By Ricardo Cano, CalMatters

CALmatters is an independent public interest journalism venture covering California state politics and government.

Photo:  Charter school advocates and teachers unions mass at the Capitol on April 10, 2019, as state lawmakers consider dramatic curbs on charter schools. Photo for CALmatters by Dan Morain

April 20, 2019 (San Diego) - As charter school advocates rallied en masse and California’s teachers’ unions flexed their political muscle, a cluster of bills that would dramatically curb the growth of charters in the state cleared the Assembly Education Committee on Wednesday. The votes were the first in what figures to be a lengthy, high-stakes battle this session between two of the state’s most powerful education interests.

By Miriam Raftery



Updated April 1, 2019 with clarifications from Catherine Martin at the GUHSD.

March 31, 2019 (Alpine)  -- For over two decades, Alpine residents have sought a high school in their community.  After the Alpine Union-High School District (AUSD) board recently voted to close the Alpine Elementary School in June due to declining enrollment, the AUSD and the Grossmont Union High School District (GUHSD) are exploring options to bring some high school programming to the campus on Alpine Boulevard. But it won't be a full-service high school, as the community was originally promised in two past bond initiatives.

GUHSD Superintendent Tim Glover confirmed in an e-mail to ECM, “We’ve been having discussions with AUSD over several months regarding potential programs and services as part of a satellite program option. We look forward to creating an MOU (memorandum of understanding) with AUSD and gauging the interest in some specialized program offerings such as Independent Study, Home Choice, and Adult Education classes.”

CalAware warns district after CVUSD destroys requested school board meeting recordings

By Paul Kruze, Contributing Editor

Updated with CVUSD letter to CalAware)

March 28, 2019  (El Cajon) -- The Cajon Valley Union School District Board of Trustees voted 3-2 on Tuesday to change its policy on board meeting audio recordings. The action came after the district received a legal warning letter from Californians Aware (CalAware) regarding the district’s destruction of recordings from the Dec. and Nov. public meetings requested in a California Public Records Act request by East County Magazine in December.

Instead of destroying audio of board meetings after 30 days, the district will now keep them for one year and will make them available to the public on request on compact disc (CD). The measure, spearheaded by board trustee Jill Barto, was affirmed by Barto along with trustees Karen Clark-Meija and Jim Miller. Cajon Valley Union School District (CVUSD) trustees President Tamara Otero and Jo Alegria voted “no” on the new policy.

The letter addressed to Otero accused the CVUSD of violating multiple sections of the California Government Code relating to its refusal to permit inspection and copying of audiotape recordings made by the District of open and public meetings. The government act violated is more commonly known as the “Ralph M. Brown Act” which legally obligates government agencies and bodies to abide by specific rules regarding open meetings and access to public documents.

Messages of love and inclusivity overwhelm hate group picketing two East County high schools

By Paul Kruze, Contributing Editor

Robert Gehr and Miriam Raftery contributed to this report

Photos by Paul Kruze and Robert Gehr

 

March 26, 2019 (San Diego’s East County) — Some 300 spirited protesters held a “Rainbow Dance Party” Monday, vastly outnumbering three members of the Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) which briefly picketed El Cajon Valley High School in El Cajon and Monte Vista High School in Spring Valley.

East County News Service

March 24, 2019 (San Diego) -- If you can speak English, you can make a difference in someone’s life. Laubach Literacy Council of San Diego County provides tutors for adult learners of English as a Second Language with tutoring locations countywide.

In honor of Pi Day, SDG&E announces donation to support science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) classroom projects

Source:  SDG&E

March 14, 2019 (San Diego) - In honor of Pi Day and in support of local teachers, San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) is launching a $314,159 matching grant program to enable K-12 public schools in the region to provide more classroom learning opportunities in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

District releases audit of coordinated school safety plan

By Paul Kruze, Contributing Editor

Meeting recording provided by ECM: ECMCVUSDStudentSafety

March 11, 2019 (El Cajon)--Following a safety and security audit recently conducted by AECOM and DMB Consultants, two security engineering firms specializing in building security audits, the Cajon Valley Union School District (CVUSD) has been conducting a series of town meetings at local schools over the past month. The meetings are being held throughout the district to advise parents on what the district is doing to improve student safety and building security.

Meetings have so far taken place at Hillsdale Middle School, Grossmont Middle School, and Montgomery Middle School. Future meetings are set to take place at Cajon Valley Middle School on March 14,  Emerald Middle School on March 21, and Los Coches Creek Middle School on March 27, all at 6 p.m.

By Donald H. Harrison 

Originally published in San Diego Jewish World, a member of the San Diego Online News Association

Photo:  Panelist Shor Masori tells of experiences at Grossmont Middle College High School

March 5, 2019 (El Cajon) - There’s a secret that I feel it’s my duty to divulge to other grandparents and parents of high school students.  High school sophomores can get a jump on their college educations—maybe even save their parents a bundle of money —by applying to Grossmont Middle College High School for the upcoming fall semester.

State-of-the-art facility will bring together performing arts programs in a central location; provides modern new venue for school, district, and community events

East County News Service

Source:  Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District

February 18, 2019 (El Cajon) - The 10-year era of the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District with Chancellor Cindy L. Miles at the helm will soon draw to a close.

 With what she described as “mixed feelings,” Miles announced today that she will be retiring at the end of the year. Her retirement contract, set to go before the Governing Board Feb. 19, calls for Miles to remain until the end of the year to allow time for a successor to be selected.

A new archive of hundreds of letters between a group of volunteers and asylum seekers along the U.S.-Mexico border has been developed and is being digitized at the SDSU Library.

By La Monica Everett-Haynes

February 13, 2019 (San Diego) - What began as a casual gathering of friends has become a first-of-its-kind living archive of handwritten letters shared by hundreds of asylum seekers detained along the U.S.-Mexico border. Those letters, in the collective correspondence, provide a detailed description of each person’s path to pursuing asylum, and the conditions inside detention centers. 

February 6, 2019 (San Diego's East County) -- Heavy snowfall  has resulted in a "snow day" off for students today in the Julian Union School District, Julian Union High School District, Spencer Valley School District and Warner Unified School District, according to the San Diego County Education.

By Miriam Raftery 

February 5, 2019 (El Cajon) -- Modern Teacher has named Cajon Valley Union School District the 2019 Digital Convergence National Showcase District. 

East County News Service

February 1, 2019 (San Diego) – Aspiring young opera and concert singers are one step closer to Carnegie Hall, thanks to the Virginia and Susan Hawk Scholarship which helps fund their studies. Applications are now being accepted at http://msc-gcca.org/vocal-scholarships/ and auditions will be held March 23rd at the La Mesa First United Methodist Church.