6 candidates in Grossmont Union High School District also tackle furloughs, Brown tax measure.

By Kristina Houck , Santee Patch

October 23, 2012 (San Diego’s East County)--Assailing what he called the school board’s lack of transparency, Grossmont Union High School District candidate Bill Weaver told a forum Monday night that he was running because he doesn’t trust the current board members.

By Janis Mork

October 12, 2012 (San Diego’s East County)- Challenger Barbara Stevens has been a writer/editor for over 35 years. She grew up in San Diego, attended Point Loma High School and San Diego State University.

She wants to focus “on the kids more so than adults, focus on student achievement, education, the students’ and districts’ needs.”Stevens was motivated to run because her daughter went through the district, graduating from Helix Charter in 2008 and recently graduating from California State University San Marcos.

By Miriam Raftery

An ECM  Special Report

October 13, 2012 (El Cajon)—The San Diego Grand Jury has launched an investigation into possible misuse of bond funds by the Grossmont Union High School District’s board majority, muliple sources have confirmed to East County Magazine.  

“We’re in a Grand Jury investigation about Alpine,” GUHSD board trustee Priscilla Schreiber told ECM. Schreiber said she learned of the probe “by accident” while in the District’s office.  Schreiber has been a vocal critic of the Board majority (Trustees Gary Woods, Jim Kelly, and Robert Shields) for blocking construction of a high school for Alpine while allowing diversion of school bond funds for costly new projects not mandated in two bond measures, Prop H and Prop U. Both measures were approved by voters and specifically called for a new high school in Alpine.

"Alpine could be the first of a district-wide peel off! This GUHSD Governing Board needs a wake-up call." -- Bill Weaver

By Bill Weaver, GUHSD Governor Board candidate and parent

The current Grossmont Union High School District (GUHSD) Board majority, which includes up for re-election incumbent Dr. Gary Woods, has shot themselves in the foot with recent bad policy decisions. They claim declining enrollment, and loss of Average Daily Attendance (ADA) funds as the justifying basis.

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

By Sal Casamassima, Chair of the Alpine High School Citizens Committee

September 3, 2012 (Alpine)--Divorce is a traumatic and difficult subject that many folks have to deal with in their lives.  However, it is often the only path that can be taken when one spouse becomes abusive and deceitful to the other. 

There is no better metaphor than divorce to describe what must be done by the Alpine Union School District (AUSD) to escape the abusive and deceitful relationship it has with the Grossmont Union High School District (GUHSD).

April 7, 2012 (El Cajon) – Grossmont Union High School District (GUHSD) and Granite Hills High School representatives celebrated the completion of the school’s new aquatic center with a traditional ribbon-cutting ceremony on March 27.  The 40,000 square foot aquatic complex features the first Olympic-size pool on an East County high school campus and will serve as a center for East County community groups, youth aquatics teams, California Interscholastic Federation water polo and swim teams as well as physical education classes.

Coach Steve Vickery inducted into National High School Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame

By Ryan Schuler

February 28, 2012(Lakeside)--It’s no secret that El Capitan High School is a powerhouse when it comes to baseball in San Diego. Coming off a 2011 season in which the squad was ranked California's No. 18 team by ESPN’s CalHiSports and reached the San Diego Section CIF Division III finals, the Vaqueros are back in the CalHiSports state rankings again, this time in the preseason.

Led by reigning California Coaches Association State Baseball Coach of the Year Steve Vickery and 6-foot-5 senior southpaw Troy Conyers, the Vaqueros enter the season ranked No. 4 in California.

Grossmont, Borrego and Ramona districts may fail to meet financial obligations

February 23, 2012 (Sacramento)—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson warned today that the latest review of school district budgets shows that one-third of public school students in California attend a district in financial jeopardy. That includes seven districts in San Diego County—three of them in East County. 

Take our poll: Should the GUHSD have notified all residents by mail before changing school district boundaries? 

By Miriam Raftery

January 21, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) – At a Grossmont Union High School District board of trustees meeting on October 13, trustee Priscilla Schreiber asked Superintendent Ralf Swenson how workshops on proposed district boundary changes would be publicized. Swenson replied, “We are sending out mailers, putting things on websites, and we are working with our feeder districts to get the word out through their schools…”

But no mailers were ever sent to district residents. Nor did feeder schools (middle and elementary) notify parents of future high school students. Yet the district approved boundary changes November 10 that will affect thousands of students. Now a clamor has arisen among parents who had no idea such changes were in the works—and want the action reversed.

January 21, 2012 (La Mesa) -- Next week, the Grossmont Union High School District (GUHSD) and the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) Boards will hear action items on the development of community gardens on school district properties, including Helix Charter High School in La Mesa as well as schools in San Carlos and San Diego.

San Diego Roots, an organization which supports community gardens, is encouraging the public to attend meetings January 26 for the GUHSD and January 24 for the SDSUSD to show support for the gardens, which would benefit community residents as well as students.

October 14, 2011 (San Diego's East County) -- The Grossmont Union High School District has announced three public information forums on proposed changes to boundaries for schools in the district.  Meetings are set for October 18, October 25, and November 1.

 Proposal that could halt Alpine high school construction will also be heard by board

July 11, 2011 (El Cajon) – The Boundary Committee for the Grossmont Union High School District has adopted recommendations for shifting high school boundaries throughout the distirct.  The recommendations will be presented Thursday, to the GUHSD Boardat 6 p.m. in the East County Regional Education Center, 924 East Main Street in El Cajon.

Lines will be changing across East County. For example, on Mt. Helix many students now in the Grossmont High School district are proposed to shift to Monte Vista, a school with a far poorer academic record, to ease overcrowding at Grossmont. In Blossom Valley, proposed new lines would similarly shift some students to a poorer performing school, in Lakeside sparking protests from parents.

May 27, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) – Two proposed options for new boundary lines in the Grossmont Union High School District will be presented by the District’s Boundary Committee at a public meeting on Thursday, June 2 from 6-8:30 p.m. at the Instructional Resource Classroom, 301 North Mollison Avenue in El Cajon.

One plan, Model 12, includes redrawn boundaries to include a 12th new high school planned in Alpine. An alternative plan, Model 9, provides a contingency in case the Alpine High School is not built and redraws boundaries for the District’s nine existing non-chartered high schools.

“This is a watershed meeting,” said Doug Deane, chairman of the committee. “If there are different viewpoints, people need to speak June 2 at our meeting….Every high school will be affected, whether or not there is a twelfth high school built.”

March 17, 2011 (San Diego's East County) --The 2011 Grossmont High School District Cheer Competition will be held on Wednesday, March 23, at 6 p.m. in the El Cajon Valley High School Football Stadium.

The competition will feature teams competing at the Junior Varsity, Varsity, Varsity Advanced and Varsity Co-ed levels. There will also be a Best Jumper and Best Tumbler award.