CVESD highlights their charter school program
As we approach the Thanksgiving Holiday break, I want to extend my personal gratitude for your unwavering support of your children in our schools. Your dedication and commitment are major reasons for the outstanding academic success that we have enjoyed across our system. As you may know, 93 percent of District schools have a state Academic Performance Index score higher than 800, which is the state’s goal for all schools in California. Our District has received state and national recognition due to our outstanding teachers and leaders who focus on decisions based on student needs. This year, we have a record 10 schools eligible to apply for the prestigious California Distinguished School Award.
Academic success is one reason why our charter schools, including those with middle grades, are an increasingly popular alternative to traditional schools, such as those in the Sweetwater Union High School District (SUHSD). Unfortunately, our success prompted the following actions taken by SUHSD:
• Exclusion of charter middle school students from SUHSD’s Compact for Success program with San Diego State University.
• Exclusion of charter middle school students from this year’s winter Middle School Athletic League season.
• Attempts to discredit charter school academic preparation of middle school students for high school.
• Leaflet brochures highlighting Southwest Middle (ranked last among South County middle schools) as better than District charter schools.
CVESD views charter schools as an opportunity for development of innovative educational practices and believes that freedom from California Education Code restrictions can foster high academic achievement for charter students. Our District has nurtured the development of charter schools while holding them to the same rigor and accountability expected of all schools. Charter enrollment represents 17% of our 28,000 students. The expansion to middle grades started years ago and was a logical next step in the hearts and minds of charter parents who wanted an alternative to area middl schools.
We are thankful and appreciative of the community response in support of our charter students. For, at the end of the day, charter students are students. They are your friends’ and neighbors’ children.
With that in mind, we will turn SUHSD’s challenge into an opportunity to innovate solutions that are student based and forward thinking.
Francisco Escobedo, Ed.D.
Superintendent
Chula Vista Elementary School District
“Budget Forecast Poor for Schools, Services”
Ed Brand, Sweetwater District’s interim superintendent, proposes to ask our taxpayers to approve a third bond to build a university, among other things.
In the last seven years our taxpayers approved almost ONE BILLION DOLLARS in bonds for Sweetwater schools alone (Prop “BB” $187 million, Prop “O” $644 million), yet our schools are still rundown because the bond money is abused and mismanaged. But Brand wants to drive us deeper into financial trouble. Isn’t he the one who started a bank at a time when banks were failing (great timing!!!). Of course his bank went belly up and all his investors lost their money.
Now he wants to drive us deeper in debt by building our very own “Sweetwater University.” This at a time when the State Colleges and Universities are experiencing financial problems and are increasing student fees to stay in business.
Since Brand lives in the North County, let’s remind him that we have the following colleges and universities in the South County: 1) San Diego State University, 2) University of California at San Diego, 2) University of San Diego, 3) Point Loma Nazarene University, 4) Inter America University, 5) National University, 6) Alliant University, 7) Southwestern College, 8) San Diego City College, 9) Grossmont College, 10) California University in San Diego.
I will never vote for another school bond. These funds become a gold mine for superintendents and board members to hire contractors who will fund the political campaigns of board members. It’s no surprise that many contractors who were hired were not in the top three recommendations. Many also “won” the contracts by under bidding the jobs and later increasing the cost by submitting change orders (cost over-runs) costing the taxpayers millions of dollars. T
We are in the worst economic crisis since the Big Depression. The unemployment rate is high and people are losing their homes. Brand is talking about closing one or two schools. He has assigned at least one principal to administer two schools to cut costs. They talk about layoffs and other cut backs. Brand has taken no cut in pay himself. He makes $240,000 annually and doesn’t pay one penny in property taxes in our district. He never has. He has worked more than 25 years in our district
Jaime Mercado
Mercado is a former school board member