. >> reporter: west contra costa county school trustee charles ramsey says three schools were labeled underperforming in his district. helms middle school was one of them. >> i don't know that throwing money ot the problem will help address the systemic issues. it's the approach we need to look at in terms of the neighborhoods, the families, what stresses they have, the economies. >> reporter: school administrators are also blaming the underperforming schools on the $17 billion cut from this school budget over the past two years. now, if you would like to see that preliminary list, you should go to our website at nbcbayarea.com, and click on "state of emergency." reporting live in san francisco, i'm cheryl hurd, nbc bay area news. >>> an act of arson, tonight the san jose fire department announced officially that the massive fire at trace elementary school was no accident. the blaze started in the early morning hours of july 5th. it destroyed 16 classrooms and the school's library. we'll continue to follow the story and bring you the latest information as it develops. >>> about 1,000