April 10, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) – Grossmont Union High School District trustee Gary Woods has asked the board to rescind plans to hold a public hearing and vote April 15 on naming the new Alpine high school after Ronald Reagan. Instead, Woods is calling for establishment of a committee to receive naming recommendations from the public.

 Update:  This class has been cancelled due to low enrollment.  For info on future classes, contact Walter Davis via the information in the story below.

Social networking, digital movies and photo editing on the agenda

April 12, 2010 -- Want to learn technical skills for effective use of media? Walter Davis, founder of Marketing Strategies of California and the Citizens Internet TV Network, is offering a free technology class April 13 from10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Sudanese Community Center, 4077 Fairmont Avenue in San Diego. Classes are free, though a donation of $5 to $10 is suggested.

Raises Pell Grants, eases loan repayments, & funds community colleges

Changes paid for by eliminating $68 billion in fees to banks

By Miriam Raftery

April 3, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) – Most Americans don’t realize that the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act signed into law on March 30th by President Barack Obama affects more than the health care industry.  It also brings sweeping change to the federal student loan program. Obama termed this “one of the most significant investments in higher education since the G.I. Bill.”

Under the new law, the federal government will stop paying fees to private banks to act as middlemen on loans to students. The measure will save the U.S. government nearly $68 million over the next 11 years—money that will be invested in more Pell Grants made directly to students.  The new law will also make it easier for students to repay loans after graduating. In addition, $2 billion will be invested in community colleges for education and career training programs.

March 21, 2010 (San Diego) – An investigation by California Watch has found nearly 180 buildings on California public universities are too dangerous to occupy during a major earthquake. That includes San Diego State’s Love Library.

March 17, 2010 (El Cajon) – Rocket launchings, flying rubber-band powered airplanes and forensic crime scene exhibits were among the displays at the Southern California Regional Science Decathlon. The regional event was hosted at Grossmont College for the fourth consecutive year.

Music Professor Pat Setzer to receive Hayward Award for Excellence in Education

EL CAJON – Cuyamaca College music instructor Pat Setzer, a key player in the planning and construction of a performing arts complex inside the campus’ sprawling $45 million communication arts center, is one of four community college faculty members statewide to win the 2010 Hayward Award for Excellence in Education.

March 6, 2010 (San Diego) -- Congressman Bob Filner is among 111 cosponsors of the Community College Energy Training Act (H.R. 3731), legislation that will support community colleges as they train a new generation of technicians and other workers in America’s renewable energy industry.

March 2, 2010 (SDSU) – Four reported sexual assaults have occurred in the San Diego State University area in the past two weeks, including one case where the suspect reportedly broke in to the victim’s home. In addition, a man was robbed at gunpoint and another was beaten during a robbery on campus.

February 24, 2010 (El Cajon) -- Grossmont Union High School District has rescheduled a closed/executive meeting for Thursday, February 25 at 3:30 p.m.  The meeting was rescheduled after East County Magazine obtained a legal opinion from Terry Francke, general counsel at Californians Aware, that the Brown Act had been violated, as we previously reported. ECM requested both 24 hours notice and a written description of the "threatened litigation" and "one matter" listed on the original agenda.   

The revised agenda for tomorrow's meeting reveals that a lawsuit has now been filed by Helix Charter High against the district.  

ECM NOTIFIES BOARD OF BROWN ACT VIOLATION; REQUESTS POSTPONEMENT & DOCUMENTATION OF LEGAL CHALLENGE

Closed session shrouded in secrecy, including vague description of threatened suit

February 11, 2010 (La Mesa) – Tonight the Grossmont-Union High School District  voted 4-0 to send a notice of intent to revoke the charter from Helix Charter High School.  A public hearing will be held next month.  (for background, see our previous story.) Now Helix supporters are firing back—contending that the district’s motives may be financial, not altruistic.

February 5, 2010 (El Cajon) -- Cuyamaca College’s $28 million business and technology building has opened, just as students returned to campus for the start of the spring 2010 semester. Once relegated to temporary trailers, shared with a nest of skunks, the various disciplines in the business department are delighted to finally have a building to call their own.

February 5, 2010 (El Cajon) – On February 11, Grossmont Union High School District’s board will consider whether Helix Charter High School’s charter should be revoked, citing “continuing concerns by the GUHSD Board regarding the safety of Helix students,” board president Robert Shields wrote in an e-mail to media.

El Cajon Valley High is 1st of 8 East County campuses to get new science buildings through Prop H

January 29, 2010 (El Cajon) Say goodbye to portable buildings and science classrooms built during the Eisenhower administration. Grossmont Union High School District ushers in a new era for its East County high schools with opening of the first of eight new state-of-the-art science classroom buildings.

A new report from Grossmont College says the number of Grossmont students applying to receive financial aid is increasing, along with the amount of dollars disbursed in tuition assistance.

Michael Copenhaver, Grossmont College director of financial aid, said the number of students completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is 31 percent higher for a12-month time period from January to December 2009, compared to the same 12-month period in 2008.