San Diego Unified School District

Beyond the False Promises and Premises – Analysis of the “Great Schools” Ballot Initiative

January 4, 2011 by Doug Porter

Last spring an education “reform” group emerged from behind closed doors after meeting in secret for several months. Working without input from many of the organizations that are actually engaged in local schools, they set about to implement a plan they developed to change the face of public schools in San Diego. In this article we’ll examine that actual language of the proposal that will most likely be presented to voters this spring.

Governor-elect Brown’s Budgetary Shock Doctrine Blows Up School Board Planning

December 15, 2010 by Doug Porter

Over the past few weeks education advocates have been getting some unexpected signals coming out of Sacramento. The word “No” is being bandied about in ways that could result in shocking cuts to education State-wide for the next school year. Faced with yet another budget shortfall—this one to the tune of $28 billion over the […]

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It Was a Good Day

December 2, 2010 by Ernie McCray

November 30th of 2010 was a good day. In many a way. First of all, from the beginning, the day was sunny and bright and it ran smoothly and ever so mellow save a few brief moments later that night. The goodness got going for me about four that afternoon when I picked up some […]

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Public School Races : Proposition J, School Board Seats

October 20, 2010 by Doug Porter

OB RAG Local Elections Coverage – Part 3

I mailed in my ballot yesterday. As part of my research in this series (we’ll publish a summary next week) on the election, I’ve been paying close attention to all the issues and advertising. I’ve also—full disclosure—been working with a group (California Alliance) that focuses on increasing voter turnout amongst infrequent voters in economically challenged communities in San Diego.

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John de Beck is still running for the school board

October 19, 2010 by Source

by Emily Alpert / Voice of San Diego

Most sitting school board members talk up how the school district has improved on their watch. Not John de Beck. As he campaigns for another four years on the board, de Beck sounds more like an upstart, complaining that San Diego Unified hasn’t tackled its biggest problems.

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Education Reform Part 4: The San Diego Education Reform Plan – Keeping It Local and Working Together

September 15, 2010 by Doug Porter

In previous installments of this series, we’ve discussed the history of education reform, examined school testing, looked at a high performing system in Finland and examined the latest federal plans for reforming our schools. This time around we’ll take a look at what’s on the boards for students in the San Diego Unified School District and tell you about ways you can become involved in this process. As much of this plan exists only on the drawing boards, it’s hard to make any judgments at this point. The plan is, on its face, very different from what we hear coming out of Washington DC, so it’s bound to be getting national scrutiny in the coming years.

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Despite budget cuts, San Diego Unified test scores gain for 4th straight year

August 17, 2010 by Source

SAN DIEGO San Diego Unified’s results on 2010 state tests show across the board gains for the fourth straight year, with more students than ever ranking “advanced” in their subject knowledge.

The results of the annual California Standards Test released today show the district has five straight years of overall gains in English language arts and science scores, while math continues a four-year climb. This good news is tempered by recognition that scores still show an “achievement gap” among ethnic groups. Data relating to the achievement gap – test scores among ethnic groups – is still being analyzed, but early results show the gap is narrowing in some areas, albeit slowly.

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Polling Shows Parcel Tax Passing

August 4, 2010 by Doug Porter

Exclusive to the OB Rag

A recent public opinion survey indicates that, despite facing a two thirds threshold for passage, voter support for public education is deep enough for the San Diego Unified School District’s proposed parcel tax to win at the ballot box in November.

The polling firm of Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates conducted a telephone survey (June 20-22, 2010) of 400 voters in the San Diego District who are likely to vote in the November 2010 General Election. The survey showed that 81% of the respondents recognize that the school district has a great or some need for additional funding.

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No More Cuts! Make Your Voice Heard – Rally for Education, Saturday, May 8th

May 7, 2010 by Doug Porter

Thousands of parents, teachers and students will be gathering in Balboa Park near 6th & Laurel on Saturday, May 8th at 10 am to raise their voices in support of public education.

Over the last two years education funding has taken the brunt of budget cuts. Politicians in Sacramento have cut billions of dollars from education and it would seem that there is no end in sight for this downward spiral. Schools throughout the region are dealing with larger class sizes, teachers laid off by the thousands, fewer nurses and counselors, cutbacks in science, music, arts and sports. This week San Diego Unified announced yet another round of pink-slips, with the school board voting 4-1 to send teachers packing.

