Well, summer was fun while it lasted. Tomorrow, scores of students throughout Benicia will be heading back to class. No matter which school they are attending, every Benicia Unified School District site will have something different, whether it is new teachers, new administrators or new construction. The Herald caught up with the principals at the […]
School board receives Measure S update to start off academic year
With a new school year ready to commence, the Governing Board of the Benicia Unified School District heard an update on the Measure S bond projects at Thursday’s meeting. Measure S is an initiative that was approved by Benicia voters in 2014 to provide $49.6 million in bond funding for renovation and upgrades of school […]
BUSD, city discontinue use of glyphosate products
After former Benicia Unified School District groundskeeper Dewayne Johnson successfully sued Monsanto over claims that a nearly daily use of its product Roundup gave him cancer, community members have wondered if the district would cease using the product. For BUSD, that decision came before the verdict was announced. Johnson served as an integrated pest manager […]
School board to vote on resolution removing obsolete books
On Monday, students throughout Benicia will be returning to school, but nearly 2,000 outdated books in Benicia High School’s library will not be joining them. Over the summer, Benicia Unified School District officials and student volunteers weeded certain books out of Benicia High’s collection, and the school board will be voting to declare these […]
Retired librarian becomes first candidate in school board race
The Benicia school board election is well underway. This year, three seats are up for grabs but of those three, only President Diane Ferrucci has made an attempt to run for re-election. This will essentially guarantee new faces on the board, and according to the Solano County Registrar of Voters’ website, at least four challengers […]
BUSD announces guidelines for free, discount meal eligibility in 18-19
The Benicia Unified School District announced its guidelines for free or reduced meal programs under the National School Lunch/Breakfast Programs for the 2018-19 school year. According to a news release, BUSD’s Food and Nutrition Department offers lunch services at Matthew Turner Elementary School, breakfast and lunch services at Mary Farmar Elementary, Joe Henderson Elementary, Robert […]
Local candidates emerge as filing deadline nears
(This post has been updated from the print edition.) The last day for candidates to declare their candidacies and submit nomination papers is Friday, but some fields are emerging in Benicia’s City Council and school board races. The Benicia City Council has two seats open in this year’s race, those belonging to councilmembers Mark Hughes […]
Farmar PTA to raise funds for music program with benefit concert at Lucca
Lucca Beer Garden is generally not open Wednesdays, but to help raise money for a good cause, the stage will be filled with the sounds of music for a special concert benefiting the music program at Mary Farmar Elementary School. The Mary Farmar PTA Music Committee will be hosting its Gimme a Beat! Benefit concert […]
Potential school board candidate comes forward; incumbent trustee will not seek re-election
The filing period for Benicia’s school board election is not until tomorrow, but if a panel at Thursday’s Progressive Democrats of Benicia (PDB) meeting was any indication, the race has already begun. Among other things, the panel saw the emergence of a potential challenger and the announcement by an incumbent that she would not seek […]
School board OKs 18-19 budget
The Governing Board of the Benicia Unified School District approved the budget for the 2018-19 school year at the final school board meeting of the 2017-18 year on Wednesday. Chief Business Official Tim Rahill noted there were no changes to the budget from the May 31 meeting when a public hearing was held. Rahill said […]