GOOD NEWS REAL NEWS HOMETOWN NEWS
SINCE 1889 Making Communities Better Through Print.™ VOL. CXXXIV, NO. XL
THURSDAY, MARCH 14, 2024
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District to implement guidelines for use of artificial intelligence in schools Staff presented proposed agreement for students and teachers that will be up for approval at the next district meeting By CAMILLE DEVAUL camille@pasoroblespress.com
(From left) Templeton High juniors Spencer Sanders, Mason Mudgett, Mark Mitchell, and Grant Hanson were the finalists to represent THS at the Boys State Conference in Sacramento. Mudgett was selected to go to the conference. Photo by Matt MacFarlane
Templeton High School juniors nominated for Boys State Conference in Sacramento Mason Mudgett will represent Templeton at the American Legion Auxiliary mock government program By CAMILLE DEVAUL camille@pasoroblespress.com
TEMPLETON — Four juniors at Templeton High School were chosen as the top of their class, and one will be heading to the Boys State Confer-
ence later this year. Mason Mudgett will be representing Templeton at the Boys State, a mock government program where American Legion Auxiliary members teach participants to become knowledgeable stewards of freedom and democracy, as well as being patriotic citizens. His classmate, Mark Mitchell, was chosen as his alternate. On Monday, March 11, the four nominees — Mudgett,
Mitchell, Spencer Sanders, and Grant Hanson — were interviewed by Boys State representatives. It is an honor to be nominated as less than one percent of high school juniors from schools throughout California are selected for this nationally recognized conference. All four of the students were surprised and excited to be nominated themselves. “I was certainly surprised, I
really didn’t know what Boys State was,” said Mitchell of being nominated and then named the alternate. “I developed that understanding prior to the interview and even gained some insight during it. Being named an alternate was also surprising, it’s exciting to know I have an opportunity to attend such an esteemed conference.” Mudgett, who will be headCONTINUED ON PAGE A2
PASO ROBLES — Trustees were presented with a possible new update to the staff and student agreement regarding the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies at the March 12 Paso Robles Joint Unified School District meeting. In the proposed updated agreement for students, staff note that AI has become increasingly popular in many areas, especially within education. If used properly, staff said that AI can be helpful to students by providing new ways to support learning, independent reasearch, and critical thinking. Staff presented the following AI guidelines for the student use of AI in the classroom: Any use of AI in the classroom or on class assignments must align with the teacher’s instructions and use expectations. Any student use of AI on
schoolwork must be cited to as any other source and may not be submitted as the student’s original work. Students should not rely on AI tools as a fact-checker to confirm their work or research as the AI may not always provide accurate or up-to-date information. Students are prohibited from using any AI system to access, create, or display harmful or inappropriate matter that is threatening, obscene, disruptive, or sexually explicit or that could be construed as harassment or disparagement of others based on their race/ethnicity, national origin, sex, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, or political beliefs or interact with the AI in a manner that supports any of the above. Students shall not share confidential information or personally identifiable information with the AI system of another student, staff member, or other person. AI information should not be shared with the intent to threaten, intimidate, harass, or ridicule any person. Personally identifiable information includes, but is not limited to, a person’s name, address, email address, CONTINUED ON PAGE A2
Atascadero celebrates International Women’s Day with a fireworks display at City Hall Atascadero’s Woman’s Republic tours were also given during the celebrations By CHRISTIANNA MARKS
Tight race sees Moreno in lead for District 5 Supervisor seat Moreno remains in the lead at 53.89 percent and Susan Funk is at 46.02 percent By CAMILLE DEVAUL camille@pasoroblespress.com
SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY — It remains a tight race as results continue to be counted for the District 5 San Luis Obispo County Supervisor’s seat. Current Atascadero Mayor Heather Moreno remains in the lead against Atascadero City Councilmember Susan Funk for a
AGRICULTURE
spot on the Board of Supervisors. The first results of the Super Tuesday election on March 5 showed Moreno in the lead at 53.89 percent (4,586 votes) and Susan Funk is at 46.02 percent (3,916 votes) — just 670 votes separating the two. The district represents Atascadero, Cal Poly State University (portion), California Valley, Creston, Garden Farms, Pozo, San Luis Obispo (portion), and Santa Margarita. The position is currently held by Supervisor Debbie Arnold, CONTINUED ON PAGE A2
LOCAL NEWS
NORTH COUNTY — Atascadero celebrated International Women’s Day with a bang this year. On Friday, March 8, from 5 to 8 p.m., residents headed out to City Hall and Sunken Gardens to learn more about Atascadero’s Women’s Republic with tours of City Hall given by the Atascadero Historical Society and a beautiful firework display. “This night came together because of this entire community,” said Michelle Barrera, founder of At Her Table. “We got approval probably less than three weeks ago, and thank you to Visit Atascadero, the Atascadero Historical Society, and this amazing community for coming out and showing up.” The event was brought to the community in a partner-
ship between At Her Table, an annual festival celebrating women all over the Central Coast, Visit Atascadero, and the City of Atascadero. The Sunken Gardens filled up completely with people as the evening got closer to 7 p.m., which is when the fireworks were scheduled to go off. “As we all know, fireworks can cause a fire, and without a fire engine around, it gets
a little dangerous. So, ladies and gentlemen, we have to wait just a little bit — a couple of minutes. Our fire engines, our local fire engines, are out doing their jobs right at the moment. So let’s give our fire department a great big round of applause for going out and doing their job keeping Atascadero safe,” said emcee Pete Ruiz from A Class Act Entertainment.
NORTH COUNTY NEWS
SPORTS
WEATHER
A fireworks display punctuated the International Women’s Day celebration March 8 in Atascadero. Photos by Rick Evans.
About 10 minutes later, Ruiz informed the crowd that fireworks were about to light up the night sky behind City Hall. The firework display, which was one of two in California, was full of feminine colors and kicked off to Katy Perry’s hit single, ‘Firework.’ “So, we did extensive research. We couldn’t find it being done on the Central CONTINUED ON PAGE A2
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