This rally has been called to say ‘Enough is enough!’ California politicians will stop cutting education only when enough people stand up and make their voices heard: ‘No more cuts.’

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Group Seeks To ‘Modernize’ School Board – Democracy Be Dammed

April 7, 2010 by Doug Porter

A by-invitation-only committee has been holding closed door meetings in recent months at the University of San Diego campus to discuss concerns with the future of the San Diego Unified School District. Attempts by the news media to report on the meetings have been blocked. According to a spokesperson with the District, sitting Board of Education members have also been excluded. In other words, it’s hush-hush.

A crack in the veil of secrecy emerged last week by way of a report in Voice of San Diego:

“A private group of educators, philanthropists, business leaders and others are polling San Diegans about whether they want to see appointed members added to the San Diego Unified school board, according to parents who have gotten phone calls about the new proposal.

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Serious Cuts Looming for San Diego Schools

February 10, 2010 by Doug Porter

Editor: The following is another in a series about budgetary cut-backs at the San Diego Unified School District by our-man-on-the-scene Doug Porter. All the public schools that service Ocean Beach will be affected: OB Elementary, Dana Middle School, Correia Middle School, and Point Loma High. It is incumbent for OB residents to stay on top of this issue, and thanks to Doug, the OB Rag is attempting to do just that.

I attended the School Board meeting last night (February 9th) and listened to the reports given by the district staff about finding ways to fund their priorities for San Diego Unified Schools. These priorities, which emerged through public input, both at Board meetings and through a series of Town Halls held during the final months of 2009 were: ….

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San Diego – A View From the Beach

January 7, 2010 by Source

Occasionally news in San Diego affects us at the beach. Here are a few recent headlines of interest to sand crabs, seagulls and smoldering fire pits:

Lawyers Group Honors Judge Boycotted by DA Dumanis

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka in town pushing for jobs

City Council declines endorsement of medical marijuana regulations

Court upholds San Diego School District’s right to assure that school construction jobs will employ local residents

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School Board Budget Workshop Offers Little Hope For Next Year

December 17, 2009 by Doug Porter

The San Diego Unified School District Board of Education workshop on the looming budget crisis painted a bleak picture of the future for education in America’s Finest City on Tuesday evening. The auditorium was about one-third filled with concerned parents and two of the five Board members were absent as the district staff presented one report after another outlining options and suggested courses of action for the 2010-2011 budget.

You have to give the Board of Education credit for coming to grips with the problem. They’ve held five “town hall” style forums, …

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Call to Action: Last Minute Budget Meeting Set By School Board

December 14, 2009 by Doug Porter

Stressed out for the holidays? Running around trying spread all that good cheer while not breaking the budget? Well, if you’ve got kids in school or care about education, you need to revise your schedule for this week. A critical meeting of the San Diego Unified School District Board of Education has been called for this week and your child’s school may be on the chopping block.

After parent groups around San Diego had sent out emails & made phone calls alerting parents to a Board of Education Meeting on Tuesday evening, they learned that the budget wasn’t really on that agenda. Another, hastily arraigned, meeting of the Board of Education has been announced for Wednesday, December 16 at 5 pm. The meeting will be held at the Board of Education complex (4100 Normal Street, in University Heights).

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Education Budget Goes Bust – Drastic Cuts Likely in 2010

December 4, 2009 by Doug Porter

The Town Hall budget forum in San Diego High’s Library drew over 100 concerned parents on Thursday Night. School Board interim Superintendent Bill Kowba and Board member Richard Barrera made a power point presentation that outlined the funding shortfalls faced by local educators with expected State contributions for the 2010 fiscal year.

The bottom line, as presented in this meeting, is that ALL of the cuts in programs that have been bandied about in the news media and various on-line discussions will not cover the expected deficit.

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San Diego School Budget Cuts: Magnet Schools Likely To Close

March 24, 2009 by Doug Porter

by Doug Porter

Faced with the onerous task of trimming $100 million from the 2009-2010 budget on the heels of plummeting state tax revenues, the San Diego Unified School Board has elected to make cuts that will likely lead to closings for several magnet schools, including the acclaimed School for Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA) and the Language Academy.

