole no vote. Mayor Steve Nelsen and Vice Mayor Phil Cox didn t attend the meeting. ....
Cyber pirates target Visalia Unified School District, hold IT systems hostage View Comments Visalia Unified s IT system crumbled at the hands of cyber pirates who targeted the district s computers with ransomware. “Currently, many district IT systems are offline until further notice,” a press release from VUSD reads. The press release did not specify if any student or teacher information was compromised as a result of the attack. The situation is being assessed, district spokeswoman Kim Batty said in response to questions posed by the Times-Delta. There are no specific details to share at this time, she said. Visalia Police Department and federal law enforcement have been made aware of the situation, according to VUSD officials. ....
Visalia Unified School District quarantined several classrooms in the wake of multiple students and staff testing positive for COVID-19. Affected schools include Crestwood, Shannon Ranch, Annie R. Mitchell, Veva Blunt, and Willow Glen elementary schools, where overall 75 students were quarantined on Monday as a precaution. Teachers and aides will also be required to quarantine. Staffers tested positive for COVID-19 at Mountain View, Washington and Four Creeks on Jan. 19, the same day students returned from the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. No classrooms were quarantined, according to communications coordinator Kim Batty A non-VUSD classroom at Green Acres was also quarantined. A staff member for a Tulare County Office of Education program tested positive for COVID-19 over the weekend, according to spokesperson Rob Herman. ....