November 2009 Archives
The CSU Board of Trustees has two trustee positions reserved for current university students. The students serve as members of the board for up to two years.
press release from Cal Poly Pomona:
Cal Poly Pomona, in the midst of a budget crisis that has roiled public higher education throughout the state, is no longer able to operate the Pomona Downtown Center as a university facility. Cal Poly Pomona is working with its community partners to determine which activities will be able to remain downtown and which will relocate to other venues in Pomona, such as smaller neighborhood community centers. In particular, The School of Arts and Enterprise (SAE), a State of California charter high school that moved into the facility in 2002, is expected to expand its role and take on the day-to-day operations of the center.
"Over the past 10 years, the Downtown Center has been the impetus of some terrific community programs. There have been hundreds of outreach and service events, art exhibitions, performances and festivals. We greatly appreciate the efforts of the volunteers, nonprofits, donors, the City of Pomona, and the downtown itself that helped make all of this possible," said Carol Richardson, dean of the College of Letters, Arts & Social Sciences. "But our diminished funding required this difficult decision."
"I was saddened to hear the news, but given the extraordinary cuts in state funding these days, I understand Cal Poly Pomona's decision," said Ed Tessier, whose family has made donations to the Center over the years. "Fortunately, with the continued help of The SAE and other nonprofit groups, The Downtown Center will stay open. Though no longer operated by the university, it will continue to host cultural programs such as art exhibitions and plays. It will remain an anchor in the Arts Colony and continue to contribute to the revitalization of the downtown. That is a wonderful legacy of Cal Poly Pomona's work here."
In addition to its decade-long leadership at the Downtown Center, the university's ties to the community run deep. For the last three years, Cal Poly Pomona has partnered with the Pomona Public Library as well as agencies throughout the city to offer various programs such as the NEA Big Read Initiative. Partner agencies have included the School of Arts and Enterprise, City of Pomona, Parks and Recreation, Pomona Boys and Girls Club, Pomona Unified School District, Pomona Historical Society, First Baptist Church of Pomona, Western University of Health Sciences and the YMCA to name a few.
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger held a news conference today to urge stsate policy makers to accelerate their work on Race To The Top bills.
The urgency is in order to ensure California's eligibility to compete for the unprecedented federal funds available through the Race To The Top.
The Race To The Top competition is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Superintendent O'Connell, Governor Schwarzenegger, and the State Board of Education President Ted Mitchell are jointly responsible for developing and submitting California's Race To The Top Application.
"I want to win the Race To The Top. I know the Governor does as well. If we all stay engaged and work together we can submit a winning application. And, at the end of the race, the real winners will be the students of California."
For more information on how Race To The Top and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 affect public education in California, please visit http://www.cde.ca.gov/ar/.
Throughout our lives, we remember reaching crossroads -- those times
when it was necessary to make a difficult decision. Today, Betty and I
have chosen to be guided by our hearts: I have informed the Board of
Regents at New Mexico State University that I am no longer a candidate
for their presidency.
The outpouring of support we have received over the past couple of
weeks has been unbelievably moving. We are privileged to be part of
this great community.
In the end, there is so much more we need to accomplish. We are facing
the most difficult challenges in our history. To face these we have
to come together as a community. Our students are relying on us.
This is our fight, and we can't just walk away.
Michael Ortiz
California State University has announced Herbert L. Carter has become the chair of the Board of Trustees following the resignation of board chair Jeffrey Bleich who has been named as Ambassador to Australia by the Obama Administration.
Carter has been a member of the board since 2004, and has served as vice chair since 2008.
He has been affiliated with the CSU for more than 35 years working in a variety of administrative positions, and served as acting president of CSU Dominguez Hills in 1998.
By law, Bleich, who has served on the board since 2004 and been chair since 2008, cannot hold both positions concurrently. Bleich is a partner in Munger, Tolles & Olson, and most recently served as special counsel to President Obama.
The board of trustees will select a vice chair at its meeting in January.
The program identifies and honors schools that have students who demonstrated educational excellence and have shown progress in narrowing the achievement gap.
The school had to meet several qualifications, which include being an elementary school, not having previously been a distinguished school or a state monitored school; and must have been open since 2007-08.
Schools must also meet the eligibility criteria for Adequate Yearly Progress and Academic Performance Index - which is a score of 795 or higher - and close the achievement gap in multiple subgroups.
"One of things Hermosa Elementary did is provide an after school program for the lowest performing groups and for those that were scoring basic, which is almost proficient, but not quite there," said Rebecca Lawrence, superintendent of Alta Loma School District.
"They targeted both groups and also had specific programs during the day not just after school."
Applications are due by Dec. 18. They will be reviewed for completeness by teams of educators from throughout the state under the direction of the California Department of Education.
- Hermosa Elementary School in the Alta Loma School District
- Alicia Cortez, Country Spring and Eagle Canyon schools in Chino Valley Unified
- Chaparral and Mountain View schools in Claremont Unified
- Caryn and Etiwanda Colony schools in Etiwanda
- Ranch View and Mountain View schools in Mountain View
- Elderberry and Howard schools in Ontario-Montclair
- Cortez and Pantera schools in Pomona Unified
- Cabrillo and Upland schools in Upland Unified
- Central School District Board of Trustees will meet at 7 p.m. Nov. 19 at the district office, 10601 Church St., Suite 112, Rancho Cucamonga. Information: (909) 989-8541.
- Chaffey Joint Union High School District Board of Trustees will meet at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 17 at Rancho Cucamonga High's multi-purpose room, 11801 Lark Drive, Rancho Cucamonga. Information: (909) 988-8511.
- Etiwanda School District Board of Trustees will meet at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 19 at the district office, 6061 East Ave., Rancho Cucamonga. Information: (909) 899-2451.
- Mt. Baldy Joint District Board of Trustees will meet at 6 p.m. Nov. 18 at 1 Mt. Baldy Road, Mt. Baldy. Information: (909) 985-0991.
- Ontario-Montclair School District Board of Trustees will meet at 7 p.m. Nov. 19 at Central Language Academy auditorium, 415 E. G St., Ontario. Information: (909) 459-2500.
- Pomona Unified School District Board of Trustees will have special board meeting for the possible selection of a new superintendent at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 17 at the Education Center board room, 800 S. Garey Ave., Pomona. Information: (909) 397-4800.
- Upland Unified School District Board of Trustees will meet at 7 p.m. Nov. 17 at Cabrillo Elementary School, 1562 W. 11th St., Upland.. Information: (909) 985-1864.
Supporters of Oxford Preparatory Academy proposed that their new K-8 school, for a projected 650 students, be placed in the now-shuttered Los Serranos Elementary School site in Chino Hills. Board member Michael Calta says he will suggest the school be located at the former El Rancho Elementary School site in Chino, if the board approves the charter petition at its Dec. 10 meeting.
Calta said Friday he was inclined to support the charter school because its petition answers many of the contractual issues an earlier petition failed to address. El Rancho, Calta said, would be a better location than Los Serranos because of its more central location within the district. He also cited a reluctance to open a charter at the Chino Hills school because of recent renovations completed with modernization funds intended for the district.
"It's more centrally located and an opportunity for El Rancho students because of the closure to have access to a neighborhood school," Calta said.
Diane Boudreaux, a former El Rancho parent and school advocate, said Calta's suggestion to open the school at El Rancho would be a blow to a neighborhood hoping for the school's reopening when money becomes available again in the future.
"The displacement of El Rancho's students to Walnut is not acceptable," she said. "The return of El Rancho students to their own neighborhood school is the only acceptable situation."
Los Serranos resident and former district parent Dolores Reza said she thinks, as a whole, the Los Serranos community may have a favorable opinion toward the charter school coming into the neighborhood.
"I think as a whole the community may have a favorable opinion of it opening because as homeowners, it's not in our interest to have the school shuttered, and number two, it offers an option to the local community."
Alexis, a fifth grader at Cortez, drew attention because she got to school in a Pomona Police Department helicopter.
The trip was awarded to Alexis for being the winner in this year's police department-sponsored Red Ribbon Week poster contest, said Community Services Officer Brenda Sutherland.
Alexis earned first place among hundreds of fifth graders, which put her in the running for the top prize.
In her poster, Alexis depicted two brains, one healthy and another damaged from drugs and alcohol, along with the effects of using such substances.
Alexis' grandparents, Domingo and Guadalupe Perez, drove from their home in Los Angeles and took her to Brackett Field, where the flight began, said Violet Perez, Alexis' mother.
At first the idea of traveling in a helicopter "was a little scary because I'd never been in a flying vehicle," Alexis said.
But shortly after takeoff she began to enjoy the flight.
