Residents Meet with Local Officials
About 200 local residents turned out in San Clemente last week for a public forum to learn more about their city and schools. The event, sponsored by the local PTA, was held at San Clemente High School and featured guest speakers Mayor Lori Donchak, City Council Member Bob Baker, CUSD Trustee Anna Bryson, and CUSD Trustee Jack Brick.
It was the first public appearance with open questions by CUSD trustees since the election and a good opportunity for interested residents to get answers to questions. While the audience was a friendly one, they asked some tough questions. Both trustees refused to answer any questions relating to the Superintendent and his administrative leave stating legal reasons.
On the subject of joint use projects, Mayor Donchak thought the city and the district were working well together but cautioned the budget crisis would probably not allow for anything new this year. She did mention that the city will be reviewing the general plan this year for the first time in over 15 years and that it was an excellent opportunity for residents to share their priorities with the city. Trustee Brick mentioned that the school district is updating the master plan for facilities in CUSD.
Residents wanted to know where the current trustees stood on supporting the dual immersion program at Las Palmas and the safe routes to schools. Trustee Bryson assured them that the operations department was working to make schools safe. Mayor Donchak spoke about a new sidewalk coming for the upper campus of San Clemente High School. She also mentioned that the city was applying for another “safe routes to school” grant. Council member Baker fully supports the dual immersion/2-way language program at Las Palmas.
The extension of La Pata is a big issue in San Clemente and residents asked for an update on the status of the roadway from the city and for information about boundary changes from the district. The Mayor supports the La Pata completion but said that the final decision on where the road will go has not been made and there is a funding issue. She said that the earliest estimated completion would be in 2015. The trustees in attendance said that any boundary changes would go through the full process with input from all affected.
Concerns over the budget cuts and how that will affect programs like International Baccalaureate, Athletics, the Auto Academy, TLC, and other programs were posed to trustees. Bryson said that “everything is on the table” and it was impossible to guarantee the future of programs. Another question was how the cuts would affect teachers and their jobs. Trustees were vague in responding citing the state budget and its uncertainty.
While Trustees refused to answer questions specific to Superintendent Carter, the audience wanted to know what the board’s plans were for getting a new superintendent and what he hiring criteria was. Standards like excellence in curriculum, knowledge of students, talented, and a quality person were all mentioned. Trustee Brick said they needed to move quickly to get this done.
The question regarding the rumors about the trustees having a “social agenda” and their ties to the Education Alliance was also brought up that night. Trustees did a pretty good job of dancing around that issue without ever actually answering the question leaving some I spoke with frustrated. Trustees also skirted the issue regarding a conflict of interest between them and their campaign supporters who have lawsuits pending against the district.
While all the questions and issues were not fully addressed, the evening was a successful one and everyone in attendance appreciated the opportunity to ask questions and participate. The guest speakers also expressed appreciation to those in attendance. More of these events should be held throughout our district to give people the opportunity to better know those who represent them. Stay tuned for more updates on school issues in Beyond the Blackboard.