The GUHSD Needs A Change In The Boardroom:

By Bill Weaver

This is a non-partisan Governing Board office. let's use non-partisan tactics and find solutions that will address the needs of our students, all children, and their teachers, and parents!

The current GUHSD Board Majority, which includes one up for election incumbent, has shot themselves in the foot with recent bad policy decisions. They claim declining enrollment, and loss of ADA funds as the justifying basis. Read this general commentary;

"The GUHSD Bd has passed a resolution to not move ahead with the 12th HS, until CA State ADA funding returns to the higher 2007/08 levels. This has the Alpine... Union School District, and the Alpine HS Citizens Committee, currently mounting an effort to pull out of the GUHSD.

The blame for the Grossmont Union High School District's substantial loss of enrollment falls squarely on the shoulders of this school board's irrational decision not to build a 12th high school in Alpine despite voters twice approving bond measures to fund it; Prop H $274M-2004 and Prop U - $417M - 2008. The district is losing students to nearby charter high schools because parents seek a higher quality education for their kids, as well as schools closer to home.

Of the 11 GUHSD high schools, 6 actually gained enrollment. The real enrollment decline is revealed in just the other 5 schools + El Cajon Valley, Mt. Miguel, Monte Vista, El Cap, and West Hills. The first 3 of these schools have large minority English-as-second language populations and most have low-test scores. Together these 3 account for a decline of 1,223 students out of 10,068 here + a whopping 12.1% decrease. Mt. Miguel HS alone lost 452 students or 23.3%, which means this one school accounted for 42% of the entire enrollment decline from 2007/08. This is a socio-economic shift, not a demographic decline.

What all of this highlights is the colossal stupidity of not going forward with the one bond project that would actually attract new students and add ADA revenues to GUHSD + the Alpine high school. As the Boundary Committee report pointed out, the new state-of-the-art school would easily add about 500 students (including Steele transfers and new students), literally wiping out nearly half of the GUHSD enrollment decline. Instead, the Grossmont majority and GUHSD Superintendent actions are reaping what they have sown + a high school district that is in decline.

Now the District is on the verge of driving away another 1200 students, since fed-up Alpine parents are seeking to break away from the GUHSD entirely by unifying the Alpine School District (currently K-8) to include a high school of their own

When the unification ultimately succeeds, then we might see the day when the entire GUHSD implodes and comes to a merciful end."

And more stupid GUHSD Bd. member Actions;

> The 2008 Helix Press Conference called to "deceitfully twist the truth", by a current incumbent candidate, for "GUHSD campaign gain in 2008" - See http://www.utsandiego.com/uniontrib/20081115/news_lz1ez15lamesa.html),

I'm not making this up... (position reasons)

> An incumbent's stand was in 2008 - the official opposing of Proposition U - Needed to improve all our high schools - See http://eastcountymagazine.org/prop_u),

> Also the political move to pre-name the Bond funded 12th HS non-geographically, ignoring/tossing out (20 yrs +)long-standing Gov. Board policy addressing this very action - See http://eastcountymagazine.org/node/3299

The above list goes on and on...

We need to reach out to all the district areas, the various community high schools, and support the Charters of the Helix and Steele Canyon High Schools.

Our goal is to listen to and solicit parents, teachers, and students from each and every HS campus to voice and to share any concerns.

This is a non-partisan Governing Board office position, let's use non-partisan tactics to find solutions that will address the needs of our children, and their teachers, and parents!

Solutions will require communication, collaboration, and some compromise to achieve satisfaction by all of the communities, and various stakeholders.

Let's all work together.