Governor's budget would be a major setback for schools

 

'Staggering' cuts trouble educators

By Bruce Lieberman, Sherry Saavedra and Tanya Sierra

UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITERS

January 13, 2008

SAN DIEGO – The budget cut respite, if there ever was one, is over.

Public school officials said Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed cuts in education funding for 2008-09 would reach deep into classrooms.

STATE EDUCATION BUDGET ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK

The governor has proposed several large cuts in public education over the next 18 months:

$400 million: In midyear cuts this fiscal year

$4.4 billion: For K-12 districts in 2008-09

$1.1 billion: For higher education in 2008-09

SOURCE: Governor's office

Last week, the governor proposed cutting more than $5.6 billion from education budgets in fiscal 2008-09. He called for a $400 million “midyear” cut this year.

According to Schwarzenegger's office and state education officials, the cuts would be distributed this way:

K-12 school districts would lose $360 million this year in a “midyear” cut and $4.4 billion more in fiscal 2008-09, which begins July 1.

The state's community colleges would lose $40 million in a midyear cut and $484 million more in 2008-09.

The University of California system would have to cut $332 million in 2008-09.

The California State University system would face a $312.9 million decrease in 2008-09.

Cuts within California's public colleges and universities could result in fee hikes for San Diego County's college students.

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SignOnSanDiego.com > News > State -- Governor's budget would be a major setback for schools

Schwarzenegger budget slashes education, releases prisoners

 

Schwarzenegger budget slashes education, releases prisoners

By AARON C. DAVIS Associated Press Writer

Article Last Updated: 01/10/2008 06:08:45 PM PST

SACRAMENTO—Facing a ballooning deficit and a shaky economy, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday proposed an enormous pullback in state spending that will affect nearly all areas of government service, from classrooms to parks to dental care for the poor.

Schwarzenegger announced the cuts as he seeks to close a $14.5 billion shortfall and, for the first time, declared a state fiscal emergency that will force lawmakers to begin immediate work on the budget mess.

Schwarzenegger's $141 billion budget for the 2008-09 fiscal year proposes cutting 10 percent from every state agency, even as California struggles to provide for millions of new residents, fix failing schools and address myriad problems in its overcrowded prisons.

The across-the-board spending cut is the kind of draconian tactic his Republican Party colleagues have long sought to realign state spending and revenue.

For the rest of the story, follow the link...

MontereyHerald.com : - Schwarzenegger budget slashes education, releases prisoners

New principals taking over at 5 Poway district schools

 

New principals taking over at 5 Poway district schools

By Blanca Gonzalez
STAFF WRITER

June 2, 2007

Five elementary schools in the Poway Unified School District will get new principals next year, including one from Escondido, one from San Diego Unified and one from Los Angeles.

The new principals and their schools are:

Mark Atkins, Adobe Bluffs in Rancho Peñasquitos:

Atkins, a former assistant principal at Poway High, has been an assistant principal at Escondido High School since 2002. He previously taught fifth, sixth and eighth grade in the Lancaster School District. He also served as dean/vice principal at Antelope Valley High in Lancaster.

Atkins earned his master's degree in educational administration from California State University Bakersfield and his bachelor's degree in history from UCLA. Atkins will succeed Cindy DeClercq who was recently named principal of Willow Grove Elementary, set to open in 2008-09 in Poway Unified's Santaluz community.

Sabriya Pedretti, Tierra Bonita in Poway:

Pedretti has been an assistant principal at Meadowbrook Middle School in Poway since 2002. She taught sixth grade and physical education for the Rowland Unified School District in Los Angeles County. Pedretti worked as an elementary school teacher in the South Bay Union School District in Imperial Beach from 1996 to 2001.

Pedretti received her master's degree in educational leadership from Point Loma Nazarene University and her bachelor's degree in communications from California State University Fullerton. She will take over from Susan Foerster, who came out of retirement to serve as interim principal after Maureen Newell retired in December 2006.

Andrew Johnsen, Valley in Poway:

Johnsen is director of the Los Angeles Unified School Charter Schools Division and also teaches courses in administrative leadership at California State University Northridge. He was previously principal and director of instruction at Santa Monica Community Charter School. Johnsen was assistant principal at Santa Monica Elementary School and has served as a parent education coordinator and classroom teacher.

Johnsen has a bachelor's degree in Spanish from California State University Long Beach, a master's degree in educational administration from Pepperdine University and a doctorate in educational leadership from UCLA. He will succeed Sue Smith, who will be working on special district projects involving intervention programs and closing the achievement gap.