"I saw people and houses. The houses looked like dollhouses and the people looked like ants," Alexis said.
The trip ended with the helicopter landing in the school's field. Alexis was greeted there by the student body, her mom and her brother Adan Moreno, a first-grader at the school.
Alexis said the experience was pretty special.
"It was like the best day of my life and fun," she said.
The focal point of the union's concerns is a lack of confidence in the district's budget projections.
Union officials argue that actual budget balances in recent years have not matched three-year district balance projections. As a result, the district's proposal of a raise freeze - which would save an estimated $5 million in three years - might not match the actual balance in the future.
The plan aims to freeze step and column raises for teachers. Step and column is based on career longevity with the district as well as the acquiring of advanced degrees.
"In our calculations, a second-year Chino Valley teacher under the district's proposal would lose $72,000 in career earnings," said Jim Schlotz, negotiation specialist for the union. "We cannot go and ask somebody to make that kind of sacrifice when we're not convinced that the district's projections are accurate."
Board member Michael Calta agreed that projections do not always correspond to actual balances, but not because of poor accounting. He said the district is just being conservative.
"We also have to face the very real possibility of our state cutting our budget again at the end of the year because the state budget continues to widen and tax revenue continues to fall," Calta said. "We don't know yet. We may face another cut from the state, which would make the deficit even greater."
Justine Cunningham, president of the teacher's union, offered an alternative cost-saving measure of early retirement incentives at a recent board meeting, calling attention to a program the Pomona Unified School District has been offering teachers in order to save money.
"Their district estimates that if 80 employees take the offer the district could save about $22 million over a five-year period and about $4.5 million the first year," Cunnigham said. "The retirement agency that they are working with, the Public Agency Retirement Services, or PARS, is well respected throughout California and is also an affiliate of California School Boards Association."
Chino Valley Unified is considering the measure, Cunningham said.
The district expects to save $5.2 million by implementing a freeze on pay increases awarded to union members for earning supplementary degrees and through longevity.
Teachers and classified workers have to agree to the freeze before a second San Bernardino County interim budget deadline on March 15.
District administrators do not have a bargaining unit to negotiate pay cuts with the board and would have no bargaining ability on a freeze if the teachers' and classified workers' unions agree to it.
If union members don't approve the freeze, cost-saving measures that were debated in the summer - including the elimination of school bussing - could again be considered, Calta said.
neil.nisperos@inlandnewspapers.com
(909) 483-9356
As budget cuts continue to affect public schools in every corner of the state, and as the importance of parental involvement in the education system become increasingly obvious, this is for sure - the PTA is not a group of mothers getting together to socialize and plan leisure activities.
"I used to think that the PTA was a bunch of moms who don't work and drink tea together," said Adriana Argueta, PTA president at Hermosa Elementary School. "Nowadays, with the state budget cuts, key programs are no longer funded. That's where the PTAs step in."
The PTA was originally formed as an advocacy group for children in local schools. Involved parents who led fundraising efforts had the intention to bring supplemental programs to enrich the student experience. Field trips, school assemblies and crazy hair days are typical activities with the PTA stamp.
But deep budget cuts have made PTA contributions go toward programs that were once considered basic.
According to a 2008 survey conducted by the California State PTA, one in five PTAs have been asked to help fund traffic and safety monitors and campus clean-up initiatives.
About one in 20 PTAS have been asked to help fund essentials such as school counselors, school nurses, mental health counselors and substitute teachers.
Oftentimes, when times are tough, arts and physical education bear the brunt of cutbacks.
When the music program was at risk of being eliminated at Jasper Elementary, the PTA stepped in by offering $6,000 a year to pay for a part-time music teacher. It also funded projectors, tricycles for kindergartners and an annual carnival, one of the biggest events of the year.
"I had no idea how much the PTA does behind the scenes," said Amber Jaeckel, a Jasper PTA vice president. "A lot of things that happen at the school couldn't happen without the dedication of the PTA."
The PTA searches far and wide for money. Membership drives is one funding source but they also sell cookies, plan events for sponsorships and when all else fails, pound the pavement.
Last school year, the Alta Loma School District - a 10-school district that includes Jasper and Hermosa - received more than $135,000 from the PTA. The funds went toward reading initiatives, music instruments, library books and other programs.
Parents help out at the high school level as well, often in the form of booster clubs. Oftentimes, athletics, bands, drama productions and other arts programs wouldn't survive without these support groups.
Rancho Cucamonga High School, whose football team won the CIF-Southern Section Central Division championship last year, relies heavily on the schoolwide and football booster teams. They help pay coach salaries, equipment, transportation costs and even a lawn mower.
"They go head over heels raising as much money for athletics as they can," Principal Kern Oduro said. "These are parents who just work so hard beating the street so kids can have a good time."
Without a booster club, big trips would be out of the question.
This year, the marching band boosters club at Etiwanda High School has the daunting task of raising money to help fund a trip to London that could cost more than $500,000. The band was recently invited to perform in the 2011 New Year's parade in London. About 200 people, including students and parents, are expected to attend.
The PTA's role is also changing as the academic standards grow more rigorous. School officials said non-academic components of a well-rounded education often get pushed aside.
Anti-drug initiatives such as Red Ribbon Week and physical activities such as jog-a-thons exist because of thriving PTAs.
"Teachers are so overwhelmed with math, English and science, they really don't have the resources to teach the other side of how to be a successful student," Argueta said. "Lessons such as staying healthy and doing volunteer work is just as important as being in front of a book everyday."
If students get these lessons - or books, trips to London, musical instruments - it's because the moms and dads of the PTA are busy fundraising and not just drinking tea.
wendy.leung@inlandnewspapers.com
(909) 483-9376
The ACLU on Thursday demanded that the bureau release all records related to its Standardized Chapel Library Project after the bureau largely rebuffed a similar request from Claremont Graduate University student Joshua C. Harris.
Harris' initially sought records from the bureau as part of his coursework for a master's degree in religious studies.
Harris' thesis is on the 2007 implementation of the Standardized Chapel Library Project, which allows bureau officials to purge from prison chapel libraries material not on an "acceptable" list.
Among the titles banned at the time were Maimonides' "Code of Jewish Law" and "The Purpose Driven Life" by the Rev. Rick Warren, who gave the invocation at President Barack Obama's inauguration in January.
"There's an accountability issue here of who is doing the list," Harris said Thursday. "Who are those people that are making big decisions on what is religion?"
A spokeswoman for the Bureau of Prisons declined to comment Thursday.
David Shapiro, staff attorney with the ACLU National Prison Project, said his organization is involved because "this is about getting full access to illegally banned materials in the prison chapel libraries."
Shapiro said "it's not the role of government to decide what is religiously acceptable and what isn't."
Harris, who moved a few months ago to Santa Barbara to start his doctorate in religious studies at UC Santa Barbara, said he has received four documents from the BOP since his Freedom of Information Act request was filed in April.
Harris said he asked for "any/all documents that detail the reasoning behind, and implementation of, the Standardized Chapel Library Project."
Harris said he that it took five months for the bureau to produce the four documents.
"I think they did a pretty sloppy job on the request," Harris said.
Harris became interested in his thesis topic when he spent two months in a federal prison for committing an act of civil disobedience during a protest of the School of the Americas at Fort Benning, Ga.
The School of the Americas, which since 2001 has been renamed the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, has been attacked for teaching tactics of torture and training Latin American soldiers and policemen that have later been found to have committed human rights violations.
Harris was one of about 25,000 protesters to demonstrate at the base. He and about 15 others walked onto the base, and he was arrested and charged with trespassing.
"They called it crossing the line," Harris said. "We did it as a form of passive resistance or civil disobedience."
Harris served his time at Taft Correctional Institution, where he learned of the Standardized Chapel Library Project.
Shapiro said the policy potentially "would prevent prisoners from practicing their religion and accessing religious books. Being able to read books key to religion is as important to religious practice as is preaching from the pulpit or any form of religious exercise."
Shapiro said he understood the government's position on Harris' request to a point.
"When there is a legitimate genuine security concern, the BOP can limit religious materials in prison," Shapiro said. "But this is a case where the BOP has gone too far. It is an abuse of authority to needlessly ban religious books and the BOP needs to follow the law and not engage in needlessly banning religious material."
Staff writer Neil Nisperos ontributed to this report.
Press release from Sen. Gloria Romero's office:
Senator Gloria Romero, Chair of the Senate Education Committee and lead author of SB X5 1, today released the following statement in response to the release of the final guidelines for Race to the Top grants. SBX5 1 is the only bill that has been passed by the State Senate and endorsed by Governor Schwarzenegger to ensure California's Race to the Top application for a Phase 1 grant is not only eligible, but highly competitive. The bill has bipartisan support and now waits to be heard in the state Assembly.
