The High School Vision-Supporting Prop U

By Ann B. Pierce

Expanded educational opportunities a priority. Expanded partnerships an imperative.

Bringing expanded educational opportunities to the eastern region of San Diego County has been a focus of mine for over a decade. What began as efforts to bring a local high school to Alpine has grown to a vision of multiple entities supporting secondary education and beyond. This has truly been a lesson in patience, as well as an eye opener as far as working with the Grossmont District.

Background on the High School Issue

During the late 90's, `Alpiners' rolled up their sleeves and worked diligently on a campaign to bring a high school to our community. By early 2000 Propositions: V (tax threshold) and W (unification) appeared on local ballots. The tax threshold was determined, but the bid for unification was soundly defeated. These propositions were followed by Prop H (existing school improvement and a 12th high school site), which was a success. With the election of Alpine resident Larry Urdahl, we had, for the first time, a strong local presence on the Grossmont board. Much of this was directly linked to the organizational and promotional efforts of the Alpine High School Citizen's Committee, and the leadership of many, including Al Haven, Steve Taylor, Larry Urdahl, John Cooley and currently Bill Weaver. In the early stages of Prop H's implementation, things were moving in a promising direction with Grossmont Superintendent Granger Ward in support of our community. Unfortunately, he was replaced by Superintendent Terry Ryan who, strongly aligned with board member Jim Kelly, held the community at arm's length with assurances, only to retract their support and turn their backs on our community. None-the-less `Alpiners" continued to support Grossmont, offering their expertise to counter Prop H flaws and strengthen accountability and oversight, while working diligently, and successfully, toward the board's placement of Proposition U on the November ballot.

Current Effort

Having worked in the mountain regions of East County I recognize the need for post-secondary educational opportunities for young adults, expanded job skills for adults and the inclusion of career technical education opportunities. When our economy revives, growth will move toward the mountain communities and we need to have comprehensive educational options in place. In this manner I am resurrecting the Alpine High School Citizen's Committee's decade-old proposal for a joint powers educational site in our community. (That would be the one that Mr. Kelly and Superintendent Ryan deep-sixed when they took control of the Grossmont reins.)

I am supporting Proposition U, as well as the reelection of Urdahl and Screiber to the Grossmont board, as these are steps in the political process which will bring a high school closer to reality for Alpine. Considering the lessons learned I will not place all my eggs solely in the `Grossmont basket'. Instead I will continue to build relationships that bring potential partners on board, including state university satellites, the San Diego County Office of Education and Tribal Governments. In this manner we could counter fiscal constraints and strengthen opportunities, ensuring that students, across the age spectrum, have the skills to compete in a world-class workforce.

For more information on Proposition U, and our community's efforts to support a local high school, visit: http://www.ahscc.com

Plan to attend the townhall meeting where Grossmont Superintendent Robert Collins will address Proposition U: Wednesday, October 8th, 6:30 pm