By Karen Laws

A budget unanimously approved by the Berkeley High BSEP (Berkeley Schools for Excellence Project) site committee on March 21 will provide salaries for both college counselors, 100% of the supplies for art classes, beakers and flasks for chemistry labs, and much more. With student enrichment proposals valued at nearly $230,000 over the $774,454 the committee had to spend for the 2011-12 school year, it’s no wonder the budget meeting lasted six hours.

Depending on whether windows in the cramped, below-street-level room were cranked open or shut, the 15 members, including Principal Pasquale Scuderi, endured alternately freezing and stifling conditions as they debated and voted. … Continue reading »