In the fictitious criminal case People vs. Campbell, the San Marcos High School mock trial team took out private high school Laguna Blanca to take home top honors in this year’s regional Santa Barbara competition. A field of 10 local private and public high schools entered the competition, playing the roles of the prosecution, defense, and witnesses in the trial of a high school defendant who set off a bomb in a campus trash can after being bullied by popular peers. San Marcos will advance to the state finals in Oakland on 3/23.

After seven months of negotiations and several state-mediated sessions, the Santa Barbara School District and its teachers reached a tentative contract deal on 2/28. Though the contract still needs to pass muster with the school board, the County Education office, and the teachers’ union, all parties involved in the negotiations are hopeful about its final approval. Under the new deal, teachers will see a 3 percent raise through 2008 and retroactive to July 2006, bringing the annual salary for top-earning teachers to just under $80,000. The contract also raises class size limits for grades 4 through 12, which could result in fewer teacher positions.

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