San Diego Unified SD: Trustee spearheads idea to divide school district

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Trustee spearheads idea to divide school district
By Maureen Magee
Union-Tribune Staff Writer

2:00 a.m. April 23, 2009

SAN DIEGO — City school Trustee John de Beck is leading a movement to break the San Diego Unified School District into two independent organizations that would give communities more control over governance and education issues.

Kicking off a series of forums planned throughout the district, de Beck met with parents and Point Loma residents yesterday to discuss suggestions to establish a San Diego Coastal Unified School District. It would consist of three to eight high schools and the middle and elementary schools that feed students to them.

Independence from San Diego Unified would provide more flexibility and give educators a better chance of meeting the needs of their own students, de Beck told about two dozen parents and educators at Correia Middle School.

“You have to decide whether you want a dinosaur managing your schools for the rest of your lives,” said de Beck, who told the crowd that special-interest groups run the school board. “This is an opportunity to take control of your schools.”

His plan faces an uphill battle, and skepticism abounds.

“I have no idea where this is coming from. Are there people in the area that are wanting to do this, or is this an idea that John hatched out of his brain?” said board Vice President Richard Barrera.

Barrera opposes any effort that is motivated by people “turning their backs on low-income kids or people of color.” Barrera, however, favors finding ways of giving schools more control over how they educate students.

Trustee Katherine Nakamura is intrigued, but she worries about losing the economy of scale that comes with the district.

“When we go to Sacramento, our voice is far more powerful. When we go to Washington, D.C., people will meet with us,” Nakamura said. “But in smaller districts, you get, perhaps, more personal services and an education that is perhaps better tailored to students.”

With about 200 schools and 9,000 teachers, San Diego Unified is California’s second-largest district, behind Los Angeles. Bureaucracy and political tugs of war among trustees, and red tape often impede local control of schools, de Beck said.

He has been frustrated with the board and its decisions since the November election caused a power shift on the panel.

Under de Beck’s plan, the new district would get its fair share of San Diego assets and be run by trustees elected to represent a high school and its feeder campuses. It could include as few as three of these high school “clusters”: La Jolla, Point Loma and Mission Bay. An expanded district could include University City, Clairemont and Kearny high schools. The largest version would take in Mira Mesa and Scripps Ranch.

“I like it. I think the district is too large now,” said Katie Anderson, whose two children attend school in Point Loma. “I like that school board members would represent one cluster – they’ll have more contact with the boots on the ground.”

Some worry the district would cherry pick some of the top-achieving schools, where large populations of white and affluent students attend. De Beck said it would be crucial to continue drawing in students from inner-city neighborhoods to maintain diversity.

Since 1995, 25 proposed districts in the state have attempted to gain their independence. Five have succeeded, said Terry Shirey, who oversees district reorganizations for the California Department of Education.

The protocol for establishing a new district would require a petition from registered voters living in the proposed district; review from the County Office of Education; approval from the state school board and eventually a local election.

The next meeting to discuss the idea is set for 5:30 p.m. Monday at Bird Rock Elementary in La Jolla.

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I fully support this idea. What do Piggs think?

[XBoxBoy]

I can’t shake the feeling that the real reason the proponents want this is so that wealthier areas don’t have to take kids from poor areas. (La Jolla HS for instance has a lot of kids that get bused in from other less wealthy areas.) I can’t prove that that this is a hidden agenda mind you, just a hunch. Of course whether or not there’s a hidden agenda doesn’t make the idea a good or bad idea either.

XBoxBoy

[XBoxBoy]

I can’t shake the feeling that the real reason the proponents want this is so that wealthier areas don’t have to take kids from poor areas. (La Jolla HS for instance has a lot of kids that get bused in from other less wealthy areas.) I can’t prove that that this is a hidden agenda mind you, just a hunch. Of course whether or not there’s a hidden agenda doesn’t make the idea a good or bad idea either.