"I have said from day one this is a race, not a stroll," said Senator Gloria Romero, Chair of the Senate Education Committee. "Now is the time for California to deliver our promise of a Golden Opportunity for all children."
"I continue to urge my colleagues in the Assembly to proceed with a sense of urgency and enact the reforms proposed in SB X5 1. California must again lead the nation in educational achievement from 'cradle to career.'"
"My staff, the bill's coauthors and our stakeholders will continue to carefully review the final regulations to ensure California's Race to the Top application for a Phase 1 grant is the most competitive and innovative so we can improve public education and secure the most money possible for our public schools."
Press release from California Partnership for Achieving Student Success:
Using a combination of classroom data and close collaboration among educators, the California Partnership for Achieving Student Success (Cal-PASS) is easing the transition between high school and college, while reducing the need for costly remediation.
English teachers at West Hills High School in Santee are reporting success in aligning coursework to make sure that graduates are ready for the reading, writing and critical thinking that is expected at the college level.
Seniors at West Hills who earn an A or a B in English can enroll directly in English 120 atGrossmont College in East San Diego County. The community college composition course is transferable to the California State University and University of California systems. West Hills is part of the Grossmont Union High School District.
Normally, freshmen must take a community college assessment test and, based on the results, are placed in one of four levels of English: remedial, pre-collegiate, collegiate or transfer. Because West Hills has aligned its curriculum with the Grossmont-Cuyamaca system, the students can enroll directly in English 120.
"This initiative puts the Cal-PASS emphasis on the alignment of curriculum into practice, thereby saving the state money, the kids extra time and helping students be successful in a critical discipline.'' said Dr. Brad Phillips, executive director of Cal-PASS.
There are mountains of data available, but the key to making good use of it lies in finding the relevant data and developing conditions that enable educators to use the information to make better decisions.
Said Phillips, "Cal-PASS energizes teachers because the data empowers them to ask questions that really matter about their students and discuss the results with other educators, K-16. The reality is that Cal-PASS data creates the opportunity to make significant changes in the classroom."
Two recent placements in English 120 are Andrew Williams and Kristin Naour, graduates of West Hills. Based on college freshman assessment tests alone, these students would have been placed in lower-level classes that are not transferable. That would have meant more time in the system, more expense for the school and the students, and a greater chance of their dropping out. Today they are thriving in English 120.
"The reading in college is more difficult and challenging," Williams said recently, while speaking to a senior English class at West Hills. "I have been assigned an essay a week. You have to be pretty independent. I've gotten As on just about every essay."
Before the English alignment program, teachers at West Hills weren't fully aware of the demands that would be placed on their students as college freshmen, said high school English instructor Michelle Liddell, Williams' former teacher.
"As teachers, we were very isolated," Liddell said. "We didn't know what was going on at the university and the community college levels."
Cali Linfor, coordinator for the Cal-PASS English Curriculum Alignment Project and a teacher in the San Diego State University Rhetoric and Writing Department, said college freshmen often fall short of English requirements because their high school classes were too focused on Literature. There is not enough teaching of writing and critical thinking. "They might have been very capable students, but they did not have the practice," she said.
Cal-PASS is helping to change the situation. More than 7,600 elementary schools, high schools, community colleges, colleges and universities throughout California are participating in planning and data sharing. It is the only program that collects data about student success and transition from every segment of education, K-16.
Grouped into over 60 Professional Learning Councils across the state, teams of teachers from elementary, middle school, high school and college levels use Cal-PASS data to coordinate coursework and collaborate on new approaches to teaching. The disciplines are language arts, math, science, career preparation, English language learners and counseling.
In a time of tightening education budgets, Cal-PASS represents an important way to save money by making sure that students are prepared as they move from elementary school to middle school, high school and beyond. Using Cal-PASS data, educators can determine the answers to important questions, such as:
- How do my students do when they leave my class?
- Were they well prepared?
- Are changes in curriculum necessary to improve preparation?
- How many received degrees and how long did it take?
English teacher Stephanie Macceca is a Cal-PASS learning council participant from ValhallaHigh School in El Cajon.
"It would be normal to moan and groan about an outside agency coming in, but no one complains about Cal-PASS," she said. "They are doing exactly what we want to do: working together to create meaningful curriculum that is aligned with college.
"We are working collaboratively and that is what Cal-PASS has pushed us to do," she continued. "It is so much better for the kids. We have all of these different eyes looking at our work and everyone's point of view makes it better. It really improves the quality of instruction."
Dr. Cindy Miles, Chancellor of the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District, where Cal-PASS operates, says there is nothing comparable. Dr. Miles' experience across the nation gives her a unique perspective.
"The work is truly without precedent," she said. "There are hundreds of projects across theUnited States that focus on student success, collect data, and provide additional attention and services. But there is nothing else that has these ongoing profound conversations with faculty from all different levels of education on an continuing basis that are based on real information - basic, relevant data - that they are using to make improvements. As a district, we are very proud of Cal-PASS and what it is accomplishing."
Cal-PASS is a partnership of the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office and the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District. More information about the program is available online at www.calpass.org.
Press release from The Center for Education Reform:
Washington, DC--Federal guidelines for the distribution of $4.3 billion in "Race to the Top" education funds to states are irresponsibly weak and filled with loopholes, according to the national nonprofit Center for Education Reform (CER). The long-awaited guidelines, which many education reformers hoped would push states to adopt meaningful education reforms, contain serious flaws.
The guidelines will provide states with a blueprint for developing their education reform plans--in return for federal funding--but, according to CER president Jeanne Allen, states that don't embrace real reform may very well end up with federal dollars.
"Throughout the entire evaluation formula proposed by the Department of Education's application, reform is deemphasized, and while states that are already doing good work will benefit, so might states that aren't," Allen said. "It is disappointing to see bold, exciting rhetoric on education reform from the Obama Administration turn into nothing more than lip service."
Specifically, the "Race to the Top"--which had been touted as a boon for charter schools--now deemphasizes charters, even allowing states without charter school laws to qualify for federal funding. Additionally, the guidelines also deemphasize the need for gauging student achievement gains when calculating teacher merit pay plans. These two changes to the "Race to the Top" funding formula are directly contradictory to President Obama's campaign platform and to recent statements by Education Secretary Arne Duncan.
CER has argued that states should not receive funding if they don't eliminate anti-charter and anti-performance pay language in school district rules and in collective bargaining agreements; these fundamental policy provisions are not present in the Education Department's guidance.
"The final 'Race to the Top' guidelines have moved the education reform finish line up and it doesn't seem like it will take much effort to cross it," said Allen. "This isn't a 'Race to the Top,' it's a race to the bank for folks who haven't tried hard enough."
### The Center for Education Reform drives the creation of better educational opportunities for all children. CER changes laws, minds and cultures to allow good schools to flourish.
Press release from CSU system:
In the latest higher education poll released today by the Public Policy Institute of California, Californians gave high marks to the state's public higher education systems, but are concerned about the effect of continued state budget cuts and college affordability. The California State University was rated as excellent or good by 61 percent of those surveyed, and more than two-thirds said they view college as necessary. However, while 69 percent said they place a very high or high priority on spending for education, a majority were unwilling to raise student fees or pay higher taxes.
"The California Dream of a higher education is disappearing. We are grappling with the results of massive budget cuts and unfortunately have been faced with little choice but to raise student fees and decrease enrollment," said California State University Chancellor Charles B. Reed. "The PPIC poll confirms that the public values higher education, however you cannot continue to operate the largest public university system in the country and offer students a quality education when your budget gets cut by 20 percent in one year. We have had to do all of the things that the public doesn't want- raise fees, cut enrollment, reduce class offerings and furlough our employees."
This week, CSU announced that it has cut 4,000 students from its fall 2009 enrollment, and expects that number to rise to 10,000 by spring 2010. In addition, the CSU is slashing enrollment by another 30,000 students for fall 2010 to match student enrollment with the amount of funding received from the state. At the same time, demand to attend the CSU is at an all time high as the number of applications received is running 53 percent ahead of last year's totals, with community college transfer applications up by 127 percent. Freshmen applications are up by about 32 percent over the same time period last year.
The PPIC poll indicated that many Californians see a college degree as increasingly difficult to attain (65 percent), and more than two-thirds of residents say that many qualified people lack the opportunity to go to college.
"We are experiencing this first hand at the CSU since we know that not all eligible students will be able to get into the CSU of their choice, but we must limit access out of necessity," said Reed.
