Morning Report: He Wants Better Schools!

Something often pops up in city of San Diego elections when they start to hit their climax: schools.

You might remember mailers and signs posted by the American Federation of Teachers in 2012 in support of Bob Filner for mayor. The teachers union has no direct interest in the city of San Diego — it doesn’t even represent teachers in the San Diego city schools system — but it dropped large donations in support of Filner with messages about how good he would be for schools.

Schools became a major part of District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis’ campaign for mayor as well.

Now, it’s Rafael Castellanos’ turn. He is running for city attorney and has a new commercial up that features a group of kids screaming, “He wants better schools!”

The city, however, has no oversight of education.

The City Charter delegates authority over the San Diego Unified School District to the independent Board of Education.

I asked Castellanos what the city attorney could do for schools.

“I will prioritize the community justice section of the office to make neighborhoods cleaner and safer, which will help kids, especially in underserved communities, have a better standard of living and therefore better learning environment,” he wrote in a statement.

City Council candidate Ray Ellis has also been talking about education, even proposing term limits for members of the Board of Education.

“As we review our City Charter, which sets forth the format and structure of school board elections, we should evaluate a new system for school board elections that provides the right incentives to those leading our public schools,” his website reads.

So, he would push to change the Charter. Even if he was successful getting that through his council Counterparts, it would still have to go to a vote of the people.

He would pursue all of that just for term limits? You might remember an unsuccessful ballot initiative several years ago to reshape the Board of Education, mixing appointed members with the five elected trustees.

Ellis told me in a phone call he would not support that. He’d consider changes to the Charter only to impose term limits.

There’s not much city officials can do about education without a full-scale overhaul of that part of the City Charter. Keep that in mind as we go through the next two elections.

On Justice at Schools

Recently, on our podcast Good Schools for All, we talked to the dean of students at Hoover High School, who described the restorative justice efforts she’s implemented at Hoover. Turns out, these programs have a lot of promise in the effort to keep kids from suspensions that can harm their educational progress. But they are rolling out very slowly in San Diego Unified.

Rachel Evans looked into why.

Sacramento Report: Competing Death Penalty Measures

In the Sacramento Report, VOSD contributor Kelly Davis details San Diego law enforcement groups’ support of a measure that would speed up death-penalty appeals so that executions would happen more often. Supporters of the measure say they have gathered enough signatures to place the measure on the ballot. Meanwhile, another measure would end the death penalty in California. If they both pass, the one with the most votes would win out. Also in the Sac Report are details on Gov. Jerry Brown’s affordable housing plans, and a bill that is getting San Diego nonprofits all riled up.

Climate Action Plan Closure (or Not)

After we broke the story recently that there seems to be a lot of confusion about whether the city’s landmark Climate Action Plan is enforceable, the U-T asked City Attorney Jan Goldsmith to clarify. He responded. I read it three times and still don’t understand. Not sure if that’s his fault. Goldsmith’s chief deputy, Mara Elliott, since backed off a bit from her claims about how much work is still needed on the plan but she appears to have revealed that it will be very difficult to hold the city accountable for its climate goals.

Quick News Hits

• Homeless people in Oceanside are using new beach bathrooms for shelter. (KPBS)

• Two presidential candidates are coming. (Times of San Diego) (So is a former president.)

• The Chargers have dropped another $750,000 into their effort to qualify a stadium measure for November. The Chargers’ adviser, Fred Maas, said on Mighty 1090 that the team is doing OK collecting signatures but that the task is “Herculean.” The U-T’s Kevin Acee advises ardent Chargers fans ready to boycott and bully the city’s politicians into submission to wait and see for a while. He thinks the mayor may still support the plan.

• Manpower says unemployment is at its lowest rate in San Diego in nine years after a spike in tourism industry hiring for the summer.

• County Supervisor Dave Roberts does not want to talk about the scandal that plagued his first term as he seeks re-election. Awkward video alert. (10News)

• Dozens of San Diego leaders gathered at the Jackie Robinson YMCA in southeastern San Diego to celebrate the groundbreaking of its new 50,000 square-foot facility. Construction will take up to 18 months and the organization raised $26 million. Leaders hope to raise $6 million more to build a swimming pool and a sports complex. A partnership to build the pool in conjunction with San Diego schools dissolved several months ago.