Schools

Local athletes found the themselves in the heat of competition Saturday at the annual Burbank All-City Middle Schools Track and Field Meet. Boys and girls' in the sixth through eighth grades from the three local middle schools - Jordan, John Muir and Luther - took to the track and infield at Burbank High for the friendly event. Nearly 300 athletes took part in the meet. PHOTOS: Burbank All-City Track and Field Meet It was also a good showing as far as new meet records go, as 16 new marks were set across the divisions.

The 2013 Leadership Burbank Class laughed while they raised funds for this year's community project “31 Violins” to support music education in the local elementary schools, said class member Amy Albano. More than 100 guests packed the Flappers Comedy Club in Downtown Burbank for the event on March 28. “Specifically, we are hoping to buy 31 violins and music stands for Providencia and Roosevelt elementary schools, and any extra money we have will go in general to support the program,” Albano said.

School officials have launched a new discussion over drafting a comprehensive plan to improve and maintain the district's facilities in the wake of the $110-million Measure S bond being passed. Early this summer, the district plans to issue about $40 million in bond money to begin work on some of the most pressing needs, said Christine Statton, assistant superintendent of administrative services, during the school board meeting on Thursday. Working with Craig Bell, the district's director of facilities, Statton recently culled old architect's records to identify the age of school buildings and the year playgrounds, phones and air conditioning units were installed.

Two men were charged with petty theft Friday for allegedly stealing election lawn signs belonging to Burbank Unified school board candidate Charlene Tabet, officials said. The men - Sevada Isayan and Vahe Assarian - were reportedly seen leaving former school board member Denise Wilcox's Burbank home with Tabet's sign. “They jumped out of the car and grabbed the sign,” Wilcox said Friday. After the incident, Wilcox said her husband ran to his car and tailed the suspects while calling the police.

The four candidates running for Burbank Unified school board outline why they're the best choice. Steve Ferguson Age: 24 Profession: Principal of CF Political and Media Strategies As a candidate for school board, I believe that it is important to put forward a plan for which you can be held accountable. I am the only candidate to put forward new ideas to better our district, which include more financial transparency measures, the development of alumni associations, and the establishment of a Parents Bill of Rights to help parents navigate our district more effectively for their child.

After spending 10 years at Burbank High School, Principal Hani Youssef will leave his post to become director of safety and student services for Burbank Unified. But leaving the school to work at the district's headquarters is bittersweet for Youssef. "It's very hard for me to leave Burbank High," Youssef said. "You really feel like you're leaving a very special place where you have this bond with students. " "The good thing is, I get to continue to work with Burbank students," he added.

In the course of reporting a story about Michelle Rhee , the controversial former District of Columbia chancellor seeking to take her brand of education reform to statehouses across the country, the Los Angeles Times asked her spokeswoman a simple question: Do Rhee's children attend public or private school? The response from Erin Shaw seemed clear. “She is a public school parent,” Shaw told the paper in an email. So The Times reported that Rhee's two children attend public school . After the story ran in Wednesday's newspaper, one of Rhee's biggest critics, the American Federation of Teachers , challenged that statement, saying that one of her daughters attends a private school in Tennessee, where her ex-husband lives.

If you're a registered voter in Burbank, chances are you've recieved one or more mailers supporting certain school board candidates from political action committees backed by StudentsFirst. The L.A. Times has a profile out today on Michelle Rhee, founder of the advocacy group that is positioning itself as the political counterweight to teachers unions. In Burbank, two committees backed by StudentsFirst has spent more than $26,000 in promotional material supporting school board candidates David Dobson and Charlene Tabet - far more than any school board candidate has raised so far in this year's race.

So he is young, born in Burbank and gay but what are Steve Ferguson's qualifications as a school board candidate ? Without a college education he does not qualify to teach at any level in the Burbank school district, but he's running for school board. He doesn't have business experience other than “political consultant” or the personal experience of sending kids through the district. Why is the teachers union and the Burbank Leader supporting such an unqualified candidate?

A volunteer working for Steve Ferguson's campaign for a seat on the Burbank Unified school board was fined $950 after pleading no contest this week to charges that he stole signs belonging to a rival candidate, officials said. The volunteer, Scott Trinidad, was fined $200 plus penalty assessments, bringing the total to $950, said Burbank Asst. City Atty. Danny Wei. At 6:50 p.m. on Feb. 11, surveillance footage showed Trinidad pulling up in a silver car and taking two campaign signs for school board candidate Charlene Tabet from a business in the 1200 block of West Magnolia Boulevard., according to Burbank Police Sgt. Darin Ryburn.