San Diego Unified School District

SAN DIEGO UNIFIED VACCINE MANDATE CAN STAY, NINTH CIRCUIT SAYS, REBUFFING LAWSUIT

By Editor, Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association 

Photo:  A vaccination van operated by UCSD Health visited SDUSD sites and offices to provide COVID-19 vaccines last month. Photo via @sdschools Twitter

December 5, 2021 (San Diego) - A federal appeals court has denied a request to stop San Diego schools from enforcing the district’s vaccine mandate.


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SAN DIEGANS FOR OPEN GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES INTENT TO SUE SAN DIEGO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT OVER EMAIL DESTRUCTION POLICY

 

By Miriam Raftery

August 1, 2017 (San Diego) -- A prominent attorney, Cory Briggs, has sent a letter to San Diego Unified School District’s Superintendent Cindy Marten expressing an intent to file a lawsuit after the school board voted to destroy emails after just one year.  Briggs says such action appears to violate state law requiring that all school district records, including electronic ones, be retained for at least three years. He also accuses the district of failing to comply in a timely manner with public records requests.

Society of Professional Journalists has previously voiced concerns over the districts shortened e-mail retention policy and nonresponsive to public records requests by media and/or the public.

Briggs has requested a settlement meeting.  Below is the full text of his letter:


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SAN DIEGO UNIFIED SCHOOL BOARD VOTES TO DELETE EMAILS AFTER A YEAR, IGNORES RECOMMENDATIONS MADE BY SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS

 

Source: Society of Professional Journalists, San Diego

July 27, 2017 (San Diego) -- On Tuesday evening, the San Diego Unified School Board unanimously adopted a policy to delete all emails from district servers after one year despite a recommendation from the San Diego chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists to retain them for two years as other large California school districts do. San Diego SPJ spoke at the meeting, raising concern with this and the fact that district employees will be charged with deciding which emails are public records.


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JOURNALISTS’ GROUP OPPOSES SCHOOL DISTRICT’S PLAN TO DELETE EMAILS

 

Source: Society of Professional Journalists

June 21, 2017 (San Diego) -- The San Diego Unified School District recently announced it will start deleting emails older than six months effective July 1, a change the district describes as a cost-saving measure. The San Diego chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists is concerned this policy will significantly hamper access to important public information at a time when the public and the media already have problems obtaining information and records from the district.


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SAN DIEGO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT VOTES TO CREATE DISTRICT WIDE CLIMATE ACTION PLAN

 

District to include study of community choice energy

July 17, 2015 (San Diego)--San Diego Unified School District voted unanimously at its July 14 meeting to approve a resolution supporting development of a district-wide Climate Action Plan (CAP), in alignment with the City of San Diego’s CAP.


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JUDGE RULES FOR SD UNIFIED IN SUIT AGAINST ALPINE DISTRICT OVER ENDEAVOR ACADEMY

 

By Miriam Raftery

March 19, 2015 (Alpine) – Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Gunther has ruled in favor of the San Diego Unified School District in a lawsuit filed against the Alpine Union School District over the Endeavor Academy (also known as the Albert Einstein Academy for Letters, Arts and Sciences, Inc.). View the judge’s order here.


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MORE AGENCIES SEEK TO RETURN SURPLUS MILITARY GEAR

 

By Miriam Raftery

September 22, 2014 (San Diego)--Recently, we reported on the San Diego Unified School District’s decision to return an armored vehicle it received through the Department of Defense’s Excess Property Program.  Now it seems that may be the start of a trend.


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SD UNIFIED TO FEDS: THANKS, BUT NO "TANKS"

 

September 19, 2014 (San Diego)—You won’t be seeing an armored vehicle on San Diego Unified School District campuses after all. The District has decided to return a Mine Resistant  Ambush Protected Vehicle, or MRAP, that had been donated by the U.S. Department of Defense.


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MINIMUM SCHOOL DAYS DUE TO HEAT

 

Sep. 14, 2014 (San Diego) The San Diego Unified School District has announced that schools will be on minimum school day tomorrow due to the heat. These will be schools without 100 percent air conditioning.


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SAN DIEGO SCHOOLS ARE RAISING THE EDUCATIONAL BAR WITHOUT HELP OF CORPORATE REFORM THEORISTS

 

By Trevor Hill

June 5 2014 (San Diego)-- The Vergara v. California trial going on in Los Angeles is an excellent embodiment of the struggle taking place between educator-led school reformists and corporate reform theorists.


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DEMOCRATS WIN MOST LOCAL EDUCATION SEATS

 

Two Democrats to vie in run-off in State Superintendent of Public Instruction race

 

Photo: Michael McQuary (right) , with supporter (left) is the new face on San Diego Unified's school board

By Miriam Raftery

June 4, 2014 (San Diego) – Candidates endorsed by the County Democratic Party scored strong wins in local education races during the June primary election.  Though school board races officially are nonpartisan, political parties weighed in with slate mailers advising voters on the parties’ preferences.

Incumbent Kevin Beiser trounced challenger Amy Redding 68% to 32% in San Diego Unified School District seat B. In addition, Michael McQuary, PhD, a retired teacher, won the District C seat unopposed.


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OVERSIGHT OF SCHOOLS' WEBSITES LACKING, GRAND JURY FINDS

 

By Miriam Raftery

April 23, 2014 (San Diego)—San Diego Unified School District should require all schools to use its website content system, a San Diego Grand Jury report titled “Can we please get on the same page?”  issued today advised.

