The Search Box below searchs only the PUSD web servers, only items that are normally available to the public; but in a better fashion. :-)

Type your search request in the box

Any Search Results Will Appear Below

RANCHO PENASQUITOS: Students: Racial incidents prompt discussion

 

RANCHO PENASQUITOS: Students: Racial incidents prompt discussion

By SHAYNA CHABNER - Staff Writer | Thursday, March 27, 2008 12:47 PM PDT

 

RANCHO PENASQUITOS ---- In the wake of three racially related incidents on Westview High School's campus this year, students say they are talking more openly about race, religion, cultural practices and opinions.
Student leaders conceded that the incidents cast a shadow over the 2,300-student campus, but they described the incidents as isolated acts that are not representative of the way many Westview students interact or feel about such issues.


On two occasions this school year, including once last week, a swastika was found painted on the window of Westview's student store. And on Halloween, a costume worn by a student created a stir because it was said to resemble a Ku Klux Klan outfit.


"I don't think that anyone at Westview could do those things," said senior Stephanie King, 18. "They are more just incidents that happened at Westview than things that represent Westview."


Still, King said, the incidents are not something that can be ignored.


As a member of the school's Human Relations Committee, King said she is trying to promote greater unity among students and more respect for the school's diverse student body. Statistics for the 2006-07 school year show that Westview is 55.3 percent white, 21 percent Asian, 9 percent Filipino, 8 percent Hispanic and 3 percent black.


The Human Relations Committee, which was founded last fall before the incidents, includes leaders of more than a dozen religious, ethnic and culturally focused groups on campus.

... for the rest of the story, follow the below link...

RANCHO PENASQUITOS: Students: Racial incidents prompt discussion : North County Times - Californian

Politics - California Lottery should repay state for party, audit says

 

California Lottery should repay state for party, audit says

By Judy Lin - jlin@sacbee.com

California Lottery officials should repay $46,336 that was inappropriately spent on an employee celebration dinner last November, according to an audit released Wednesday by the State Controller's Office.

"Billed as an employee recognition and training event, the expenses actually went to entertainment, prizes and black-peppered prime rib dinners for Lottery employees, retirees and guests," Controller John Chiang said in a statement.

Nearly $30,000 was spent on the Nov. 8 event, intended to celebrate the lottery's $20 billion contribution to education. Besides a dinner and dessert, guests received silver-plated photo frames, and the lottery hired a disc jockey and photographer.

... for the rest of the story, follow the below link...

Politics - California Lottery should repay state for party, audit says - sacbee.com

East Coast Cities Hopes To Lure Away Local Teachers

East Coast Cities Hopes To Lure Away Local Teachers

With more than 1,000 teachers being handed pink slips, a school district outside of California is hoping to entice them into heading east.

The Fort Worth Independent School District has begun a major billboard recruiting campaign. The signs, located along Garnet Avenue, west of Mission Bay Drive and La Jolla Village Drive, east of Regent Rd., will stay in place until June, according to the school district.

... for the rest of the story, follow the below link...

City Hopes To Lure Away Local Teachers - Local News Story - KNSD | San Diego

Poway Unified School District Fire Relief Fund charity under fire

 

March 26, 2008

Poway charity under fire

SACRAMENTO -- State Lottery employees thought they were doing a good thing last fall when they decided to make a contribution to the Poway Unified School District Fire Relief Fund.

But a state audit released today said that the $2,558 contribution came from a Lottery fund where public and private funds were improperty mixed -- and the source of more than half the money was not properly documented.

The main target of a scathing audit released by state Controller John Chiang is a lavish $46,336 employee dinner held by the Lottery last Nov. 8 to celebrate $20 billion in Lottery funding for education.

... for the rest of the story, follow the below link...

Newsblog | Poway charity under fire

Black Mountain Middle School in Rancho Peñasquitos on alert due to threatening message

March 30, 2008

Black Mountain Middle School in Rancho Peñasquitos will receive extra police protection on Monday because of a threatening message found on the campus.

A spokeswoman for the Poway Unified School District said a custodian found a message on Friday on a bathroom wall at the school that read “Going to kill you all 3/31.”

Sharon Raffer, spokeswoman for Poway Unified, said the bathroom was closed immediately and police were notified. She said Principal David Hall sent out a message – by phone and e-mail – Friday to notify parents of the incident and list the precautions that the district was taking, such as having more district security employees on campus.

... for the rest of the story, follow the below link...

