New Kids on the Block

      Well, Lake Tahoe is seeing something of a population boom.  This summer's boom or boomlet can be assigned to certain families and their collective anxiety about local schools in and around the Bay Area.   The Governor,  Mr. Newsom, has decreed that schools will not open(K-12) in the fall.  Classes will be online or "virtual" as they are called.   Needless to say, this decree has disrupted the 'normal'.   Since all school districts control themselves, the local school boards can only adapt as best they can.  This will exacerbate differences among them all.   Some will emerge as successful experiments in this new era of education.
       All of a sudden school districts around the basin have seen an unprecedented surge in student applications from residents.   These are, in most cases reported, from families who own 2nd homes at Lake Tahoe.  Rather than take their chances in the Bay Area, which promises more chaos than stability, these folks are betting that smaller is better.   Without the usual population problems found in San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland, the schools in the Basin remain islands of stability.  Who can afford to live inside the basin and raise a family?  Very few people actually.   Seems most folks are singles or couples without kids.   They participate in the local economy by working several seasonal jobs:  winter ski resorts, summer lake sports positions, restaurants as necessary.  Those with college degrees often find steady work in various professions and work in supporting roles among them.   However, when one adds children to the family, a whole new dimension occurs.  How will this play out?  Again, it's new territory: no one knows where we are going or where we will end up.  We do know a costly outcome is inevitable.
       Stay tuned for updates as the school year 2020-21 unfolds here and across the state.