According to the poll, a strong majority of Californians (67 percent) support the idea of a sliding scale for tuition and fees, as well as increased government funding for work-study and grants and scholarships.
"More than half of CSU students receive financial aid," said Reed, "and we are the largest recipient of Pell awards (which go to the neediest students) in the entire country. It is time for the federal government to reexamine how federal assistance is distributed so that institutions that serve needy students are adequately supported. As it stands now, universities with few students of color and income need receive unnecessary federal financial aid."
As part of its annual budget process, next week the CSU's board of trustees will consider the system's budget request to the legislature and governor for 2010-2011, and is expected to ask for an additional $884 million from the state. Calling it a "recover and reinvest" budget, CSU is asking the state to restore funding for one-time cuts of $305 million, as well as an additional $587 million for mandatory cost increases, enrollment growth, compensation increases, and a restoration of revenues to fund collective bargaining agreements with CSU's employee labor unions. Included is also revenue needed to "buy out" a 10 percent student fee increase.
Press release from PPIC:
Californians Give Public Colleges High Grades But See Budget Cuts, Fee Hikes as Big Problems
SAN FRANCISCO, California, November 11, 2009--Californians give high grades to their public higher education systems, but they are worried about college costs and the impact of state budget cuts. These are the findings of a statewide survey released today by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) with funding from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
While strong majorities believe state budget cuts (70%) and overall affordability (57%) are big problems, far fewer (21%) characterize the quality of California public colleges and universities the same way. Despite significant budget cuts in higher education, at least six in 10 Californians give good to excellent marks to the California Community College (13% excellent, 52% good), California State University (9% excellent, 52% good) and University of California (13% excellent, 49% good) systems. These grades are nearly as high as they were in 2007 and 2008, when about two in three Californians gave positive ratings to the three branches. Today, parents of California college students, current students, and alumni give the state's higher education institutions similarly high grades.
But residents have little confidence in the state elected officials who have authority over California colleges and universities. Californians give Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger a 28 percent overall approval rating that matches his record low in July 2009. They give the legislature an overall approval rating of 18 percent, near its record low (17%) from July. State leaders get even lower ratings for their handling of higher education: 21 percent for Schwarzenegger and 16 percent for the legislature. Both are new lows. And most Californians have very little (37%) or no (20%) confidence in state government's ability to plan for the future of the higher education system (8% have a great deal of confidence, 33% only some).
"Californians hold their colleges and universities in high esteem," said Mark Baldassare, PPIC president and CEO. "But they're worried about what's going to happen next. They're struggling with a crisis in the economy and a crisis of confidence in their leaders."
A COLLEGE DEGREE VIEWED AS ESSENTIAL BUT HARDER TO GET
Californians place more importance on a college education than do adults nationwide. In a national survey conducted last December by Public Agenda and the National Center for Policy and Higher Education, 55 percent say college is necessary for a person's success, while 43 percent say there are many ways to succeed without a college education. By comparison, 66 percent of Californians in the PPIC survey view college as necessary. Just 31 percent say there are many other ways to succeed.
But many Californians see a college degree as increasingly difficult to attain: 65 percent say that getting a college education is more difficult than it was 10 years ago, a 9-point increase from 2007 (56%). More than two-thirds of residents (68%) say that many qualified people lack the opportunity to go to college.
OPPOSED TO RAISING TAXES OR STUDENT FEES
In the context of the state budget situation, most Californians place a very high (26%) or high (33%) priority on spending for public higher education, which at $12.2 billion is the third-largest area of spending in the budget. But residents split along partisan lines, with 67 percent of Democrats and 61 percent of independents putting a very high or high priority on spending in this area, compared to 42 percent of Republicans. The same percentage of Republicans (42%) puts a medium priority on higher education spending.
Given the high value that most Californians place on spending for higher education, what would they be willing to do to offset state spending cuts?
- 68 percent are unwilling to increase student fees. Solid majorities across parties, regions, and demographic groups concur.
- 56 percent are unwilling to pay higher taxes.Although 56 percent of Democrats are willing to pay higher taxes for this purpose, 58 percent of independents and 74 percent of Republicans are not.
- 53 percent would support a higher education construction bond measure on the 2010 ballot.But support is lower among likely voters (46% yes, 47% no) for this hypothetical bond measure and would fall short of the simple majority threshold needed to pass such a measure. Here, too, a partisan split emerges, with 61 percent of Democrats and 51 percent of independents saying they would vote yes on a bond and 55 percent of Republicans saying they would vote no.
Half (50%) of Californians believe that major changes are needed in the higher education system--a 10-point increase from last year--and 39 percent say minor changes are needed. When asked the best method for significantly improving California's higher education system, about half (52%) say a combination of better use of existing state funds and increased funding is the answer. Just 7 percent say increased funding alone is the key and 38 percent say just using existing funds more wisely is best.
MOST BACK SLIDING SCALE FOR TUITION, MORE FUNDS FOR GRANTS, WORK-STUDY
Should the state spend more money to keep fees and tuition costs down even if this means less funding for other programs? Despite Californians' concerns about higher tuition and student fees, they are divided (49% favor, 43% oppose) on this question. A majority of Democrats (56%) are in favor, a majority of Republicans (55%) are opposed, and independents are split (48% favor, 46% oppose).
However, a strong majority of Californians (67%) support the idea of a sliding scale for tuition and fees so that students pay according to income, with majorities across all parties in favor (74% Democrats, 66% independents, 53% Republicans). Californians also favor increasing government funding for work-study opportunities so that students can earn money while in college (85% favor, 13% oppose) and for scholarships or grants for students (80% favor, 18% oppose).
TUITION, FEE HIKES ARE BIGGEST CONCERN
Colleges and universities have taken a range of actions to offset cuts in higher education. How concerned are Californians about the specifics?
- Tuition and fee increases: Echoing their unwillingness to increase student fees, most Californians (62%) are very concerned and 27 percent are somewhat concerned about increasing tuition or fees, which all three branches of higher education have done. Majorities across political parties, regions, and demographic groups are very concerned.
- Enrollment cuts: A majority (57%) are very concerned and 29 percent somewhat concerned about the idea of reducing the number of students admitted to offset budget cuts--actions taken by both the CSU and UC systems. Democrats (68%) and independents (59%) are more likely than Republicans (49%) to be very concerned about fewer students being admitted.
- Fewer classes: A majority (57%) are very concerned and 29 percent somewhat concerned about cuts in course offerings. All three branches have cut classes. Again, Democrats (67%) and independents (58%) are more likely than Republicans (49%) to be very concerned.
- Reduced pay and hours for faculty, staff: Nearly half of Californians (48%) are very concerned and 32 percent are somewhat concerned about cuts in this area. Most Democrats (57%) are very concerned compared to fewer independents (48%) and Republicans (38%).
PARENTS HAVE HIGH HOPES--BUT FEARS FOR THE FUTURE
Parents express high expectations for their children's educational futures and their concern about being able to afford a college education for their youngest child is increasing. An overwhelming majority (89%) of parents with children 18 years old or younger say they hope their youngest child will get a bachelor's or graduate degree. At the same time, half (50%) of parents are very worried about being able to afford a college education. Latino parents (67%) are far more likely than white parents (38%) to be very worried, although concern among white parents has increased 9 points since last year. Even at the highest income level of $80,000 or more, 30 percent are very worried and 35 percent are somewhat worried about being able to afford college.
When asked about the progress they have made in saving for college, 62 percent of parents say they are behind, 28 percent saying they are just where they should be, and just 6 percent saying they are ahead. Among Latino parents, 73 percent say they are behind, a 10-point increase from last year. A majority of white parents (56%) say they are behind, 6 points higher than last year.
MORE KEY FINDINGS
- Do students from ethnic or racial minorities lack opportunity? Californians are split--page 18
While 60 percent of Californians believe that qualified low-income students have less opportunity to get a college education than others, they are divided in their views about the opportunities of qualified students who are ethnic or racial minorities: 40 percent say these students have about the same opportunity as others, 37 percent less opportunity, 20 percent more opportunity. - Economic, racial diversity on campus seen as important--page 19
The vast majority of Californians say it is very (54%) or somewhat (26%) important for public colleges and universities to have an economically diverse student body. Their views of the value of racial diversity are similar: 54 percent say it is very important and 23 percent say it is somewhat important. - Many parents lack financial aid information--page 20
A plurality (46%) of parents say they do not have enough financial aid information, 38 percent say they have just enough, and 13 percent say they have more than enough. - Higher education and the 2010 governor's race--page 33
How important are the candidates' positions on higher education? A strong majority of registered voters say very important (53%) or somewhat important (37%).