SignOnSanDiego.com > News > North County -- Peñasquitos school on alert due to threatening message

ADF: Poway free speech case again before 9th Circuit - Alliance Defense Fund - Defending Our First Liberty

Poway free speech case again before 9th Circuit

ADF attorneys file opening brief challenging school’s speech policies
Monday, March 31, 2008, 8:45 AM (MST) |
ADF Media Relations | 480-444-0020

U.S. Supreme Court vacates widely criticized 9th Circuit decision in Poway “T-shirt” case

SAN FRANCISCO — Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund and Advocates for Faith and Freedom filed their opening brief Tuesday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in a case involving the free speech rights of students.  The lawsuit challenges policies within the Poway Unified School District that unconstitutionally restrict student speech.
“Christian students shouldn’t be penalized for expressing their beliefs.  They have the same First Amendment rights as all other students on campus,” said ADF Legal Counsel Tim Chandler.  “Speech cannot be silenced simply because someone else disagrees with it or deems it to be ‘negative.’  As the Supreme Court has stated, students do not shed their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gate.”

Receive Updates on Similar Stories

In 2004, then-sophomore Chase Harper wore a T-shirt to school expressing a biblical viewpoint on homosexual behavior during the school’s “Day of Silence,” an event sponsored by the school’s Gay-Straight Alliance club.
A school official ordered Harper to remove the shirt, but he respectfully declined to do so.  Instead, he was forced to sit in the office for the remainder of the school day, was subjected to “counseling” by school officials, and was interrogated by a deputy sheriff who took photographs of him.  A school administrator told Harper he should “leave his faith in the car” because it might be offensive to others.
The 9th Circuit initially ruled that the school may have been justified in censoring Chase, but in March 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court vacated that decision (www.telladf.org/news/story.aspx?cid=4027).  Now Chase and his sister, Kelsie, are returning to the 9th Circuit to challenge the school’s policies because they prohibit students from expressing any religious beliefs that might be seen as “negative” or “offensive” to others.
A copy of the opening brief filed in the 9th Circuit in Harper v. Poway Unified School District can be read at www.telladf.org/UserDocs/HarperBrief.pdf.
ADF is a legal alliance defending the right to hear and speak the Truth through strategy, training, funding, and litigation.

ADF: Poway free speech case again before 9th Circuit - Alliance Defense Fund - Defending Our First Liberty

Students Protest In Support Of Teachers

UPDATED: 5:04 pm PDT March 14, 2008

RANCHO BERNARDO, Calif. -- A brother and sister at Rancho Bernardo High School organized a school protest Friday in support of teachers who could lose their jobs due to state budget cuts.


View Images | Watch Video

Aaron Nigro, a senior at the school, said he and his sister Chris wanted to do something to show their anger and frustration over the situation.

Aaron said he was inspired by one of his teachers who stands to lose his job.

"He has a daughter and a family of his own. Now the governor has pretty much fired (him)," he told NBC 7/39. "The main goal of this was that hopefully, it will reach the governor… we don't want to be robbed of our education," Nigro said.

Students staged a peaceful walkout. With signs in hand, they stood in front of the entrance to the school.

Co-organizer, Carissa Nigro, a freshman, said the protest was a way for students to express their emotions about the ordeal. She said for her, increased class sizes are her biggest concern.

"I'm struggling as it is. I think it would be harder for us to get A's and get the one-on-one attention we need," if class sizes grow, she said.

Principal Paul Robinson said he admired the support the students have shown for their teachers.

"Our students are fantastic. They really care about their teachers. They're hurt, they're angry… it says a lot about our teachers because they care about our students too," Robinson told NBC 7/39.

Rancho Bernardo High School is part of the Poway Unified School District -- 106 teachers in that district have received pink slips.

"We’re too young to vote. This is our way of standing up for our teachers," said Aaron.

Robinson said their school stands to lose 28 out of 126 teachers. They would soon be receiving notices that there is no guarantee they'll have a contract in the fall, he said.

Ursula Kroemer, of the San Diego Unified School District, said that 903 people will receive layoff notices by mail and those will be going out starting Thursday.

In East County, the Grossmont Union High School District is getting ready to send pink slips to about 97 of the 1,100 teachers who work for the district.

Legislators React

NBC 7/39 spoke with several legislators regarding the crisis.

Republican Assembly member Martin Garrick of the 74th District said he's been working with schools to create more flexibility in their budgets and find more ways to save.

Democratic Assembly member Lori Saldana of the 76th District said the state needs to close tax loopholes and start bringing-in more revenue.

But both agree that it would be difficult to take money from other services that may already be underfunded.

"We have a grandparent taking care of a grandchild, and they receive some money to help with that. Suddenly we're telling them we're cutting those few dollars you receive for yourself as a senior in a low-income situation and we're also cutting the amount receive for your grandchild," she said.

Legislators said they are hearing the public outcry to support schools and they suggest writing to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Students Protest In Support Of Teachers - Education News Story - KNSD | San Diego

Impact Of School Budget Cuts Coming To Light

Poway USD near the end of the article...

