Excerpted from article by Suzanne Bohan, STAFF WRITER, San Mateo County Times located at (http://www.insidebayarea.com/sanmateocountytimes/ci_5926305)
"What does a rural school district with fewer than 300 students, grades K-12, do when residents have given all they can to support the local schools? Invite the world to buy tickets that provide entree to spectacular gardens growing on coastside properties. Then end the day inside a circa-1890 town hall with a reception featuring local wines and cheeses.
On Saturday, nine Pescadero property owners will open their private gardens for a public tour, called the "Gardens of the South Coast" tour. Several of the gardens surround 19th century homes and two historic ranches with expansive gardens also are opening their gates...
During the tour, gardeners will share their expertise with visitors, who can stroll through the properties at their own pace between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. At the wine and cheese reception, which runs from 4 p.m. to
6 p.m. at the Native Sons Hall in Pescadero, Jack McKinnon, a former gardener at Sunset Magazine, will share pruning techniques.
The Fifth Annual "Gardens of the South Coast" tour is sponsored by the Pescadero Education Foundation and La Honda Education Foundation. The proceeds benefit school sports, drama and dance classes and teaching staff at the La Honda-Pescadero Unified School District, which instructs 185 students in grades K-9 and 107 high school students...
Each year, local residents pledge more than $25,000 to support the school, Hodgkinson said, and in 2005 they also voted in a parcel tax to improve student achievement, attract and retain qualified teachers and improve library services. In 2006, residents also passed a school bond measure to upgrade buildings in the district...
Tickets start at $20 for a one-day garden tour pass. For more information, visit pescaderoschools.org/GardenTour or call (650) 879-9033.
Contact Suzanne Bohan at sbohan@angnewspapers.com or (650) 348-4324"
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