In the middle of the school year, King Chavez Community High School has to replace more than 20 percent of its teaching staff. Five teachers quit and two were let go.
And that’s good news for the charter, which serves low-income, Latino students almost exclusively. While this year, the school has to replace seven teachers, last year it had to replace 14.
Mario Koran dug into why the school has such a high teacher turnover rate and the impact this might be having on students.
Several former teachers told him administrators had verbally abused staff in private and in front of students, while the charter’s CEO said that it’s simply a tough job to teach “inner-city kids.”
While the school’s graduation rate is high, 90 percent, Koran writes, there’s reason to remain skeptical about student success. In 2017, only 5.51 percent of the students met or exceeded state standards in math and only 28 percent met or exceed state standards in English.
Lawmakers Changed Laws to Allow Pension and Salary Double Dipping
In recent weeks, the Union-Tribune revealed that former San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis pushed the county’s retirement system to preserve her right to receive both pension payments and her salary if she won election to the Board of Supervisors.
The state had previously banned such double-dipping, so Ashly McGlone tried to figure out why the law changed. It turns out, it was a change quietly included in a much larger budget bill.
Dumanis said she never intended to try to take both her pension and her new salary, should she win. She also said she did not push for any change in law that would allow her to. Her lawyers say they were merely working to preserve her options.
McGlone also reached out to local legislators who voted on the pension-policy changing bills, to explain. There had been no public discussion about the law changing. The lawmakers who supported the change said it was not ideal to discourage longtime public employees from running for elected office if they had to sacrifice either their pension or salary for a few years.
Gloria Takes on Housing, Homelessness
San Diego Assemblyman Todd Gloria introduced new state legislation Wednesday to help spur the production of workforce and low-income housing within a half mile radius of a public transit stop.
The bill, known as California’s Sustainable and Affordable (CASA) Housing Act, is sponsored by the city of San Diego and was proposed by San Diego City Councilwoman Georgette Gómez as part of her 2017 Housing Action Plan.
• Gloria was also one of several state legislators who signed a letter to the Assembly Budget Chair, pushing for $1 billion of the state’s budget surplus to be put towards homelessness programs and housing assistance, reports City News Service.
Last week, Gloria also opened a La Jolla Town Council forum on homelessness by stating “the vast majority of these individuals suffer from mental illness or substance abuse (and) addiction issues,” reports the La Jolla Light.
The statement is similar to a claim made by El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells last year.
VOSD’s Lisa Halverstadt fact-checked the claim that most homelessness is linked to drug or alcohol abuse and determined it was false.
North County Still Grappling with Its Cannabis Conundrum
The Vista City Council has decided to delay potential changes to its ban on commercial marijuana, citing a desire the community weigh in more on the details of the city’s marijuana regulations.
In these week’s North County report, VOSD contributor Ruarri Serpa gives us a rundown of the exchanges between councilmembers as they punted their decision.
Serpa also writes about another North County politician, Oceanside City Councilman Jerry Kern, who even as a Republican, has become the most pot-friendly candidate in the District Five County Board of Supervisors Race.
Quick News Hits
• The Board of Supervisors adopted the county’s Climate Action Plan Wednesday, drawing criticism from environmental groups. (Union-Tribune)
• San Diego attorney Dan Gilleon is representing staffers of state Assemblywoman Christina Garcia, a leading figure in the state legislature’s Me Too movement, who are accusing Garcia of inappropriate workplace behavior. (Los Angeles Times)
• A team of board members and senior management from Qualcomm met with counterparts at Broadcom Wednesday to discuss a hostile takeover offer. Qualcomm has twice rejected Broadcom’s offers. (Reuters)
• San Diego hasn’t committed to a goal set by the National Recreation and Park Association to make parks more accessible to all residents. (Union-Tribune)
• More than 20 people have died from the flu in San Diego County. (10news)
• Some community members in La Jolla are calling for La Jolla High’s principal to resign after the student newspaper published a cartoon containing offensive racial stereotypes. (NBC 7)
• The Chula Vista City Council approved a public safety tax hike measure for the June ballot. (NBC 7)