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Debate Over School Board Vote On Labor Agreement Continues …

January 31, 2009 by Source

The debate over the recent vote of the San Diego Unified School District Board of Education on a Project Stabilization Agreement with the local Building Trades continues here. Pat Flannery – blogger, city gadfly, community activist – has been very critical of the PSA, and we re-post his most recent comments. The Center for Policy Initiatives speaks up for organized labor, and we re-post their website comments.

The right not to associate – union shop or merit shop
VS
Fight the barrage of lies with facts: School board vote is good for San Diego

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Vern May 31, 2023 at 3:50 pm on Circulate San Diego’s Undue Influence at City Hall and Lobbying for Legislation Violate Non-Profit RulesThanks for the article, Geoff. Kind of left me wondering a couple of things: 1. how many of the named folks in the article ride...
DiegoK May 31, 2023 at 2:05 pm on Circulate San Diego’s Undue Influence at City Hall and Lobbying for Legislation Violate Non-Profit RulesThanks Geoff for your insightful research. This is a true public service. This reminds me of the tobacco and the fossil fuels industries that create...
Gravitas May 31, 2023 at 1:51 pm on A Small Miracle: International Film Crew Meets Portuguese Festa in Point LomaGreat video in Part II and nice photo of Queen Eva Rosa and her court 2023.
Gravitas May 31, 2023 at 1:50 pm on A Small Miracle — Part II: Video of Portuguese Festa in Point LomaGreat video and super photo of 2023 Queen Eva Rosa. Enjoy the parade at home!
Chris May 31, 2023 at 12:01 pm on City Council Consents to Coastal Commission ‘Crack-Down’ on Loss of Parking Spaces by Restaurants in Beach AreasI think it's safe to say Mike is just arguing for the sake of arguing. He's intentionally making some broad strawman assumptions and expressing opinions...
Chris May 31, 2023 at 11:24 am on City Council Consents to Coastal Commission ‘Crack-Down’ on Loss of Parking Spaces by Restaurants in Beach AreasFirst off, how do you know the bike lanes are empty all day every day? That is not you opinion, that is not your personal...
Mike May 31, 2023 at 10:01 am on City Council Consents to Coastal Commission ‘Crack-Down’ on Loss of Parking Spaces by Restaurants in Beach AreasChris, I run and walk in the bike lanes cause their empty all day every day. When I’ve done group bike rides the group refuses...
Frank Gormlie May 31, 2023 at 10:00 am on City Council Consents to Coastal Commission ‘Crack-Down’ on Loss of Parking Spaces by Restaurants in Beach AreasMike, you're way off base here and it detracts from your poignant observations re bike lanes, etc. I should know about the OB Rag's origins,...
Mike May 31, 2023 at 9:58 am on City Council Consents to Coastal Commission ‘Crack-Down’ on Loss of Parking Spaces by Restaurants in Beach AreasThen remove the OB from the title. Yes in point of fact when it was created it was focused on Ocean Beach, nicknamed OB.
Frank Gormlie May 31, 2023 at 8:10 am on City Council Consents to Coastal Commission ‘Crack-Down’ on Loss of Parking Spaces by Restaurants in Beach AreasMike, you have some good observations and ideas but you're way off on your particular rant about the OB Rag. The Rag has never been...
Chris May 31, 2023 at 6:25 am on City Council Consents to Coastal Commission ‘Crack-Down’ on Loss of Parking Spaces by Restaurants in Beach AreasThe only troll here is you, and you seem to be a pretty frustrated one at that.
Virginia Franco May 30, 2023 at 11:55 pm on One Love Story Giving Rise to AnotherRegrets; no email- available at this time.
Virginia Franco May 30, 2023 at 11:50 pm on One Love Story Giving Rise to AnotherBlessed Those Who Remember; people like you, Ernie McCray. Blessed respects also, to Linda and Carlos LeGerrette; they, relieving this Beloved?? Past.
Geoff Page May 30, 2023 at 9:58 pm on City Council Consents to Coastal Commission ‘Crack-Down’ on Loss of Parking Spaces by Restaurants in Beach AreasNo, I am not for the bike lane mania at all. I think some lanes in some places are a good idea but I do...
Mike May 30, 2023 at 9:19 pm on City Council Consents to Coastal Commission ‘Crack-Down’ on Loss of Parking Spaces by Restaurants in Beach AreasGeoff you are for bike lanes and dining areas seizing parking outside of OB? You need to focus on this.