ABOUT THE SURVEY
The PPIC Statewide Survey has provided policymakers, the media, and the general public with objective information on the perceptions, opinions, and public policy preferences of California residents since 1998. This survey is part of a series on K-12 and higher education, environment, and population issues funded by The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Findings are based on a telephone survey of 2,502 California adult residents interviewed from October 20 to November 3, 2009, on landlines and cell phones, in English, Spanish, Chinese (Mandarin or Cantonese), Vietnamese, or Korean. The sampling error is ±2 percent for all adults and larger for subgroups. For more information on methodology, see page 25.
Mark Baldassare is president and CEO of PPIC, where he holds the Arjay and Frances Fearing Miller Chair in Public Policy. He is founder and director of the PPIC Statewide Survey.
PPIC is dedicated to informing and improving public policy in California through independent, objective, nonpartisan research on major economic, social, and political issues. The institute was established in 1994 with an endowment from William R. Hewlett. As a private operating foundation, PPIC does not take or support positions on any ballot measure or on any local, state, or federal legislation, nor does it endorse, support, or oppose any political parties or candidates for public office.
The meeting would take place three weeks before two new board members, elected on Nov. 3, will be seated.
The district's lawyer, Kasey Haws, made the announcement at Wednesday night's board meeting. Plans call for the meeting to begin at 7:30 p.m. at the district's Education Center, 800 S. Garey Ave.
The announcement surprised incoming board member Roberta Perlman who on Tuesday was elected to a four-year term.
Perlman said Wednesday she was under the impression the board would leave the matter of selecting a new superintendent to the incoming board "when they did what I considered the wise thing - to wait."
Board members began the search for a new superintendent in August after Superintendent Thelma Melendez de Santa Ana left to take a post with President Obama's administration.
The initial timeline called for selecting a replacement by October but some community members said the matter should be put off until after the election.
Perlman said it doesn't make sense to act at this time.
The new board, which includes returning members Andrew Wong and Adrienne Konigar-Macklin and newcomers Perlman and Jason Rothman, will be seated Dec. 9.
Outgoing board member John Avila said the board waited until after the election to keep the matter "out of the politics" but it's now time to act.
The board will review all the work up to this point and go beyond that, Avila said.
"I hope it would come down to a selection" at the special meeting, he said.
Like Avila, outgoing board member Steve Lustro said the current board should continue with the selection process.
"The sitting board members went through the interview process. We had the chance to meet with the candidates and talk with them," Lustro said. "We see this as finishing the processes."
Some may say the decision should be left to the next board, but "there doesn't seem to be any logical reason to wait until the two new board members are seated," he said.
Waiting longer would only draw out the process, Lustro said.
Lustro and Avila expect opposition.
"We're going to take heat one way or another," Lustro said.
Members of the current board are entitled to talk about the selection process but they shouldn't go as far as choosing someone for the job, said Tyra Weis, president of the Associated Pomona Teachers.
"If they are meeting to review their work and make a recommendation to the incoming board, that's a good idea," Weis said. "We appreciate the time they devoted to the search for a new superintendent."
However, the board should not go beyond making a recommendation, she said.
Voters elected two new board members and have changed the makeup of the board, Weis said.
Board members should hold off, let the new members be seated and in that way "let the people's voice be heard," she said.
monica . rodriguez @inlandnewspapers.com
(909) 483-9336
- Estimated 4,000 fewer students in fall 2009 than prior year
- Anticipated reduction of 10,000 students by spring 2010
- The CSU will need to reduce an additional 40,000 students over the next two years
Facing $564 million in budget cuts this fiscal year, Chancellor Charles B. Reed reported Tuesday that CSU campuses will need to reduce student numbers by 40,000 over a two-year period in order to match student enrollment with state funding.
CSU officials estimate the system has cut 4,000 students for this fall semester. Campuses will see a larger drop in the spring in order to curtail enrollment, which includes the elimination of spring admissions.
The reduction comes when demand to attend CSU's 23 campuses continues to rise.
"Denying students access to higher education is just about one of the worst things you can do in a recession," Reed said. "The state needs our graduates to enter the workforce and help the state's economic recovery. But, when your budget is cut so drastically, we are left with little choice but to restrict our enrollment."
CSU has received more than 266,000 applications, a 53 percent increase over the same time last year.
There has been a 127 percent increase in applications from community college transfers, partially due to the closing of spring admissions.
Freshmen applications are up by about 32 percent from last November, which is the system's enrollment period.
"The reduction in enrollment at Cal Poly Pomona and across the CSU system is an unfortunate outcome of the state budget crisis," Cal Poly spokesman Tim Lynch said.
"The state funds a finite number of (full-time equivalent students). If the university exceeds that number, it incurs the entire cost of education for those additional students. Yes, those additional students will pay fees, but those fees cover only a slice of the overall cost of education. The bottom line is that if we did not cap enrollment, we would end up diluting everyone's education."
At Cal Poly Pomona, enrollment from 2007-08 to 2010-11 will have declined by 3,000 students.
The reductions at Cal State University San Bernardino will translate to 2,200 to 2,300 less students by the end of the 2010-11 academic year.
The campus expects to accomplish this by adhering strictly to CSU policy as it relates to academic dismissal of students who aren't doing well as well as shutting down admission for winter and spring quarters in 2010-11 with the exception of students in a few categories, said Robert McGowan, associate vice president for enrollment services.
CSU officials also encourage students to apply to a campus in their local service area by Nov. 30, which is when about half of CSU campuses will stop accepting applications for freshman and most community college transfer students.
Next week, Reed will provide the CSU Board of Trustees with a proposed 2010-11 budget, which asks the state to restore $305 million in one-time cuts imposed from the 2009-10 academic year.
The budget also asks for an additional $587 million for mandatory cost increases, enrollment growth, compensation increases and a restoration of the revenues that would have been part of the Compact funding - which is an formal agreement between the state and community colleges, CSU and University of California schools when it comes to securing funding for students.
"This is a very ambitious budget in these very challenging times," Reed said, "but it is critical that the state legislature and administration realize the true fiscal needs to run the CSU."
The board is expected to vote on the budget at its Nov. 17 meeting and forward the request to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Legislature.
Bailey said he believes his plan - which would have students sit in alphabetical order - brings more equity to the proceedings for students.
But parents of some honor students said the new plan would deny high-achieving students the recognition they deserve.
School officials have not finalized the plan.
"Your child works and struggles, not just in high school, but from kindergarten and first grade," parent Laurie Antocicco said. "You have students make the effort to get in their homework, and this is doing a disservice to those kids who put in that effort ... I don't think it's fair to take a handful of students' opinions and have it affect 200 honors students."
Bailey said he based his plan on a philosophy of treating all students equally.
"I wanted to do is make our graduation look like the campus has equal access, and no students are put in front of everybody else," Bailey said. "We believe putting one group of students ahead of other students doesn't match with that philosophy."
Parent Patricia Rodriguez said she believes Bailey is doing what he considers to be equitable, but disagrees with his plan.
"I know that all of his decisions and judgments are being made with the well-being of the students in mind, but it doesn't mean I agree with it all the time," Rodriguez said.
The driving force behind the plan was non-honors students and parents who asked why one group of students sat ahead of other students at graduation, Bailey said.
"Our philosophy at Chino High is that every student can succeed, but at graduation, when you have one group sitting in front of other, it just doesn't jive," Bailey said.
"I believe that the honors students deserve recognition and they get that through events and regalia, but I don't think graduation should be a place where one group is ahead of another group."
Bailey said he wants the decision-making process to be open and transparent.
"We want to do this in an open and equitable way," he said. "We're not changing this at the last minute, so we're trying to get everybody's perspective on the philosophy to go that direction and not go into it with an authoritative manner."
Antocicco said opposition toward the plan is strong and she does not believe she is in the minority.
"This is an institution of education," she said. "This isn't any other competition, and if you excel at education, then it's appropriate at the end point at the finale, you get recognized for all your hard work."
The matter is expected to be addressed at a monthly town hall meetings. The next Chino High town hall meeting is 6 p.m. Dec. 16 in the the school's multipurpose room. Chino High is at 5472 Park Place.
A parent on Thursday complained to school board members about the fight that happened earlier in the day at Vina Danks Middle School. The parent said she was told the incident was "out of control" and "teachers got knocked down pretty bad."
A Ontario-Montclair School District official said the incident was just a dispute between two students and no one was hurt.
"One of the teachers went to restrain the student and, in doing so, they fell backward, but they're fine and no injuries occurred," said Jim Kidwell, district assistant superintendent of human resources.
The Nov. 5 fight took place during the school's only lunch period, which also concerned the parent.
Vina Danks Middle has 1,080 students.
