King Middle School

Berkeley City Council heard local elementary students advocate for sustainable school kitchens and approved a bird-safe building requirement ordinance during its weekly meeting Tuesday.

The Berkeley Unified School District, or BUSD, board met Wednesday to discuss their ongoing workforce housing project and new middle school assignment model.

Berkeley Unified School District announced Thursday that it would be closing high schools effective Friday and all preschools, elementary schools, middle schools and the Berkeley Adult School effective starting March 16 in response to the risk of COVID-19, colloquially known as coronavirus.

Three education-related measures will be on the ballot Tuesday — Measures E, H and G — all of which could have a lasting effect on students, teachers and other BUSD staff. With one measure funded by a bond issue and the other two by parcel taxes, these measures could fund everything from basic maintenance to keeping educators from leaving Berkeley for better-paying districts.

Berkeley Unified School District custodian Janet Helton filed a lawsuit against BUSD on May 7 in the Alameda County Superior Court, alleging defamation and violations of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, or FEHA, including sexual harassment and failure to prevent discrimination, harassment or retaliation.

On Thursday afternoon, Berkeley Police Department officers responded to a call reporting that there was an armed man on campus at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School, according to a community alert released Friday.

At its meeting Wednesday, the Berkeley Unified School District board discussed proposals for the development of tennis courts for Berkeley High School.

A King Middle School student reported that a male in a vehicle approached her Wednesday morning near the intersection of Shattuck Avenue and Durant Avenue, allegedly making “repeated inappropriate gestures and propositions,” according to a statement released by BUSD Superintendent Donald Evans.

While creepy clowns are no laughing matter, there have been no confirmed sightings in the Berkeley area.