Carol Osborne, Morning Creek in Sabre Springs:

Osborne is director of literacy and history/social science for the San Diego Unified School District. She previously was principal at Brooklyn Elementary School in the San Diego district. Osborne has also been a K-1 classroom teacher, a literacy resource teacher and a vice principal.

Osborne received her bachelor's degree in elementary education from St. Cloud State University in Minnesota and her master's degree as a reading specialist from San Diego State University. She will succeed Doug Johnson, who was recently named principal of Del Sur Elementary, which will open in 2008 in the northwestern part of the district.

Cynthia Venolia, Stone Ranch in 4S Ranch:

Venolia is assistant principal at Park Village Elementary in Rancho Peñasquitos. She previously worked in the Ramona Unified School District, including nine years as a teacher at James Duke Elementary School.

Venolia earned her bachelor's degree in elementary education from San Diego State University and her master's degree in administration from National University. She will succeed Suzanne Roy, who has accepted a position as a middle school principal in the Rancho Santa Fe School District.

For the rest of the story...

New principals taking over at 5 Poway district schools | The San Diego Union-Tribune

Building For Success Poway Bond

Building for Success Program
The Building for Success Program, authorized under the passage of Proposition U, includes modernization and expansion of sixteen elementary schools, four middle schools, three high schools, and one continuation high school in the Poway Unified School District. Some of the key aspects of the program are to optimize state school facilities program funds, minimize learning disruption, and maintain safety and quality standards.

Schools completed include Midland Elementary, Westwood Elementary, Tierra Bonita Elementary, Garden Road Elementary, Painted Rock Elementary, Twin Peaks Middle, Poway High, and Mt. Carmel High Schools. The first phase of Chaparral Elementary School is complete, and includes a new ten-classroom building, technology and playground upgrades.

Technology and playground upgrades are also complete at Sundance Elementary, Sunset Elementary, Turtleback Elementary, Rolling Hills Elementary, Deer Canyon Elementary, Canyon View Elementary, and Morning Creek Elementary Schools   
Schools currently undergoing modernization and expansion include: Los Penasquitos Elementary, Valley Elementary, and Abraxas High Schools.  

Schools in the design process include Meadowbrook Middle, Black Mountain Middle, Pomerado Elementary, and Rolling Hills Elementary.

The complete modernization and new construction program for the 24 schools in the program is projected to be finished in approximately 2010.

... See the pics...

Building For Success Poway Bond Prop U

Poway parents kick off Proposition C school bond campaign - North County Times

 

Poway parents kick off Proposition C school bond campaign
By: SHAYNA CHABNER - North County Times

POWAY - Residents of Poway and the surrounding areas began seeing blue in their mailboxes, on their neighbors' lawns and even in car windows over the weekend.
The barrage of blue signs and fliers was delivered by a duo of Poway Unified School District parent volunteers to kick off the "Yes on Proposition C" campaign. The proposition - a $179 million bond measure that would pay for technology enhancements, security upgrades and modernization projects at 24 of Poway Unified's schools - will appear on the Feb. 5 primary ballot.

"In the next three days, people will know a lot about (Prop. C)," Lorene Joosten, campaign co-chairwoman, said Thursday while sitting at Prop. C headquarters - a three-room house converted into offices off Midland Road in Old Poway.

...Follow the link below for the rest of the story..

Poway parents kick off Proposition C school bond campaign - North County Times

New goals, construction, budget cuts mark 2008

 

New goals, construction, budget cuts mark 2008
By: SHAYNA CHABNER - Staff Writer
Poway, Ramona school districts prepare hurdles, growth

Construction on several campuses, plans to set multi-year goals, a school bond measure and possible spending and program cuts as the state grapples with a growing deficit in 2008 will likely make this year a momentous one, school officials said last month.
And many of the most significant and difficult decisions will come this spring as the Poway and Ramona districts wrap up the 2007-08 school year, they added.

"We are trying to build off past successes and not rest on our laurels," said Poway Unified Superintendent Don Phillips. "Our commitment is to do the very best job we can in educating our youngsters and challenging them."

Tight spending year
An estimated $14 billion shortfall at the state level could still pose a significant hurdle to that goal as officials are likely to have to limit spending and cut some programs, possibly midyear, district officials said.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger recently announced that the budget proposal he will release Jan. 10 will come with a fiscal emergency declaration. The emergency means that lawmakers will have to reopen the budget the governor signed in August and decide how to eliminate about $2 billion from the current year's spending plan.

...Read the rest by following the link below...