XBoxBoy

[XBoxBoy]

I can’t shake the feeling that the real reason the proponents want this is so that wealthier areas don’t have to take kids from poor areas. (La Jolla HS for instance has a lot of kids that get bused in from other less wealthy areas.) I can’t prove that that this is a hidden agenda mind you, just a hunch. Of course whether or not there’s a hidden agenda doesn’t make the idea a good or bad idea either.

XBoxBoy

[XBoxBoy]

I can’t shake the feeling that the real reason the proponents want this is so that wealthier areas don’t have to take kids from poor areas. (La Jolla HS for instance has a lot of kids that get bused in from other less wealthy areas.) I can’t prove that that this is a hidden agenda mind you, just a hunch. Of course whether or not there’s a hidden agenda doesn’t make the idea a good or bad idea either.

XBoxBoy

[XBoxBoy]

I can’t shake the feeling that the real reason the proponents want this is so that wealthier areas don’t have to take kids from poor areas. (La Jolla HS for instance has a lot of kids that get bused in from other less wealthy areas.) I can’t prove that that this is a hidden agenda mind you, just a hunch. Of course whether or not there’s a hidden agenda doesn’t make the idea a good or bad idea either.

XBoxBoy

[David J]

Not sure if it is a good idea or not, but it is a bit suspicious that Scripps Ranch would be welcome to be part of the San Diego Coastal Unified School District. I guess it would depend on where I lived if I would be for it or against it.

[David J]

Not sure if it is a good idea or not, but it is a bit suspicious that Scripps Ranch would be welcome to be part of the San Diego Coastal Unified School District. I guess it would depend on where I lived if I would be for it or against it.

[David J]

Not sure if it is a good idea or not, but it is a bit suspicious that Scripps Ranch would be welcome to be part of the San Diego Coastal Unified School District. I guess it would depend on where I lived if I would be for it or against it.

[David J]

Not sure if it is a good idea or not, but it is a bit suspicious that Scripps Ranch would be welcome to be part of the San Diego Coastal Unified School District. I guess it would depend on where I lived if I would be for it or against it.

[David J]

Not sure if it is a good idea or not, but it is a bit suspicious that Scripps Ranch would be welcome to be part of the San Diego Coastal Unified School District. I guess it would depend on where I lived if I would be for it or against it.

[Coronita]

[quote=XBoxBoy]I can’t shake the feeling that the real reason the proponents want this is so that wealthier areas don’t have to take kids from poor areas. (La Jolla HS for instance has a lot of kids that get bused in from other less wealthy areas.) I can’t prove that that this is a hidden agenda mind you, just a hunch. Of course whether or not there’s a hidden agenda doesn’t make the idea a good or bad idea either.

XBoxBoy[/quote]

I would agree with you on that one…

[Coronita]

[quote=XBoxBoy]I can’t shake the feeling that the real reason the proponents want this is so that wealthier areas don’t have to take kids from poor areas. (La Jolla HS for instance has a lot of kids that get bused in from other less wealthy areas.) I can’t prove that that this is a hidden agenda mind you, just a hunch. Of course whether or not there’s a hidden agenda doesn’t make the idea a good or bad idea either.

XBoxBoy[/quote]

I would agree with you on that one…

[Coronita]

[quote=XBoxBoy]I can’t shake the feeling that the real reason the proponents want this is so that wealthier areas don’t have to take kids from poor areas. (La Jolla HS for instance has a lot of kids that get bused in from other less wealthy areas.) I can’t prove that that this is a hidden agenda mind you, just a hunch. Of course whether or not there’s a hidden agenda doesn’t make the idea a good or bad idea either.

XBoxBoy[/quote]

I would agree with you on that one…

[Coronita]

[quote=XBoxBoy]I can’t shake the feeling that the real reason the proponents want this is so that wealthier areas don’t have to take kids from poor areas. (La Jolla HS for instance has a lot of kids that get bused in from other less wealthy areas.) I can’t prove that that this is a hidden agenda mind you, just a hunch. Of course whether or not there’s a hidden agenda doesn’t make the idea a good or bad idea either.

XBoxBoy[/quote]

I would agree with you on that one…

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