Schools

Hollister

Two Navigator charter schools, Gilroy and Hollister Prep, are up for renewals of their charter school petitions by their host districts. All early indications point to new five-year pacts at both sites. Gilroy Prep, Navigator’s flagship school, opened in 2011 with authorization from Gilroy Unified...

Hollister

San Benito High School trustees have tabled prioritizing a list of facilities projects set to be funded with bond money after asking staff officials for a bigger picture view of non-bond projects.

If Judy Rider, director of the Methodist Church Preschool, had a

The San Benito High School student body raised money last year for  Wonder Woofs, a local nonprofit, who used the funds to purchase a new drug-sniffing dog, Sapphire, which will be trained and used at area schools, including San Benito High.

“We use all golden retrievers,” said Sean Haggett, founder of Wonder Woofs, in an interview Tuesday. “They’re friendly dogs.”

San Benito High School Principal Krystal Lomanto said Wonder Woofs is a “great preventative tool” for the high school.

Haggett said the reason the school helped raise the funds is to be “proactive” against drugs on campuses - on their campus and other campuses.

“It’s not that a school has a drug problem,” he said. “If we can deter one child from doing drugs, it’s a good thing.” 

Having a drug-free environment is a “priority” for the school, Lomanto said in an e-mail to the Free Lance on Thursday.

“SBHS takes pride and works very hard at providing a safe campus for our students and staff,” she said. “Wonder Woofs has helped by providing a positive deterrent.”

By the end of the day Jan. 7, Hollister School District’s new superintendent Diego Ochoa had already introduced himself to the community with a meet-and-greet at the district office. By the end of the day Jan. 8, Ochoa—who emerged as the sole finalist among a...

Although they may have once clamored to leave, college kids with