The report concluded that many San Diego city schools have set up independent websites outside of the school district's management structure, leaving the San Diego Unified School District little or no say on the websites' content or how they are used. In fact, private foundations control many of the sites, acting as school website administrators who do all of the on-line updating of the content. Foundations operate autonomously outside of the District's established policies and procedures, even accepting commercial paid advertising on the school sites. In some cases advertisers have solicited the students’ for personal information, the Grand Jury report revealed.


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PATRICK HENRY HIGH STUDENT DIES OF MENINGITIS

 

 

February 14, 2014 (San Carlos)--A student who attended Patrick Henry High School in the San Diego Unified School District died last night of a suspected meningococcal infection, according to officials with the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA).


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SAN DIEGO UNIFIED, COUNTY OFFICE OF EDUCATION, AND SOLAR CONTRACTOR TEAM UP TO TRAIN "SOLAR CHAMPIONS"

 

December 4, 2013 (San Diego) – -Nearly 30 San Diego Unified School District teachers are becoming "Solar Champions." Earlier this week, the school district hosted a workshop for those teachers to help them incorporate the solar energy/technology they now have at their schools into their curriculum.

 

Main Street Power is a solar contractor that recently completed the installation of roof-top solar systems at 29 of the district's schools.  As part of its contract with the district, Main Street Power is providing the teachers with training and classroom solar car kits, as well as materials on solar energy/technology that are aligned with the districts' science curriculum. The company is also giving each school a computer that will serve as an "energy portal."


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NEW SD UNIFIED SCHOOLS SUPERINTENDENT TO SPEAK ON “POLITICS AND PRAGMATISM” IN LA MESA APRIL 3

 

April 3, 2013 (La Mesa) -- Cindy Marten, newly appointed Superintendent of San Diego Unified School District, will be the featured speaker at the La Mesa-Foothills Democratic Club April 3rd meeting.  She will address challenges facing modern urban school districts like San Diego's.  San Diego Unified is struggling with a large budget deficit and is planning to sell off $50 million worth of its properties to help achieve a balance. Over 60% of the new funds coming from Proposition 30's tax increase is already committed to pay for overdue raises and other staff expenses.

Rather than holding a nationwide search, the School Board selected Marten as the unanimous choice for Superintendent.  This was a result of her accomplishments as principal of Central Elementary School in City Heights, where she oversaw a dramatic increase in test scores at Central Elementary, a school serving a community where nearly all families are low income and English-learners. 


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MIDDLE SCHOOLS WIN WITH SAN DIEGO ENERGY CHALLENGE

January 26, 2013 (San Diego) – San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) and Simple Energy announced the three winning schools in the San Diego Energy Challenge school competition. The San Diego Energy Challenge contest gave SDG&E customers in the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) boundaries the chance to compete on behalf of their chosen SDUSD middle school to win cash grants. Participating customers earned points for their school of choice by saving energy on Reduce Your Use days and getting members of their community to sign up and support their team.


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SAN DIEGO UNIFIED SCHOOL BOARD TO CONSIDER RESOLUTION JAN. 22 TO OPPOSE RESTARTING OF SAN ONOFRE NUCLEAR REACTOR

Update January 23: The board passed this resolution, joining several Coastal City Councils in calling for an adjudicated license amendment hearing by the NRC

January 21, 2013 (San Diego) – San Diego Unified School District Board Vice President, Kevin Beiser and Board Member Richard Barrera are introducing a Resolution (Agenda Item H.1) similar to that passed by the Del Mar City Council last fall, calling for an adjudicated license amendment process by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on the restart of the defective San Onofre nuclear reactor proposed by Southern California Edison. Eight and half million people live within the 50-mile potential evacuation radius around San Onofre. The action will be considered Tuesday January 22 at 5 p.m.; a press conference will be held at 4 p.m. Details below.

According to SDUSD Board Vice President Beiser, “The Board of Education of the San Diego Unified School District is considering this Resolution because restarting the defective Unit 2 nuclear reactor at San Onofre will have profound impacts on our children in San Diego Unified and the surrounding communities in the event of a nuclear accident regarding radiation contamination of air, water and food, evacuation plans, and long term viability of life in Southern California.”


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CA SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS PROJECT LABOR AGREEMENTS FOR SAN DIEGO SCHOOLS

By Miriam Raftery

September 5, 2011 (San Diego) -- California’s Supreme Court has declined to review an appeals court decision that upheld the Project Stabilization Agreement (PSA) entered into by the San Diego Unified School District in 2009.

 


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STUDENTS SHOWCASE SUSTAINABLE SKILLS AT SAN DIEGO SCHOOL BOARD MEETING

May 25, 2010 (San Diego) -- Students from the Renewable Energy Leadership Institute (RELI) demonstrated their newly-learned skills to the San Diego Unified School District Board today, unveiling an electric go-cart and solar charging station.

 

The RELI pilot program was conceived under leadership of school board member Shelia Jackson to generate excitement among high school students about career opportunities in the renewable energy industry.


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LAWSUIT DISMISSED AGAINST SD UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT


Court upholds district's right to assure that school construction jobs will employ local residents

January 5, 2010 (San Diego)--San Diego's Superior Court has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) that sought to halt work performed under the project stabilization agreement (PSA) reached between San Diego Unified School District and construction unions.


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