
East County Magazine
LAWSUIT DISMISSED AGAINST SD UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
Court upholds district’s right to assure that school construction jobs will employ local residents January 5, 2010 (San Diego)–San Diego’s Superior Court has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) that sought to halt work performed under the project stabilization agreement (PSA) reached between San Diego Unified School District and construction unions. The AGC
BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY BUILDING AT CUYAMACA COLLEGE OPENS JAN. 20
January 1, 2010 (El Cajon) – Cuyamaca College will host a grand opening of its newest facility, the Business and Technology Building, on January 20th at 11 a.m.Guests are invited to view the "initial public offering" of this new facility on the "Cuyamaca Exchange." “The Business and Technology Building is the last of our four new, spectacular, state-of-the-art
LEGISLATURE GRAPPLES TO QUALIFY FOR FEDERAL “RACE TO THE TOP” FUNDS FOR EDUCATION
State’s schools, once top in nation, now rank at bottom as budget cuts ravage K-12 and higher education By Miriam Raftery December 23, 2009 (Sacramento) – The Obama administration has challenged states to compete for federal “Race to the Top” (RTT) education funds aimed at improving under-performing K-12 schools. California is eligible for $300-$700 million of those funds—provided the
ACLU ACCUSES SDSU OF ILLEGALLY WITHHOLDING DOCUMENTS ON ADMISSIONS POLICY CHANGE
December 18, 2009 (San Diego) – The ACLU says San Diego State University has delivered an "empty Christmas present", turning over incomplete records in response to a public documents request. Now the ACLU has sent a demand letter on behalf of the Education Consortium demanding full disclosure. In an effort to better understand who SDSU consulted with prior to eliminating
SOMETHING TO SING ABOUT: VOCAL COMPETITION AT SDSU JAN. 30 OFFERS $2,000 TOP PRIZE
December 18, 2009 (San Diego) – High school juniors, seniors and sophomores who are recommended by a vocal or choir teacher are eligible to enter the Schmidt Youth Vocal Competition at San Diego State University on January 30th, where competitors will vie for a top prize of $2,000. Applications must be received by January 15th. The competition, which is held
GROSSMONT-CUYAMACA COMMUNITY COLLEGE PRESIDENT BILL GARRET & WIFE DONATE $27,000 to OSHER FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIP FUNDS
Judy Garrett recalls father’s love of teaching in community colleges December 14, 2009 (El Cajon) – – Honoring a family member’s devotion to community college students during a teaching career spanning more than two decades, Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District Governing Board President Bill Garrett and his wife, Judy, have donated $13,500 to a scholarship fund at each of the
ALPINE SCHOOLS & VIEJAS TEAM UP TO BRING NEW MUSIC & MATH PROGRAMS TO ELEMENTARY CLASSROOMS
Creative Partnership Overcomes Economic Obstacles to launch innovative new program December 14, 2009 (Alpine) – Despite deep education budget cuts statewide, kids at schools in Alpine are benefiting from an innovative, new program that improves math and music skills, thanks in part to proceeds from concerts and other events held at Viejas Casino and Outlet Center in Alpine. Earlier
SANTANA VARSITY TEAM LEADS AFTER 5TH WEEK OF ACADEMIC LEAGUE MATCHES
December 10, 2009 (San Diego’s East County) – With a 5-0 record, Santa High School ‘s varsity team is in first place after the fifth week of the Grossmont Union High School District’s Academic League matches, besting Helix 85-24. “There were a couple of close matches as well as some strong performances by several teams,” said Steve Haiman, co-coordinator.
ACADEMIC LEAGUE # 4 FEATURED MATCH: GROSSMONT AT SANTANA
By Steve Haiman Co-coordinator, GUHSD Academic League December 9, 2009 (San Diego’s East County) — The layoff for Thanksgiving did not slow up the four teams in week four’s featured match with the Santana “Sultans” hosting the Grossmont “Foothillers”. In, fact all of the teams got right down to turkey…pardon the pun…from the very opening question right down to
WINTER WONDERLAND DAY CAMP AT HILLSIDE RECREATION CENTER IN EL CAJON
December 5, 2009 (El Cajon) — The City of El Cajon Recreation Department is offering a safe and fun camp to engage the kids during the winter break. Hillside Center will be hosting “Winter Wonderland” Day Camp for ages 6-12 on December 21, 22, 23, 28, 29 and 30 from 9:00 am – 3:00 pm. Each day is
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Education Resources

Villa Musica expanding to East County for 20th anniversary
East County News Service April 22, 2026 (El Cajon) — For two decades, the halls of Villa Musica’s Sorrento Valley headquarters have been alive with a specific kind of beautiful chaos — the steady thumps on the drum, soaring scales of soprano singers and the first notes of student violinists. Now with Villa Musica is celebrating its 20th anniversary, the

Lemon Grove Library hosting Sheriff’s reentry event
East County News Service April 13, 2026 (Lemon Grove) — The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office Reentry Services Division is holding a public event aimed at bridging the gap between life behind bars and life as a productive neighbor. From 4 to 6 p.m., Tuesday, April 14 at the Lemon Grove Library, the community is being invited to meet the

Lemon Grove celebrates 95th anniversary of desegregation case
“…What we have learned from the Lemon Grove incident is that when we unite together and we fight against those forces, we are stronger than…

Santee School District awarded grant to launch Career Technical Program
East County News Service March 21, 2026 (Santee) — Santee School District was awarded a $215,000 grant through the Strong Workforce Program to launch a…

‘Americans and the Holocaust’ exhibition coming to Grossmont College
East County News Service March 19, 2026 (El Cajon) — The Grossmont College Library was selected as one of only 50 libraries across the United…
California teachers ‘tread lightly’ for America’s 250th as they navigate competing narratives
By Carolyn Jones, CalMatters This story was originally published by CalMatters . Sign up for their newsletters. Photo: San Lorenzo High School teacher Judy Smith…
California teachers ‘tread lightly’ for America’s 250th as they navigate competing narratives
By Carolyn Jones, CalMatters This story was originally published by CalMatters . Sign up for their newsletters. Photo: San Lorenzo High School teacher Judy Smith…

Teamsters strike at SDSU impacts traffic on I-8
By Miriam Raftery February 17, 2026 (San Diego) – Teamsters Local 2010 is holding a four-day unfair labor practice strike at 22 California State University campuses starting today, including San Diego State University and Cal State San Marcos. Campuses remain open, however an alert sent by SDSU cautions that traffic along I-8 near campus is backed up; students and

Reader’s Editorial: Cajon Valley’s compensation vote raises questions about priorities
By Alex Welling February 26, 2026 (El Cajon) — Last week, the Cajon Valley Union School District Board of Trustees voted to increase its monthly compensation from $630 to $2,000 — the maximum amount permitted under state law for a district of its size. That figure does not include their taxpayer-funded healthcare benefits. Several months ago, district educators received

ICE agents outside local school campuses raise concerns
By Alexander J. Schorr February 25, 2026 (San Diego) — Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity has increased in surrounding school areas, which includes the occupying of parking lots, monitoring of bus routes, and arrests occurring blocks away from schools. At least 3,800 children have been booked into ICE detention between January 2025 and early 2026. Families have expressed anxiety over “haunting and taunting” by federal agents
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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.