Having two lunches at the school could have prevented the fight, said Moe Mendoza, Board of Trustees member and parent of an eighth grader at Vina Danks Middle.
"It's always been a concern of parents," Mendoza said. "I think it's necessary for two lunches, it does make sense, that way the kids can get served faster and out faster."
The school only has one lunch because physical education classes are conducted in the same area of the school, Kidwell said. School officials are trying to find a way to have two lunches.
"It is something they're working on," Mendoza said.
At Thursday's meeting, board members approved hiring a consultant to search for a new superintendent.
"Staff will then present to the board members a list of search firms and their fees at a future board meeting," board President Sam Crowe said.
"The board will then select a search firm from the list."
Barnes is scheduled to retire at the end of the school year, once he has completed the terms of his contract.
Although it is months before Barnes leaves, the process of finding a superintendent can take up to five or six months, said California School Boards Association consultant Laun Rivera.
"(Virgil) Barnes is an excellent superintendent and there have been so many superintendent searches lately I don't know if there are a lot of people out there," he said.
The board meeting also included a public hearing for the Life Empowerment International Charter Academy, which expects to serve 200 K-3 students.
School officials say, if approved, the charter school will open the 2010-11 school year at the Life Changing Ministries site at 1801 E. D St.
The charter petition proposed to eventually serve a grade K-5 with a population of 320 student at full capacity.
The petition to approve the charter school has been delayed in the past because of a number of issues.
The issues have all been resolved, said David Horn, lead petitioner and Life Changing Ministries pastor.
However, board member David Campio said he still has concerns about the charter school.
"I take the separation of church and state very seriously," he said. "I have a problem with the executive figure in the school calling himself pastor in a public school and how is he going to change his lifestyle to address those issues."
Consideration of the charter school is expected to return to the board as a future agenda item for board action, given there are other issues.
Purple-shirted supporters implored Chino Valley Unified district boardmembers during a public hearing Thursday to support the charter proposal. They hope to open the tuition-free K-8 Oxford Preparatory Academy for about 650 students by September 2010.
The board is expected to vote on the matter at its Dec. 10 meeting.
Among those calling for district support is Sue Roche, the principal of Rhodes Elementary School in Chino, the school with the district's highest API score. She said many of the founding members of the charter school have children at Rhodes.
"This is a wonderful idea for the area," Roche said. "First it offers our parents a choice, and it gives parents the opportunity to consider a revolutionary education and endeavoring and embarking upon a new concept new for this area and to make a difference in the lives of children free from the bureaucracy in school districts."
Roche was joined in the public hearing by her former assistant principal Jason Watts, now assistant principal at Chaparral Elementary School. Both said the new school would have more autonomy to implement needs and resources desired by the school community, normally slowed and hindered by red tape.
"Let's say we have students that have specific needs or exhibiting symptoms that can be diagnosed as autism," said Watts, who hopes to administer the new school with Roche.
"We want to buy resources to address these students' needs in the classroom and instead of taking months, we can just buy it and have those students needs addressed immediately. When we feel we need to meet the needs of students, we don't feel there should be a time delay."
Roche agreed.
"This frees us up from the bureaucracy to really focus on what schools should be about - the education of children," she said. "Every aspect of the educational program is centered on the students."
Education at the new school would also be based on the theory of multiple intelligences, which Roche said she had success with in top-scoring district schools like Country Springs and Rhodes elementaries.
The theory, created by Harvard psychologist Howard Gardner and furthered by educators, suggests students learn better when their education is focused using the student's preferred way of learning new things, whether it be musically, physically, verbally, visually, among others.
"Multiple Intelligences is a way to teach students using their strengths," Watts said. "Maybe students have a great talent in music, so we present lessons and instruction to students based on the way they learn."
Roche said she expects to hire "top gun" teachers with the best credentials and these teachers would expect better pay and better job security than district teachers who face the danger of layoffs from state education cuts.
"They must be fully credentialed and held to the same standards in a public school system, but they also need to fully buy into our program and learn what it takes for our multiple intelligence format," she said.
Supporters proposed Oxford Preparatory Academy to open at Los Serranos, which was closed in June with two other district schools as part of budget cuts.
Boardmember Michael Calta said Friday he was inclined to support the charter school because its petition answers many of the contractual issues an earlier petition failed to address, though he said he thinks the closed El Rancho Elementary School in Chino would be a better location.
"It's more centrally located and an opportunity for El Rancho students because of the closure to have access to a neighborhood school," Calta said.
neil.nisperos @inlandnewspapers.com
(909) 483-9356
Other people though, think the leadership could have acted differently.
District officials have heard the praise and criticism and have scheduled a meeting with parents to listen to suggestions that could become part of the school and the district's emergency plans, interim Superintendent Richard Martinez said.
The parent meeting is planned for 7 p.m. Nov. 16 at Diamond Ranch High School, said Fernando Meza, interim administrative director of pupil and community service.
Students were never in danger during the fire and they gathered patiently in the school's gym waiting for directions from school and fire officials, district officials said.
The brush fire broke out in what fire officials said were eight possible locations between Diamond Bar and Ontario.
Although the fire is under investigation, authorities think it may have been sparked by a pickup with multiple mechanical problems that was driving on the 60 Freeway.
Martinez said the high school and his office received many suggestions from parents and students on improving operations in an emergency, including some related to campus access and students' release.
"There have been a lot of good suggestions and good recommendations," he said.
As the district reviews its emergency plans for the school and the district, it may be possible to incorporate some of those ideas, he said.
Arrangements are being made so that representatives from agencies - including the Pomona Police Department, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and the Los Angeles County Fire Department - also participate in the meeting, he said.
Martinez has also asked district staff to research the matter of access to the Diamond Ranch campus.
Diamond Ranch High has one access point, a long road that connects the campus to Diamond Ranch Road.
Martinez said staff will research the feasibility and costs of carrying out any of the following:
• Expanding the current road leading from the street to the campus.
• Adding another route to the campus.
• Accessing a fire road that runs behind the campus.
The fire road traverses pieces of land owned by various entities and that could be a stumbling block to gaining access to it, Martinez said.
On Wednesday, district disaster preparedness coordinator George Hunter provided board members an overview of operations during an emergency, including how school administrators serve as the initial incident commanders at their campuses but turn over those responsibilities to fire or law enforcement agencies when they arrive.
During Tuesday's brush fire, district personnel established a separate incident command center at the district offices that focused on carrying out the school's evacuation had it become necessary, Hunter said.
The second annual educational symposium Nov. 6 at Cal State San Bernardino will include presentations on transportation-related projects from faculty and student researchers.
The symposium will include talks on intermodal-transit stations, transit villages and transit-oriented design titled "Going to San Bernardino?"
Cal Poly faculty member Richard Willson at 10:30 a.m. will talk about "Transit Oriented Development - Lessons Learned and Future Trends California TODs."
Faculty member Dohyung Kim will later discuss "The Impacts of Transit Oriented Development: From Regional Land Use Perspective."
"So far most of our country's policy is about automobiles," Kim said. "We want to develop the community with transit and automobiles, but with a focus on transit."
Jesus Barajas, graduate urban planning student at Cal Poly, will discuss "Regional Bicycle Planning in Los Angeles County: An Analysis of the Metro Bicycle Transportation Strategic Plan."
"The goal of this symposium is to educate and bring different research out into light," Barajas said. "The big topic is environmentalism and how transpiration fits into that whole puzzle."
Additional lectures will include Cal Poly faculty member Cornelius Nuworsoo disussing "Lessons for Transforming Planned California High-speed Rail Stations to Major Activity Hubs" and Cal Poly student Kevin Fang discussing "Accessibility of Rail Stations under Alternative Network Configurations and Potential for TOD in the San Francisco Bay Area."
Also expected to speak are representatives from Cal State San Bernardino, UC Irvine, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Caltrans, Southern California Association of Governments, Omnitrans, Metrolink and Southern California Edison.
IF YOU GO
A free transportation research conference is from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Cal State San Bernardino, Obershaw Dining Room - Commons Building, 5500 University Parkway.
The event is free and open to the public. Parking is $5.
People can RSVP on the Web site. Print out the invitation and place it on a dashboard to replace a parking pass.
Roberts, who is starting her third four-year term, received 12,971 votes. Brugger, a 16-year board member, received 12,114 votes.
Roberts said she and the rest of the board plan to work on getting the school through financially without losing students or faculty.
"We're a large entity, and we need to find ways to cut back on expenditures and find more money," Roberts said.
