Ed-Buzz

Monday, April 18, 2005 | Community meetings for San Diego superintendent search. San Diego Unified School District’s Board of Education is holding community meetings to give the public a chance to comment to the district’s superintendent search firm, Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates, on the district’s search for a replacement for outgoing district superintendent Alan Bersin, who leaves June 30. The search firm rather than the school board will facilitate the meetings.

Five meetings have been scheduled; one was held last week, and three more are scheduled for this coming week. All meetings run from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. For more information, call the district office at (619) 725-5634.

Future meetings will be held on Tuesday at University City High School, 6949 Genesee Ave., in University City; Thursday at Serra High School 5156 Santo Road, in Tierrasanta; next Monday at Morse High School, 6905 Skyline Drive, in Bay Terraces; and on April 27 at Mission Bay High School, 2475 Grand Ave., in Pacific Beach.

Special education orientation for parents. San Diego Unified School District’s Special Education Programs Division is presenting an orientation for parents whose children have been referred for special education. The purpose of the workshop is to help parents navigate the system, answer questions, help find available support and learn about community resources. The orientation will be held today from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Harold J. Ballard Parent Center at 2375 Congress St. in Old Town. To RSVP, call (619) 725-7206.

New book on school reform to be discussed. A new book titled “Urban School Reform: Lessons From San Diego” will be discussed by the editor, authors and Bersin, on Tuesday at 10 a.m. at Loma Portal Elementary School at 3341 Browning St. The book studies the reform efforts undertaken by San Diego City Schools in the past seven years. The City Club of San Diego is hosting the event.

School-to-Career committee to meet. San Diego Unified School District’s Career Technical Education Advisory Committee, established in 2003 to develop recommendations on school-to-career programs and to facilitate communication between the school district and potential employers, has scheduled a meeting Wednesday at 3 p.m. at School-to-Career Conference Center, Building E, 2441 Cardinal Lane, in Linda Vista. Call the district office for more information at (619) 725-5550.

Lincoln-Gompers community input sought. San Diego Unified School District’s Lincoln-Gompers Redevelopment Committee, established in 2001 to support community engagement for the rebuilding and expansion of Lincoln High School, has scheduled a meeting Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Gompers Middle School, Room 2, 1005 47th St., I Chollas View. Call the district office for more information at (619) 725-5550.

Rancho Santa Fe group files complaints with Grand Jury over school board actions. A group of Rancho Santa Fe residents, calling themselves Citizens for Better Rancho Santa Fe Schools, has filed two complaints with the San Diego County Grand Jury that request an investigation into the school board’s recent purchase of a five-acre property for use as a future school site, at Aliso Canyon Road and Via Del Charro Road. The residents question board members’ conduct and the extent to which the Rancho Santa Fe Association board may have influenced the school board’s decision to buy the land, saying the school board acted improperly by overpaying for the land and violated state Department of Education code by ignoring other sites. These complaints follow a lawsuit the group filed against the school district on March 23. The school board has said the group has no grounds for legal action.

– MARSHA SUTTON

Please send information on education news, events or meetings, to