The San Diego Cooperative Charter School is an institution known for its progressive, child-centered learning model. School board member Richard Barrera was once a board member. But now, the future of 180 kids at its Mountain View campus is uncertain.
Leadership turmoil and reports of persistent safety concerns on the campus led families to unenroll their children in droves since the end of last school year, which has translated into lower revenue. VOSD’s Will Huntsberry reports the campus could now close as early as next month, leaving its current students without a school.
School leadership held an emergency meeting this week, which was attended by dozens of frustrated parents.
“I appreciate that a tough decision has to be made. But this is all happening in the wake of a disaster that could have been prevented,” said Sonia Bouchard, a teacher at the school. “Responsibility needs to be taken for that.”
Politifest Special: Transit’s Role in the West
Transit was a hot topic at Politifest this past weekend.
As VOSD’s Andrew Keatts pointed out, areas that don’t have the classic, dense nature of cities like New York or London present a math problem for transit. When there aren’t enough people in close proximity, how do you affordably run frequent transit in a way that makes it a viable option in people’s daily lives?
Keatts sat down with City Councilwoman Georgette Gómez, SANDAG Executive Director Hasan Ikhrata, Coronado Mayor Richard Bailey and MTS CEO Paul Jablonski to discuss the issues and potential solutions for our region. You can hear that full panel here.
Reminder: Check your podcast feed now because you can also listen to the full Politifest mayoral debate as well as our discussion on California’s housing crisis.
In Other News
- Amid health concerns from the community, Encinitas is adding new restrictions to its 5G wireless policy. The City Council agreed Wednesday that the new antennas will now be barred from residential zones, park lands, “very high” fire hazard areas and within 500 feet of a daycare center or school. (Union-Tribune)
- At least three people have died and more than 60 homes were destroyed after a fire swept through Rosarito last weekend. (KPBS)
- SDG&E began restoring power to customers in “high-risk” areas of the county Thursday. At one point, NBC 7 reports, nearly 25,000 customers were without power. All eight school districts that were closed Thursday are set to reopen Friday, the Union-Tribune reports.
- The city of San Diego has created a first-of-its-kind program to help biotech businesses and breweries meet their water and sewage needs without costing the city money or increase water or sewage rates for local residents. Basically, the city is going to buy unused water and sewage capacity that’s gone unused from industrial businesses, to sell it back to the biotech and craft beer companies that need it now. (Union-Tribune)
The Morning Report was written by Megan Wood, and edited by Sara Libby.