New goals, construction, budget cuts mark 2008 - North County Times

Bond, new policies to shape PUSD year

 

Bond, new policies to shape PUSD year

By Pat Kumpan
January 2, 2008

Top issues facing Poway Unified School District in 2008 include gearing up for a $179 million bond extension on the February ballot to complete school renovations; fencing the perimeter of most schools; finalizing and implementing hate and harassment procedures; plus, eventual budget cuts.

Superintendent Don Phillips said those are the top priorities that he knows the PUSD school board and administrators will be dealing with in the new year.

If passed, the current bond that voters approved for renovations in 2002, will be extended by another 11 years with final payments due in 2044.

“Taxpayers won’t be asked to pay higher fees,” Phillips said. “The new bond would be an extension of the existing bond, or the same fees over a longer period of time.”

The original bond for the PUSD’s “Building for Success” program, passed by voters in November 2002, was for $198 million. The district secured $158 million from other sources to renovate 24 of the district’s 34 schools.

...Read the rest by following the link below...

Bond, new policies to shape PUSD year | The Pomerado Newspaper Group

Volunteer duo set to sell bond to voters

District proposition seeks $179 million

By Blanca Gonzalez

UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

December 30, 2007

There's no heat in the Proposition C campaign headquarters on Midland Road in Poway, but Lorene Joosten and Sabrina Butler make do with space heaters from home and an extra sweater or two.

Despite the chill, Joosten and Butler expect a warm response from voters Feb. 5 when residents decide on the Poway Unified School District's $179 million bond measure.

A survey conducted in September found that two-thirds of likely voters would support the bond, which would allow the district to finish school renovation projects that were supposed to be done using a $198 million bond measure approved in 2002. The district was unable to complete all of the projects planned for that money.

For the rest of the story, click below...

SignOnSanDiego.com > News > North County -- Volunteer duo set to sell bond to voters

Schools get alerts out in a hurry - Connect-ED is a Web-based mass notification service

 

Thousands notified with one phone call

By Blanca Gonzalez

UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

December 28, 2007

When a swastika and other graffiti were found on Westview High's campus this month, parents were alerted about it before students arrived home that afternoon.

Dawn Kastner, principal of Westview near Rancho Peñasquitos, notified thousands of parents with a single phone call using a communications system that allows educators to call or e-mail with important news or other announcements.

The days of notes to parents being sent home from school, often lost amid the clutter in students' backpacks, are long gone in Poway Unified and other school districts throughout San Diego County.

Connect-ED is a Web-based mass notification service that allows districts to send voice messages and e-mails en masse in minutes, a change from automatic dialing systems that require more equipment and could take hours to reach the same number of people.

SignOnSanDiego.com > News > North County -- Schools get alerts out in a hurry

Preschoolers call high school home in Poway Unified

RANCHO PENASQUITOS – One of the most popular classes at Westview High School usually has a waiting list, and the children like it so much they sometimes cry when it's time to go home.

Marshall Lehew, an aide with Westview High School's full-day preschool program, chatted with a shy Sasha Greenhall recently.

Westview's preschoolers may not be learning calculus or economics like the teenagers in nearby classrooms, but amid the singing, drawing and playing in the sandbox, they are learning skills meant to prepare them for future success in education and life.

The Poway Unified School District is known as an academic powerhouse, serving about 32,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade. What is less well-known is that the district also offers preschool programs at more than half its campuses.

 

SignOnSanDiego.com > News > Education -- Preschoolers call high school home in Poway Unified

High school counterfeiters held

High school counterfeiters held

Government can't, shouldn't outlaw 'hate'

 

Government can't, shouldn't outlaw 'hate'
By: JIM TRAGESER - Staff Writer

If you have kids in the Poway Unified School District, you might want to simply assume there will be less money for instruction and classroom supplies in the years to come. Litigation is expensive, you see, and when you have a school board on a collision course with the U.S. Constitution, more litigation would seem pretty unavoidable.
Not that Poway is any stranger to being sued for stomping all over the rights of students who don't think the way the board majority thinks they should. The district has spent who knows how many tens of thousands of dollars (maybe more) defending itself in an ongoing lawsuit that arose when officials punished a student for wearing a T-shirt that read "Homosexuality is shameful."

North County Times - Jim Trageser's Flailing Against the Wind opinion column - Government can't, shouldn't outlaw 'hate'

Various Video Reports - FOX6 San Diego

 

Noose, Racial Slurs at Nearby High School 11/28/07
A noose and racial slurs were found on campus at Rancho Bernardo High Scool, just weeks after a similar incident at Poway High School.