Coming in third, fourth and fifth were Ontario-Montclair school board member Paul Vincent Avila, Irene Hernandez-Blair and Christopher Agrella.
sandra.emerson @inlandnewspapers.com
(909) 483-8555
The trebuchet, built by 17-year-olds Chris Shafia and Zack Scriven, launched pumpkins hundreds of feet across the pumpkin cluttered-field.
"Go big or go home," Scriven said.
A trebuchet is a lopsided see-saw with a weight on one end and a sling on the other, dating back to the Middle Ages.
About 200 physics and engineering students armed their trebuchets around the soccer field as part of the fourth annual Pumpkin Launch.
Scriven and Shafia's monstrous project was brought to campus on a trailer.
"It barely cleared all the lights," Shafia said. "We had to check them all last night to see if it'd clear all the street lights and telephone wires."
There were trebuchets of all shapes and sizes. Some launched pumpkins into the air, while others used smaller fruit such as oranges.
"It teaches you a lot about all the different physics you have to use," said Brad Schroeder, 17, who built the giant trebuchet with a group of other physics students.
This is Schroeder's first time launching pumpkins across the field.
"It's been launching pretty well," he said. "The first two launches we had, the first one went backwards and the second one went straight up, but since that we've fixed all those problems."
The trebuchet project allows students to actually apply physics theories to reality, physics teacher David Geller said.
"I love this project because we spend all year studying abstract physics theories that take place with no air resistance, no friction, and sometimes no gravity," Geller said. "It is not a law of physics that can be derived from the textbook."
Home Depot on Mountain and Eighth Street, the Cal Poly Pomona farm store and the University of La Verne donated money for supplies, making the event free to the school, Geller said.
sandra . emerson @inlandnewspapers.com
(909) 483-8555
Board President Andrew Wong and board member Adrienne Konigar-Macklin will return for four-year terms.
Board members John Avila and Steve Lustro will be replaced by Roberta Perlman, who was elected to a four-year term, and Jason Rothman, who will fill a two-year term.
The 22-year-old Rothman said Wednesday that first on the list of tasks the new board must address is the appointment of a new superintendent, and he will prepare for that.
To do so "I need to meet with all the candidates for superintendent," Rothman said, adding he and Perlman should have an opportunity to meet with the six candidates for the job.
As for the 2009-10 budget, which district administrators have predicted will require more deep cuts, Rothman said: "I'm not making any decisions until I fully understand the budget and then take it from there."
Lustro, who came in second for the two-year seat, said he's disappointed but never presumed he had the race nailed down.
However, in speaking with members of the public during meetings related to the superintendent search, people seemed satisfied with the school district and its leadership, he said.
"The community was pleased and supportive of the direction the district is going in," Lustro said. "So seemingly everybody is on the same page and then two new board members are elected."
Board member John Avila, who was fourth in the race for one of three four-year seats, said groups such as the Associated Pomona Teachers played a role in the election.
"The teachers union had a position in there to change the direction of the vote," Avila said.
All though he wasn't re-elected, "I'm certainly not bitter," he said.
The new board will not have an easy time, Avila said.
"The future is going to be a challenge," he said adding that regardless of who supported the candidates' campaigns, "I hope they keep the best interest of the kids at heart. ... I hope they all vote their conscience."
Board President Andrew Wong said there is a great deal of work ahead.
"I'm looking forward to rolling up my sleeves and getting to work," he said.
monica . rodriguez @inlandnewspapers.com
(909) 483-9336
This has meant the recent consideration of a variety of alternative revenue sources, which includes the possibility of lucrative advertising partnerships with companies looking to sell their product and the potential for corporate sponsorships.
John Lynde, school district revenue committee chairman, recently presented a host of these options to the school board.
"One of the reasons we're doing the (alternative revenue) presentations is to make everyone aware of the budget situation, not only in reducing our programs and staff, but raising revenue (in) an attempt to enlist everyone in the campaign," said John Lynde, school district director of media services and chairman of the district Revenue Committee.
In recent months, the district has cut about $33 million from its budget.
Meanwhile, it is engaged in debate over how it should solicit advertisers to market products at school sites, stadiums and athletic equipment.
Among the places product advertising could be found at district schools are lunch-tray liners, floor mats, educational materials, assembly programs and stadium banners as well as on the side of school walls and buses, officials said.
Board member Michael Calta expressed reservation over the exposure of advertising material to children in the classroom.
"I don't want to target the kids," he said. "It doesn't make any sense. They're not the ones the advertisers want. They can see it outside the fence. They don't need to see it in the classroom, which to me is a sacred place."
Lynde said the committee will take the board's concerns into consideration before they present a follow-up report at the next board meeting.
"A couple of the board members had preferred not to target students, but to aim advertising campaigns at parents, and that's something we can take into account," he said.
Lynde said the committee is unsure of exactly how much money could be raised for the cash-strapped district.
"Hopefully, it will be beyond our wildest expectations," he said.
Chino Valley Unified Superintendent Wayne Joseph said he believes there are more "dark days" ahead when it comes to the budget.
"It is incumbent on us to look for other streams of revenue," Joseph said.
Other alternative revenue source ideas include:
The solicitation of financial sponsorships for students, schools and programs.
Solicitation of donations from the public.
Corporate naming opportunities for district buildings or school programs.
The rental use of district facilities for the purposes of law enforcement training, film and television productions, youth sports organizations and use by community or career colleges.
neil . nisperos @inlandnewspapers.com
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From State Supt. desk:
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell Wednesday released the following statement after the California State Senate passed SBX5 1 which will help California compete for $4.35 billion in Race to the Top funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009:
"Race to the Top presents California with an unprecedented opportunity to boldly reform our public education system so that we can improve student academic success and further our efforts to close the achievement gap.
"I congratulate the California State Senate for its passage of SBX5 1, and I applaud Governor Schwarzenegger for his leadership and partnership as we advocate for education reforms that will benefit California students and strengthen California's competitiveness for Race to the Top funds.
"While last night's Senate approval of this bill is a major step forward, we should not lose sight of the hard work that remains ahead of us to win the Race to the Top. I look forward to working with the California State Assembly to gain approval of this measure. I also remain committed to working closely with the Governor, the Legislature, the State Board of Education, and our education community to develop an innovative and effective Race to the Top application."
SBX5 1 is a bipartisan measure that deletes the prohibition of using data to evaluate teachers and administrators and implements other strategies to help low- performing schools.
ARRA was signed into law in February by the President. The entire ARRA spending and tax package to benefit the nation's schools includes more than $100 billion for elementary, secondary, and postsecondary education. California already is eligible for $7 billion in ARRA funding to benefit prekindergarten through grade twelve public education in the state. Race to the Top is a competitive grant program of ARRA that will provide the largest amount of money the federal government has ever offered specifically geared toward education reform. The funding is specifically intended for selected states to use in order to make systemic changes at the state level that would improve teaching and learning statewide. For more information on Race to the Top and ARRA, please visit http://www.cde.ca.gov/ar/er/.
Senator Bob Huff (R - Diamond Bar) announced Wednesday his measure Senate Bill 1-5X, was approved by the State Senate. Jointly authored with three other Senate Education Committee members, the bill calls for bold and innovative reforms to California's public education system and makes California competitive for much needed federal Race to the Top (RTTT) grants.
SB 1-5X's major provisions include:
n Establishing a plan for turning around the bottom 5 percent of California's persistently lowest-performing schools.
n Removes the cap on the number of charter schools authorized to operate in California and establishes a working group to make recommendations on charter school financial reporting and audits.
n Authorizes open enrollment options for students stuck in schools that are identified as low-performing, defined to be those in Program Improvement and ranked in deciles 1 to 3. This provision was modeled after Senator Huff's SB 266 (2009).
SB 1-5X now moves on to the Assembly.
Senator Bob Huff is the Vice-Chair of the Senate Education Committee and serves as the Senate Republican Caucus Chair. He represents portions of Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties. You can follow Senator Huff on Twitter @bobhuff99.
From the desk of the Center for Education Reform:
WASHINGTON, DC - In response to President Barack Obama's remarks today on his Administration's education reform initiatives and Race to the Top competition, Center for Education Reform president Jeanne Allen released the following statement:
Today, President Obama championed his administration's education reform initiatives in a Wisconsin speech, focusing on states that he claims are leading the charge for education reform.
The Obama Administration has jumped on board the charter school bandwagon and, in doing so, is telling states they must do better and create or fix laws in order to compete for their share of $4.3 billion in federal "Race to the Top" funds.
As admirable as the Obama administration's policy on charters may appear to be, the President and his Education Secretary are, too often, giving states credit for talking about charter schools rather than actually changing laws to improve the likelihood that children will have real school choice.
