Albert Einstein Academy’s elementary school has a new principal. Jorge Mora will be joining the school after serving as director of human resources at the Chula Vista Elementary School District.
If that name is familiar, it’s because we reported that during his time at the South Bay school district, Mora waited nearly eight months to notify state regulators of his findings about a teacher accused of misconduct.
Both at an Einstein board meeting – and in an interview with our Jim Hinch – Mora took full responsibility for the reporting delay. He said the notification to state regulators slipped his mind among other responsibilities.
“It was an accident,” he said. “I would never do that again. I can’t be more sincere when I say this was just a human error.”
Sacramento Report: More Money, More Condos
There’s an effort afoot to increase condo construction in San Diego.
Sacramento reporter Nadia Lathan explains that Assemblymember Chris Ward introduced a bill last month that would let builders use a bigger portion of buyers’ deposits to pay for construction costs.
Background: As Lathan explains, a big reason condominiums are more expensive to build than apartments or single-family homes in California is a 2003 law that gives owners up to 10 years after purchase to sue developers for building flaws.
Supporters say that by giving developers another funding source, they’ll be less likely to pass construction costs onto buyers. They say this will make condos cheaper to buy.
Read the Sacramento Report here.
Strike? What Strike?
San Diego Unified School District and union officials reached a deal to avert a one-day strike that would have closed all schools on Feb. 26.
“These negotiations, while at times tense, yielded an outcome that will stabilize our educator workforce and ensure all students are supported in the classroom,” Superintendent Fabiola Bagula wrote in a statement last week.
Background: The planned strike was in response to unfair labor practice charges the union levied against the district related to special education staffing. The union alleged that many specialists had caseloads greater than the limit in teachers’ contracts.
This week’s deal creates new special education positions to ease staff workloads, grants backpay to caseworkers who were over caseload limits and more.
Union president Kyle Weinberg described the deal as a “comprehensive package,” because it also checks off boxes for the union’s next contract, like guaranteeing 2.5 percent raises for teachers this year and next. One notable element of the deal is a district promise not to lay off educators, even as San Diego Unified grapples with a budget deficit and declining enrollment.
VOSD Podcast: The Thing Educators Must Discuss
When local leaders tell us they don’t have information we’re looking for, it’s our sign to dig deeper.
On this week’s podcast, education reporter Jakob McWhinney, told the story about how he pushed San Diego Unified to share data on how empty schools are compared to their capacity.
Speaking of quiet, the Republican Party in San Diego has also dwindled in activity. The podcast crew breaks down the state of the party and why they’re opting for smaller, closed meetings.
About That: The SD GOP Disintegrates
This week for the Politics Report, Scott Lewis writes about the fiery meeting last night of the Republican Party of San Diego County’s Central Committee. After that meeting, of course, we published this op-ed from the party’s former chairman, Corey Gustafson, asserting that Assemblymember Carl DeMaio is standing in the way of the party’s ability to rebuild.
Lewis goes inside the meeting that led to days of online bickering between leaders of the party, who may not even put out a voters guide this election.
The Politics Report is for members and they can read it here.
Schools Guide: What You Need to Know About After-School Care
Many families rely on after-school care, but programs can fill up quickly with long waitlists putting caretakers in difficult positions.
While San Diego County’s largest school district has pushed to expand its offerings, after-school care options are still limited. Despite these issues, our McWhinney and Andrea Sanchez-Villafaña are here to walk you through your options.
We suggest starting your search early, asking about your school’s programs, and whether the program is a good fit for your child.
In Other News
- San Diego veterans are getting a boost. Last week, Democratic Sen. Catherine Blakespear of Encinitas presented a $1.67 million check to the county to fund a program to provide more affordable housing to veterans. (KPBS)
- Inflation across the county falls to its lowest rate in more than a year. The region’s rate dropped to 2.6 percent in January compared to the end of last year when the rate hit 4 percent. (Union-Tribune)
- A UC San Diego alum is going to space. NASA Astronaut, Jessica Meir, is en route to the International Space Station where she’ll spend eight months studying how microgravity affects the human body. (Union-Tribune) And, glaciologist Helen Fricker, also from UC San Diego, was chosen “to lead a satellite mission that will more clearly map the edges of ice sheets and ice packs in Earth’s environmentally sensitive polar regions.” (Union-Tribune)
- Los Cuatro Milpas will have a new home in Barrio Logan. (Union-Tribune)
- The Padres have lots of buyers interested in the team. They aren’t going to move to another city and they will keep their exciting president of baseball operations, A.J. Preller for “multiple” years. That’s what the current ownership had for us this week.
The Morning Report was written by Mariana Martínez Barba. It was edited by Andrea Sanchez-Villafaña and Scott Lewis.