MVLA approves next school year's calendar

The Mountain View Los Altos Union High School District Board of Trustees voted 4-1 at a meeting last week to approve a calendar for next school year, which calls for classes to start Aug. 10, 2022 and end June 8, 2023.

Students will get a full week off over Thanksgiving and start their December break on Dec. 23, with classes resuming Jan. 10. There is also a weeklong break Feb. 20-24 and spring break runs April 10 through 14.

Trustee Sanjay Dave voted against the calendar, questioning why it has 183 days of classes, when the state only requires 180. Associate Superintendent Leyla Benson replied that, based on the district's calculations, its current bell schedule means that fewer days wouldn't meet the required annual number of minutes of teaching. Benson also said the proposal hews closely to this school year's calendar.

Board President Catherine Vonnegut added that the district's teachers union already approved the calendar and the K-8 districts that feed into MVLA were waiting on the high school district to approve its calendar.

Dave said that he wanted more time to review the proposal — which had been shared with board members that same evening — and to see the calculations that led to the conclusion that 183 school days were needed.

"I understand that (the union) approved it, but at the same time, I think we have the right to look at it and see for ourselves whether this is exactly what we want, what we think is right for the community," Dave said.

He made a motion to delay the vote, but no other board members offered a second, and a separate motion to approve the calendar passed 4-1. Dave dissented.

Mountain View Senior Center resumes paused services

The Mountain View Senior Center has resumed drop-in programming that had been paused due to the increase in COVID-19 cases.

As of Monday, Jan. 31, the game room, exercise room and technology room are reopened. Ping pong reservations and exercise room reservations have also resumed over the phone and in-person.

The senior center is located at 266 Escuela Ave. and is open to those ages 55 and up from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Mondays through Fridays. For more information, visit mountainview.gov/depts/cs/rec/senior.

Animals adopted as part of Humane Society's 'Betty White Challenge'

Three cats were adopted as part of Humane Society Silicon Valley's "Betty White Challenge" last month, where the animal shelter named some of its animals after characters in White's shows and waived adoption fees for those pets.

White, an award-winning actress and comedian, as well as an advocate for animals, died on Dec. 31, 2021 at the age of 99.

The cats Mary Tyler Moore, Lou Grant and Ted Baxter were all adopted as part of the program. Some other animals are still available, including a German Shepherd mix named Betty White (originally Callie). For more information, visit hssv.org/betty-white-challenge.

Have ideas for events, achievements or other local happenings we should be featuring in our weekly listing of community briefs? Contact reporter Zoe Morgan at [email protected]