For example, Education Secretary Arne Duncan's description of reforms in Tennessee, Rhode Island, Indiana, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Illinois has been misleading. While the Secretary has said that 'numerous states have adopted reforms that would have been almost unthinkable a year ago,' this is simply not the case.
No state cited in this popular mythology has revoked limits on the number of charters allowed to open this year. Several, in fact, merely fulfilled budgetary promises of charter funding after having first wiped them off the books.
In reality, most of the nation's 40 charter laws will need dramatic legislative changes to develop robust charter laws that actually allow for the growth of the types of schools both President Obama and Secretary Duncan routinely credit with raising academic achievement and turning around students' lives.
We want to see states get bold and adopt strong charter laws - which everyone knows how to do, but often aren't courageous enough to buck the status quo, the unions, and even continued ignorance of what precisely a charter school is. But that isn't happening.
For President Obama and his Education Secretary to claim victory before "Race" participants have even reached the starting gate is disappointing.
It is time that President Obama and Secretary Duncan stop championing half measures and start demanding real results and bold changes in state laws.
The flea infestation was discovered Oct. 20 in two classrooms at El Camino, 400 E. Arrow Hwy. The school is attended by students with disabilities and is operated by the Los Angeles County Office of Education.
According to an exterminator, opossums got under a portable building and could have been the source of the fleas. The fleas got into the ground, were stepped on and then brought into classrooms.
"Our building services staff plans to send someone to remove the opossums and screen in the area where they had gained access under the portable building," LACOE spokeswoman Margo Minecki said.
As soon as the infestation was discovered, the school site administrator took immediate action to address the problem, Minecki said.
"All students were promptly removed from the affected classrooms, she said. "An exterminator has sprayed the school on three occasions, and these measures are continuing in various non-classroom areas of the school until the problem is resolved."
Notices were posted at the school two days prior to the initial spraying, in accordance with the law.
LACOE is required to send notices to parents when insecticides are sprayed at the school. Parents have to sign a request to receive such notices.
No parents at El Camino requested the notices, but a letter on Oct. 28 was sent home to parents informing them of the situation, Minecki said.
Classrooms and the outside grounds were sprayed Oct. 23, 26 and 28. There was another spraying Oct. 29 in specific areas of the school.
"Another spraying is not scheduled as yet," Minecki said. "The exterminator will return ... to check for any active infestation. If any is found the spraying will resume until the problem is totally resolved."
If there is any further indication of live fleas at the school, the exterminator will be contacted.
From the desk of Sen. Gloria Romero:
The Senate Education Committee today passed SB X5 1 with a 5-0 bipartisan vote.
The comprehensive bill containing reforms necessary for California to be eligible and competitive for the federal Race to the Top grants is authored by Senator Gloria Romero (D- East Los Angeles), Chair of the Senate Education Committee, and Senators Bob Huff (R-Glendora), Elaine Alquist (D-Santa Clara), and Mark Wyland (R- Escondido). The bill next goes to Senate Appropriations, as soon as tomorrow.
"Our work to fulfill our promise of a quality public education for every child in California has just begun," said Senator Romero. "I refuse to be grounded by the status quo. 'Can't' is no longer an option," she said.
Governor Schwarzenegger called a Fifth Extraordinary Session on education in August to focus on California's response to the federal Race to the Top Fund eligibility requirements. Race to the Top will provide $4.35 billion in competitive grants to encourage and reward states that create the conditions for education innovation and reform.According to a recent Ed Source report on Race to the Top, California "may have trouble...convincing the federal government that it is serious about taking aggressive actions to turn around struggling schools" because of the limited effectiveness of past efforts and unwillingness to impose the most severe sanctions on low-performing schools.
"Race to the Top is about enabling successful schools and providing students with a quality education," said Romero. "It is about equality and opportunity for all our children despite the color of their skin or on which side of the tracks they live. It is about shutting down the status quo and transforming the dropout factories and low-performing schools where nearly 80 percent of students are Latino and African American."
SB X5 1 provides for turning around historically low-performing schools, uses data to improve instruction and student performance, removes the state's cap on the number of charter schools, authorizes open enrollment for students in low-performing schools, and requires the state to develop a plan to implement reforms that will make California competitive for a Race to the Top grant. Moreover, the bill puts California in compliance with the federal requirements for the Race to the Top grant and requires the state to apply for the Phase 1 funding.
Since September, Senator Romero has held informational hearings in Sacramento, San Diego and Los Angeles. A fourth informational hearing on Race to the Top will be held in San Jose on November 9 at 10 a.m. at the Santa Clara Office of Education.
Press release from Cal Poly Pomona:
Cal Poly Pomona's curriculum is getting a boost, thanks to a slice of federal stimulus money directed to the CSU system.
The university will receive about $1.3 million of the $25 million that will be allocated to the 23 CSU campuses. The funds will go toward approximately 200 sections and classes in the winter and spring quarters that the university might not otherwise have been able to offer.
President J. Michael Ortiz said sections would be added in mathematics, as well as in high-demand courses in several colleges, including Business, Engineering and Agriculture.
"These measures will enable students to make more rapid progress toward their degrees and graduation," he said.
The university will also redirect an additional $1 million toward course sections.
The moves come in the midst of an unprecedented budget crisis. The CSU is facing a $564 million budget cut for 2009-10, with Cal Poly Pomona's share being more than $30 million. The university has taken several steps in recent months to address the shortfall, including the cancellation of state-funded summer school, raising student fees, the adoption of a furlough schedule for nearly all employees, and workforce reductions. The guiding principle behind the actions, Ortiz said, is to serve as many students and preserve as many jobs as possible while maintaining academic quality.
The school district will offer eligible personnel a "retirement supplement" averaging $65,000 if they retire at the end of the current academic year.
If enough people take the offer it could save the district millions in personnel costs and "mitigate any budget reduction layoffs," said Pam Lopez, district assistant superintendent of business services and chief financial officer.
"We worked hard to come up with a retirement incentive plan that treats our teachers and administrators with respect," Interim Superintendent Richard Martinez, said in a district statement. "It's respectful both to retirees who have served our students so well, and to those newer teachers whose positions we'll be able to preserve."
The district estimates that if 80 employees take the offer the district could save about $22 million over a five-year period and about $4.5 million the first year.
A total of 265 certificated employees qualify for the incentive, district officials said.
If more people took the offer "it could be very favorable" for the district, said Pam Lopez, district assistant superintendent of business services and chief financial officer.
The president of the Associated Pomona Teachers, or APT, said Monday the district's proposal is a positive step.
"It seems (the proposal has) been generous and well thought out," said Tyra Weis, APT president.
In the last two years the district has made about $40 million worth of cuts and it's now preparing for what is predicted to be about $36 million in reductions for the 2010-2011 school year.
School board President Andrew Wong said the retirement incentive will provide assistance in dealing with the dark financial picture ahead.
"We believe it's part of the innovative solutions we need to come up with to address the budget shortfall we face this year," Wong said.
The district offered an early retirement incentive last academic year but it didn't draw the response "we would have liked," Wong said. "We'll see if there's additional interest this time."
Last year's offer involved providing qualified personnel a $24,000 retirement supplement over two or five years, said Leslie Barnes, the district's business manager.
A total of 43 people took the offer, she said.
This year the district is providing a higher incentive by working with Public Agency Retirement Services, a firm that provides retirement benefits to those in the public sector.
The offer is open to all certificated personnel, most of whom are teachers but also includes employees such as counselors and school nurses.
Candidates for the program would be employees who are 55 or older and have worked with the district for at least 15 years, Barnes said.
Also eligible are those who are 58 or older and worked for Pomona Unified at least 13 years, Weis said.
All certificated personnel, including administrators, could take advantage of the program, Barnes said.
The $65,000 - the average payout - will be paid over a period each employee chooses, she said.
Employees in areas such as adult education and child development, a number of whom are part-timers, will receive smaller payouts, Barnes said.
If 70 or 80 people were to accept the incentive it would mean many fewer job cuts, district officials said.
If teachers with more seniority chose to take the retirement incentive it would open up classroom positions for newer teachers who otherwise might be laid off, Weis said.
Through this offer "more people at the bottom can move up," she said, adding that would mean fewer families would be affected by layoffs.
This proposal will still leave "experienced teachers that can help train" newer teachers coming up, she said.
"It will go a long way in retaining our newer teachers," Weis said.
Interest in the program has been high, Weis said, adding her office began receiving calls from APT members inquiring about it almost immediately after it received board approval.
Those who accept the offer will be able to retire at the end of June but it's possible that some personnel could leave earlier if it doesn't create a disruption in their area of responsibility, Barnes said.
monica . rodriguez @inlandnewspapers.com
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