SAN DIEGO -- Details are beginning to emerge about who stands to lose their jobs and how schools could be affected in the wake of the budget crisis


Watch Video
Positions Slated For Cuts
Interactive Map: School Budget Cuts

The San Diego Unified School District voted 4-1 Tuesday in favor of massive job cuts. The board voted to hand out pink slips to 903 employees, including teachers, administrators, office workers, nurses, librarians and counselors. Sheila Jackson cast the sole vote against the layoffs.

Among the jobs on the list for elimination are 416 elementary teachers, 198 middle school, high school and alternative education teachers, including instructors in English, physical education and social science. There are also more than 60 counselors, 28 nurses and 15 librarians in jeopardy of losing their jobs.

The pink slips are going to be mailed out on Wednesday, according to Ursula Kroemer, district spokeswoman. But the actual details of who will be cut in the fall may not be known for several more weeks, she said.

"All of the schools submitted their budgets last week. Human resources will extract what positions are recommended for elimination or reduction," according to Kroemer.

Targeted jobs also include more than 21 principal positions, 54 vice principal posts and 12 central office managers. Kroemer also said that even though a person's position may be slated for cuts, some managers holding those jobs could be reassigned to new jobs, including going back into the classroom.

Impact Would Be Severe At One Campus

How would these cuts affect just one school?

Miramar Ranch Elementary School in Scripps Ranch stands to lose several positions and supplies and may not have a vice principal, a school nurse or a library when the school year begins next fall, said Principal Jennifer Wroblewski.

Wroblewski said she had to make difficult decisions when trying to figure out how to comply with the proposed budget cuts for next school year.

"What the vice principal does is daunting," Wroblewski said. "Essentially, I will have to do both jobs. I had to make a decision between having a vice principal and having an office staff."

Wroblewski said that Miramar Ranch has more than 700 students, and those students may not have any library to use, because the budget cuts would not afford an administrator for that library.

"It's ludicrous," Wroblewski said.

Miramar Ranch also has a media center, with around 30 computers that will sit unused next year because funding for the part-time media aids will be lost.

"Without them, the kids get nothing," said Debbie Kutyla, a parent of a third-grader at Miramar Ranch and president of the Miramar Ranch Family Faculty Association. "We also won't have a noon duty supervisor, which is basically child endangerment."

Kutyla said the school would also lose $20,000 for school and classroom supplies, which the parents will have to pick up.

"We're already asking parents for so much," Kutyla said. "We have lots of families who are just scraping by and a lot of military families really just scraping by."

Wroblewski said there is still some hope the governor could change his mind, but only if community members write to him and other representatives, and put pressure on them to back off the cuts.

Also on Tuesday, more than 900 employees of the Oceanside School District have been put on notice that they could lose their jobs. The school board voted to approve the possible layoffs. Board members said they wish there was some other way they could balance the budget.

District officials said their plan also includes the closure of two schools.

"I have all of these emotions inside of me: frustrated, angry, sad and depressed because for the life of me I cannot understand, how did we get in this mess?" said Evelyn Thomas, Oceanside High School teacher.

"We have been put in this position not from anything that his district has done, but as a result of the governor's budget and the Legislature and things that are completely outside of our control," said Janet Bledsoe Lacy, the school board president.

On Monday, the Poway Unified School District voted in favor of cutting more than 180 teachers. On Tuesday, they began the painful process of notifying teachers. The district's only ROTC program and its only agriculture program will be eliminated, among others.

"There will be the elimination or reduction of some particular kinds of courses, " said William Chiment, of the Poway Unified School District. "But also in the courses we're going to continue to offer…you're going to see the class sizes go up significantly."

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed 10-percent across-the-board budget cuts have been a swell of protest. The schools in San Diego County may face combined budget cuts of nearly a quarter billion dollars if proposed cuts to state education go through.

The final numbers on job cuts will not be known until June when the state budget is finalized.

Impact Of School Budget Cuts Coming To Light - Education News Story - KNSD | San Diego

Poway trustees to notify 180 teachers of job cuts

 

POWAY: Despite pleas from students and parents for Poway High School's agriculture program and Westview High School's ROTC program, Poway Unified School District trustees voted last night on cuts that will affect both programs.

Trustees, who must slash $15.5 million from the 2008-09 budget, voted to send notices to more than 180 teachers that they may not have jobs next year. The district's only ROTC program would be eliminated, and its only ag education program would be reduced.

More than 100 students, parents and teachers attended last night's school board meeting to show their opposition to the cuts. Students and parents spoke about the benefits of their favorite programs, with both groups citing the leadership and college preparedness offered by the ROTC and ag programs.

Trustees and district staff stressed that no final decisions on cuts will be made for several months, but state law requires school districts to notify teachers by March 15 if there is a possibility they won't have a job next year.

Superintendent Don Phillips said the budget problem was not created locally but the district must develop a plan to address the across-the-board cuts the governor proposed to deal with a $16 billion state deficit.–B.G.

SignOnSanDiego.com > News > North County -- Poway trustees to notify 180 teachers of job cuts