
East County Magazine

SCHOOLS CLOSE DUE TO FIRES AND POWER OUTAGES
East County News Service January 24, 2025 (San Diego’s East County) — The San Diego County Office of Education has announced numerous school closures today due to the Border 2 Fire as well as power outages. Power outages have resulted in closure of all Mountain Empire Unified School District and Warner Unified School district campuses today, as well as all

FINDING THE ‘NOW’ OF TEACHING: SDSU ONLINE EDUCATION PROGRAMS REACH NO. 3 IN NATIONAL RANKINGS
U.S. News & World Report highlights SDSU’s growing reputation for excellence in online education master’s programs. By Michael Klitzing, SDSU News January 23, 2025 (San Diego) – Anaiz Moreno (left) always knew she wanted to go for a master’s degree, but she never imagined it would be happening so soon. After all, the high school English teacher only recently earned

GUHSD SUPERINTENDENT MIKE FOWLER TAKES LEAVE DUE TO BRAIN CANCER; BOARD APPOINTS SANDRA HUEZO AS ACTING SUPERINTENDENT
Source: Grossmont Union High School District January 17, 2025 (El Cajon) — Superintendent Mike Fowler has announced plans to step aside from his duties until March 1, 2025, as he receives treatment for a malignant brain tumor. After his diagnosis, Fowler underwent a successful surgery in December. He has now begun a rigorous treatment schedule which will require him to remain on

SCHOOL BOND REFINANCING SAVES GUHSD TAXPAYERS MILLIONS OF DOLLARS
East County News Service January 13, 2025 (El Cajon) — Grossmont Union High School District’s governing board has approved a major bond refinancing plan which will save East County taxpayers nearly $19 million by reducing long-term interest costs on its existing school construction bonds. Dr. Gary Woods, board president, says, “These savings are exceptional. East County taxpayers’ investment in our

RED FLAG WARNING, 6 SCHOOL DISTRICTS CLOSE DUE TO FIRE RISK AND HIGH WINDS
January 8, 2025 (San Diego’s East County) — The National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning for San Diego County mountains and valleys today and tomorrow due to high winds and extreme fire danger. The strong winds that have fueled two large wildfires decimating Los Angeles County are forecast to move into San Diego County next. This is

SANTEE SCHOOL DISTRICT WELCOMES NEW BOARD OF EDUCATION MEMBER
Source: Santee School District December 26, 2024 (Santee) – At the Organizational Meeting on December 17, 2024, Tracie Thill was sworn in to Seat No. 4 on the Santee School District Board of Education, with her term expiring in December 2028. “On behalf of the Board of Education, I welcome Tracie Thill to our team,” said President Barbara Ryan. “We

BB GUN SEIZED FROM LEMON GROVE STUDENT
East County News Service December 17, 2024 (Lemon Grove) – Students at Lemon Grove Academy Middle School saw a student with what appeared to be a firearm in his backpack on Friday, December 13, but didn’t report it to school staff until Monday, December 16. School administrators immediately contacted the Lemon Grove substation. Deputies questioned the 14-year-old student and his

LESSONS FROM THE MAGIC HORSE
By Olivia Barnard December 10, 2024 (Lakeside) — I first met Robin Pawl and her horses Shelby, Indy, Ka Lio, and Phoenix on a Saturday afternoon. The faded Lakeside hills framed the riding center as hawks called out and the pepper trees swayed. I loved horses growing up, but I had never been on a ranch. I didn’t know what

CAL COAST CARES FOUNDATION AWARDS GRANTS TO LOCAL EDUCATORS FOR INNOVATIVE CLASSROOM PROJECTS
Source: Cal Coast Cares Foundation December 9, 2024 (San Diego) – The Cal Coast Cares Foundation has awarded $75,000 in grants to local educators to support innovative STREAM (Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Arts, and Math) projects in San Diego and Riverside counties. This year’s awards will support 66 projects at local schools including 40 at Title I schools and six at

READER’S EDITORIAL: JIM MILLER’S COMMENTS DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY—OUR SCHOOL BOARD MUST ACT
By Tom Varallo, Commander, U.S. Navy (retired) Photo, left: CVUSD trustee Jim MIller December 9, 2024 (El Cajon) — As a citizen and former Special Education Local Planning Area (SELPA) Representative in the Cajon Valley Union School District, I am stunned by the recent comments made by Jim Miller, the current President of our School Board, on his public Facebook
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Education Resources
PROPOSITION U SEEKS FUNDS FOR CLASSROOM UPGRADES, NEW BUILDINGS IN GROSSMONT UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT
By Miriam Raftery Grossmont Union High School District’s superintendent and four of five GUHSD school board trustees agree that Proposition U is critical to repair and replace aging buildings throughout the district—and build a long-awaited new high school for Alpine. “We can’t modernize the old industrial classrooms abandoned years ago without Proposition U,” GUHSD Superintendent Robert Collins said at an
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Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting — not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine’s local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.