Sulphur Springs Union Elementary School District

Gary DeRevere is finally off the Sulphur Springs Union School District's governing board, and this time voters can't do anything about it. DeRevere, 43, was elected to the board last year even though he had withdrawn from the race and stopped campaigning one month earlier. About 2,300 Santa Clarita residents voted for him anyway, giving him the third open seat on the district board. DeRevere accepted the post after three weeks of contemplation.

The long-forgotten ledger's spine is broken and some of its yellowed pages are falling out, but for local school officials and history buffs it is a gem. More than 50 years after it was plucked from atop a Placerita Canyon rubbish pile, the Sulphur Springs School District's original board of trustees record book has made its way home.

A controversial AIDS education program presented to groups of parents and their children in March by the Sulphur Springs School District satisfied most participants despite earlier fears that it was too graphic for children, according to a survey released Monday.

In September 1872, Civil War hero Ulysses S. Grant was in the fourth year of his presidency, California had been a state for 22 years and outlaw Tiburcio Vasquez was hiding out near Escondido Canyon in an unusual rock formation that would eventually bear his name. A few miles down the road from those rocks, two pioneer families were laying the foundation for the Santa Clarita Valley's first school.

The Sulphur Springs School District has received approval to lease a former school site to a developer for a shopping center, enabling it to raise about $500,000 annually for new schools and classrooms during the 66-year life of the lease. The Santa Clarita City Council approved the elementary school district's plan late Tuesday after rejecting a proposal for a larger shopping center in September.

Two cash-strapped Santa Clarita Valley school districts have gotten a mixed reception at City Hall to proposals that would help them pay for badly needed new classrooms by swapping or leasing land to developers. The City Council voted 4 to 1 to reject a Sulphur Springs School District plan to lease a former school site to a developer for a shopping center, saying the proposed mall was too large and would be too disruptive to neighbors.

A computer salesman has been appointed to replace a Sulphur Springs Union School District board member who resigned last month. Steven Sturgeon, a 14-year resident of the area, was selected from nine candidates who applied for the opening left by the resignation of Gary DeRevere. The Board of Trustees announced his appointment late Friday after interviewing candidates for several hours. DeRevere was elected to the board last year, despite withdrawing from the race one month before the election.

A third Santa Clarita Valley school district will soon join two others in charging students to ride the bus to school. Sulphur Springs School District trustees on Wednesday night authorized a busing fee of $60 per semester or $100 per year to reduce a nearly $300,000 deficit for transportation services. The district in Canyon Country is expected to receive between $80,000 to $100,000 with the fee and to recoup additional funds when buses are taken out of service because of reduced ridership.

A voluntary AIDS education program initially feared too explicit for elementary school children will now be offered annually by the Sulphur Springs School District. Trustees voted 4 to 0 Wednesday night to make the pilot program a regularly scheduled event, a decision fueled by favorable comments from the 71 parents who participated in it. Trustee Gary DeRevere was absent. "I think that everyone was very positive," said Trustee Kerry Clegg.

Three weeks of what-if questions ended for the Sulphur Springs School Board Monday when the county registrar released final vote counts from the Nov. 2 election and candidate Gary DeRevere agreed to serve as a trustee. Incumbent Kerry Clegg led the candidates with 3,235 votes, followed by newcomer Sheldon Wigdor with 3,002 votes. Although preliminary results gave both enough votes to assure their election as trustees, the third open seat has been in limbo ever since.

A computer salesman has been appointed to replace a Sulphur Springs Union School District board member who resigned last month. Steven Sturgeon, a 14-year resident of the area, was selected from nine candidates who applied for the opening left by the resignation of Gary DeRevere. The Board of Trustees announced his appointment late Friday after interviewing candidates for several hours. DeRevere was elected to the board last year, despite withdrawing from the race one month before the election.

Gary DeRevere is finally off the Sulphur Springs Union School District's governing board, and this time voters can't do anything about it. DeRevere, 43, was elected to the board last year even though he had withdrawn from the race and stopped campaigning one month earlier. About 2,300 Santa Clarita residents voted for him anyway, giving him the third open seat on the district board. DeRevere accepted the post after three weeks of contemplation.

A former elementary school teacher and sheriff's deputy was ordered Monday to stand trial on suspicion of raping one woman and sexually assaulting two others over a 3 1/2-year time span. Edward Keith Culhane, 35, of Santa Clarita is accused of raping a then 17-year-old girl in June, 1990, when he was a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy. Prosecutors contend that Culhane gained the girl's trust by befriending her after a traffic stop and offering to help her write a college paper.

A voluntary AIDS education program initially feared too explicit for elementary school children will now be offered annually by the Sulphur Springs School District. Trustees voted 4 to 0 Wednesday night to make the pilot program a regularly scheduled event, a decision fueled by favorable comments from the 71 parents who participated in it. Trustee Gary DeRevere was absent. "I think that everyone was very positive," said Trustee Kerry Clegg.

A controversial AIDS education program presented to groups of parents and their children in March by the Sulphur Springs School District satisfied most participants despite earlier fears that it was too graphic for children, according to a survey released Monday.

Marc and Lori Kruskol say a holiday program at Canyon Springs Elementary School imposes Christian beliefs on children of other religions. The "Holidays Tonight" show, a performance by the school's children scheduled Tuesday and Wednesday nights, shows how Christmas is celebrated by different cultures. The production includes more than a dozen songs, several of which refer to Jesus Christ or God. "It's very distressing," said Marc Kruskol, a Reform Jew whose two children attend the school.

The election slates for five of six Santa Clarita Valley school boards were finalized Wednesday, three days after the normal deadline for the Nov. 2 vote. Under state law, the deadline for candidacy filings was automatically extended from Friday after all the incumbents failed to submit papers announcing their bids for reelection. Of school districts in the Santa Clarita Valley, only the William S. Hart Union High School District has all of its incumbents running.

A third district is considering a fee to bus students to school this fall to partly offset a nearly $300,000 deficit for transportation services. The Sulphur Springs Union School District proposal would charge students $100 per year. Families would pay $75 per year to bus a second child and $50 for a third. "I believe the board is very serious about adopting this. We have a quarter-million-dollar-plus deficit in our transportation budget," Sulphur Springs Supt. Robert Nolet said.

Three weeks of what-if questions ended for the Sulphur Springs School Board Monday when the county registrar released final vote counts from the Nov. 2 election and candidate Gary DeRevere agreed to serve as a trustee. Incumbent Kerry Clegg led the candidates with 3,235 votes, followed by newcomer Sheldon Wigdor with 3,002 votes. Although preliminary results gave both enough votes to assure their election as trustees, the third open seat has been in limbo ever since.

Facing only nominal opposition, the Sulphur Springs School District board unanimously approved an elementary school AIDS education program that had drawn sharp opposition from parents five months ago.