Racial Tension 10/5/07
A noose was recently found in a boys' bathroom of the Poway High School. Plus, a brush fire burned dangerously close to homes in Kensington.

School Threat 5/3/07
Sheriff's deputies will provide extra security at Poway High School after the school received a shooting threat. Eric Collins spoke with students, parents and administrators.

God in the Classroom 5/1/07
As Kristine Frazao reports, a Poway high school teacher has been ordered to take banners out of his classroom because they mentioned the word God.

Poway School Harassment Verdict 6/8/05
The Poway Unified school district has yet to decide if they will appeal the verdict of a harassment case. It was filed by two gay former poway students. The jury awarded each of them over 100-thousand dollars. FOX 6's Andrea Nguyen has reaction to verdict.

Swastika Found at School - FOX6 San Diego

Swastika Found at School - FOX6 San Diego

 

God in the Classroom 5/1/07
As Kristine Frazao reports, a Poway high school teacher has been ordered to take banners out of his classroom because they mentioned the word God.

Swastika Found at School - FOX6 San Diego

Poway superintendent nominated for national honor

 

Don Phillips considers the district his classroom

POWAY ---- Nearly three decades have passed since Don Phillips stepped out of social studies and history classrooms and into school administration, but his conversations and everyday phrases are still colored with references to the Founding Fathers and world cultures.

The Poway Unified School District superintendent, who has been at the helm of the nearly 33,000-student district for six years, says that's because he still considers himself a teacher ---- he is just leading and learning from a much larger class of students.

"It's more interactive, more of a give and take," Phillips said, adding that his "students" these days are parents, teachers and community leaders. "It's been an opportunity to work with other people who care and who do want to do a better job of educating kids."
In the years since he joined the district in 2001 ---- after serving for 12 years as the superintendent of two suburban school districts in the Bay Area ---- that has meant tackling everything from updating aging facilities to improving student achievement at all levels.

Poway superintendent nominated for national honor North County Times - North San Diego and Southwest Riverside County News

People say the funniest things...

 

"California is a natural disaster theme park..."

CalWatch

Race issues dominate PUSD board meeting

 

SABRE SPRINGS -- A group of black parents and students asked trustees in the Poway Unified School District on Monday night to crack down on racial discrimination and hate with stronger discipline, accountability and a zero-tolerance policy for students and staff.
More than 50 people -- many representing the nonprofit minority community group Concerned Parents Alliance -- attended the board's monthly meeting Monday to discuss a proposed revision to Poway Unified's "Harassment and Hate Behavior" policy and raise awareness about racial discrimination in the district.

Their primary concern, they said, is that racial discrimination is not being dealt with seriously enough and that the consequences for such behavior need to be more clearly defined. Similar to the district's policies on alcohol and drug use or sexual harassment, parents said, there should be no question as to the penalties for discrimination.

Race issues dominate PUSD board meeting - North County Times

Swastika, foul graffiti scrawled on high school

 

A swastika and a profanity smeared in feces were discovered on a window at Westview High School yesterday, just days after Poway Unified trustees considered toughening policies aimed at curbing hate behavior.

A custodian found the graffiti at the student store on the campus near Rancho Peñasquitos. It was cleaned up before most students arrived for classes, district officials said.

Principal Dawn Kastner e-mailed Westview parents decrying the vandalism and asking for help to find who did it. She said police are investigating.

SignOnSanDiego.com > News > Education -- Swastika, foul graffiti scrawled on high school

Poway district strengthening harassment policy

 

December 11, 2007

The Poway Unified School District is toughening its policy on harassment and hate behavior after a series of incidents on campuses, including nooses being found at two high schools.

Superintendent Don Phillips said the recent “disturbing incidents” reflect racial harassment and intimidation against students. Phillips said that the district won't tolerate such behavior and that the policy revisions reflect the district's commitment to cultivating safe campuses.

The changes had a first reading at last night's school board meeting. They include more training for students and staff to promote tolerance and diversity and add “the presence of nooses” as a specific example of hate behavior.

SignOnSanDiego.com > News > North County -- Poway district strengthening harassment policy

Poway trustees to discuss tolerance, finances - North County Times

 

SABRE SPRINGS - In the wake of three racially related incidents on Poway Unified School District's high school campuses in recent months, the district is looking to strengthen its stance against harassment and hate by promoting tolerance training and enforcement in a revised board policy, Superintendent Don Phillips said Friday.
The proposed "Harassment and Hate Behavior" policy will come before trustees for discussion during Monday night's board meeting.

Poway trustees to discuss tolerance, finances - North County Times