By Kathryn Reed

Lake Tahoe Unified School District is about to be on the national stage.

The school board on Tuesday night voted to enter into an agreement with Fox Business Network to be part of a segment of “In View”, which is hosted by Larry King.

LTUSD was chosen because of the infrastructure improvements made in the last several years, the programs being offered and how the K-12 district is an economic driver in the community.

The show’s purpose is to highlight what is working in education, how districts are being innovative, using technology at all levels and providing students options.

LTUSD has all of those components. And all levels will be highlighted in the show – not just South Tahoe High, where the bulk of the makeover took place.

Besides being on national television, the district will be left with professional footage that it may use in other venues as a marketing component.

“We have control over the content, which is critical for us because we want to put out a consistent message,” Assistant Superintendent Ivone Larson told the board Jan. 27.

The show, which will air in the fall, is 30 minutes and includes other districts in the country. However, the crew is expected to shoot 10 hours of footage this spring. Lake Tahoe Unified School District will have rights to all of that film.

The board and staff see this as a way to market the district, especially the nearly $100 million in facilities improvements in the last handful of years.

Enrollment is increasing, which is attributed to improved schools.

Ginger Nicolay-Davis, a school board member and real estate agent, said clients often want to see the high school in addition to houses.

Because there are no commercials and a third party does the filming, the districts must pay to be part of the project. LTUSD’s costs are $27,900.

The goal is to get sponsors to pay for it. Already lined up is LPA, the architects behind all of the new buildings. Money will also come from the regional occupation program.

Superintendent Jim Tarwater said he will be asking others like SMC, the contractor for all the new facilities; South Tahoe Association of Realtors, since the schools, especially South Tahoe High, are a draw for people moving to South Lake Tahoe; and Barton Health with the link to the sports medicine program at STHS.

“If we get six new students, it covers the cost,” Larson told Lake Tahoe News. That means more families in the area and the ability to help stabilize the economy, she added.

In other action:

• CFO Deb Yates went over Gov. Jerry Brown’s budget that was released Jan. 9. She told the board there is more good in it than bad for LTUSD, but that the May revise will be the true test.

• Students and staff at South Tahoe Middle School spoke about the culture change at the school, various assemblies and how people are treating each other with more respect.