The Palo Alto school board voted Thursday to allow schools to cut some classroom aide positions for next fall. It will be up to each school to decide whether to cut them or not. The decisions will be based on the budgets of each school. Legally, the district is required to give aides 30 days' notice of possible layoffs. The district has 140 classroom aides who assist teachers by helping students, correcting papers and supervising playgrounds.
The city of East Palo Alto agreed to a settlement Monday on a civil lawsuit which charged two of its officers with police brutality. The charges stem from a November 1994 incident in which a 61-year-old man had his arm broken and his jaw injured when he was pushed into a wall by the two officers. Terms of the settlement were not released, and city officials declined to comment on the lawsuit. One of the officers involved, Robert Ludden, was later convicted on criminal brutality charges from that incident and was sentenced to three months in jail.
A bill by Assemblyman Ted Lempert, D-Palo Alto, calling for the construction of a tunnel at Devil's Slide passed the Assembly by a 72-1 vote April 10. AB 93 would forced CalTrans to build the tunnel on Highway 1. The bill now goes to the state Senate for consideration.
Mary Edmonds, Stanford's vice provost and dean of student affairs, will retire at the end of the academic year. Edmonds, 65, came to Stanford in 1992 and will stay on to do a special study of the Athletic Department for Provost Condoleezza Rice. Edmonds will be replaced by James Montoya, dean of undergraduate admission and financial aid. Rice has started a national search to replace Montoya.
Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto, has helped introduce legislation in Washington that would increase health care coverage for children. The bipartisan effort, known as the CHILD bill (Children's Health Insurance and Lower Deficit Act), was introduced April 10 both in the House of Representatives and Senate and is being co-sponsored by a number of legislators, including Eshoo. The bill would provide grants for families to purchase health insurance for their children.
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