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PLAYING AROUND
A look inside the fall production of “The Servant of Two Masters”
PERFECT
WHEN THE
TOUGH GET
SICK
Girls water polo ends the season undefeated, falls to Aragon High in first round of CCS
An look at what happens when we find ourselves fighting illness
WHAT HAPPENS?
SPORTS page 15
A CLOSER LOOK page 15
NOVEMBER 18, 2009
VOLUME XLISSUE 3MONTA VISTA HIGH SCHOOLCUPERTINO, CA
Due to the failure of Measure G, the district now faces a potential loss of
GOVERNMENT TEACHER CHRISTOPHER CHIANG
“How can teachers find places to talk to people about these issues and find support for them?”
$5.4 million. With an uncertain future, everybody wants to know
WHAT NOW? by Jordan Lim and Tammy Su
O
ver the past years, educational funding has steeply dropped in the state of California, but the Fremont Union High School District has been able to weather the storm through several publicly funded bills, bonds and parcel taxes that balance out the lack of funding from the state. With the failure of Measure G, and a resulting decrease in community funding, the district will be forced to confront future financial issues. The Measure G parcel tax required a two-thirds majority to pass, but failed in the general election on Nov. 3, only bringing in 59.66 percent of the vote. According to the League of Women Voters of California Education Fund, the final results for Measure G were 19,995 votes yes (59.66 percent), and 13,518 votes no (40.34 percent). Measure G was a proposed parcel tax for the residents of FUHSD aimed at maintaining the same annual rate of $98 per household from the Measure L parcel tax that will expire in 2011. The results were announced the night of the election and were officially confirmed the following morning. Shortly after the results were con-
ASB VICE PRESIDENT CATHERINE SHIEH
“What’s going to happen to all our classes and programs?”
firmed, FUHSD Superintendent Polly Bove released a statement to the schools in the district. “It was disappointing, obviously,” Principal April Scott said. “People put a lot of time, effort, and energy in trying to get this parcel tax to pass. But at the same time her statement was positive, that we stand together, we’ve always done that, that’s what the district is known for. The staff has really rallied behind tough times in the past and we know we can do it again.”
PRINCIPAL APRIL SCOTT
“What else are we going to do to get that $5.4 million?”
The current situation
Still, the failure of the measure has a definite consequence: as the current parcel tax expires in 2011, the district is currently slated to lose $5.4 million in funding. Unlike bond money, this funding lost in the failed parcel tax is dollars directly tied to teacher salaries, class resources and program funds. The district, like any institution, needs to balance its budget, and the inevitable cuts to make up for the decrease also come from these areas. see MEASURE G on page 6
New event brings jazz, swing dancing to campus First ever MVHS Blue Pearl, a 1920s themed event, to be held on Dec. 4 by Ashley Wu
J
azz tunes, swing dancing, flapper dresses — Blue Pearl 2009, a 1920s themed event will take place on Dec. 4 at 7:30 p.m. The event will give MVHS students an opportunity to spend a night in a 1920s themed jazz club, where they will learn how to swing and jazz dance while listening to live music. In past years, a similar event has taken place at Lynbrook, whose band ran the event as a fundraiser, but will be the first year MVHS will host Blue Pearl. Senior Maayan Yakir, lead commissioner of Student Life commission, has helped the commission organize the event and has been to Blue Pearl before. “We’re bringing it to [MVHS],” Yakir said. “We just want to show people what the 1920s were like.” There will be a dance instructor teaching and demonstrating the basics of jazz dancing at the event. MVHS’ Blue Pearl is being modeled off of Lynbrook’s event, with the only exception of allowing students from other schools to attend. The school has wanted to organize this event for many years and has finally been successful in planning it. Because this is the first time the school will have Blue Pearl, the commission is pushing themselves to be as organized as possible so that they can accomplish everything they need to. And in addition to the event being new, the Student Life commission is working on a time crunch. Although they have been working on the event since last year, Blue Pearl was given the green light by administration in late October. This gave Student Life only about a month to get everything in order. But they weren’t alone. Student Life employed the help
DANCE REVOLUTION
The Student Life Commission is bringing the first ever Blue Pearl to MVHS. The jazz club themed event has traditionally been held at Lynbrook High School. Here are the details of the upcoming event:
Long time, no teacher
Diane Bodwin takes long-term substitute position — again by Erin Chiu
What: A night of 1920s
W
of every commission in the ASB Leadership class. Student Recognition commission will be helping by hosting a fashion show on Nov. 30 to model the appropriate attire for the event, and the Spirit commission will be working on decorations. Students are encouraged to wear 1920s apparel, but it is not required. As of right now, Student Life is working hard to make this event a success. Sophomore Steffanie Sum, another member of Student Life, said that they are getting the school’s jazz band to play at Blue Pearl, as well as finding a food provider to cater, and planning out the decorations necessary.
hile most substitute teachers come into a classroom on a given day and are gone by the next, substitute teacher Diane Bodwin tends to stick around. In the beginning of November, Bodwin took the place of math and computer science teacher Bob Van Hoy, who taught AP Computer Science, C++ and Geometry. Van Hoy is on personal leave for an indefinite amount of time, according to Bodwin, who is filling in until a permanent substitute is found later this year. Bodwin, the mother of MVHS class of 2007 alumna Kelly Bodwin and class of 2009 alumus Greg Bodwin, is no stranger to taking on the challenge of filling in for a teacher for an extended period of time. In 2007, Bodwin was asked mid-second semester to substitute for former science teacher John Boyce due to an unexpected leave. Bodwin taught sections of Chemistry from March until the end of the semester.
see BLUE PEARL on page 3
see EARTHQUAKE on page 3
themed jazz dancing and music
Who: Student Life Com-
mission organized the event and jazz band will be providing the music
When: 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 4
Where: MVHS Gym
Photo Courtesy of Devina Khanna
JUST DANCE Class of 2009 alumni Keaton Chiu and Mattise Yoshihara dance at Lynbook’s Blue Pearl in March 2009.