By Miriam Raftery

Photo: GUHSD Superintendent Ralf Swenson

September 18, 2014 (Alpine)—The Grossmont Union High School District Board (GUHSD) has passed a resolution opposing the proposed Alpine unification initiative.  Now, Superintendent Ralf Swenson has issued a statement to media voicing disappointment that a County committee has approved the unification measure and sent it on to the State Board of Education to take action. He wants to see all voters in the district have a say on unification, not just voters in Alpine. 

In his letter, Swenson claims a unified Alpine district won’t be able to afford to build and operate a high school offering programs comparable to those in the Grossmont district but insists that the GUHSD can’t afford to build the school, either.  Moreover, he  claims that the GUHSD remains 2,400 students below the “trigger” that the district has set for enrollment and that further declines are projected, making the likelihood that the district would ever build the promised 12th high school for Alpine appear to be virtually zero.

His letter has sparked a heated response, including a rebuttal from education leader Bill Weaver debunking dubious claims made by the Superintendent. Weaver has previously co-chaired education and business commitees for both the East County and Mountain Empire Chambers of Commerce.

Grossmont CBOC Member Nick Marinovich Resigns After Pressure From Asking Tough Questions

By Sharon Penny

July 13, 2014 (San Diego’s East County)--The Grossmont Union High School District’s (GUHSD) Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee (CBOC) serves on behalf of  San Diego County taxpayers to  “independently review the planning and execution of the Proposition H and Proposition U bond programs to validate to the public and the Governing Board that bond funds are spent within the intent of the bond measure.” East County Magazine has raised questions over problems with the CBOC’s watchdog role in a radio interview a few months ago.

Since his appointment to CBOC in June 2013, Nick Marinovich has a history of questioning the GUHSD Board about what many view as its inadequate responses for plans for an Alpine High School (funded by Proposition U) and for not properly addressing the Grand Jury’s report criticizing the Boardm as ECM has reported.

Effective June 19, Marinovich “resigned” from the CBOC. GUHSD Board member Priscilla Schreiber has told East County Magazine that she believes Marinovich was ”indirectly forced” to resign due to his probing questions and failure of the board to respond to his follow-up efforts.

April 19, 2014 (Alpine) – A public hearing on proposed unification of the Alpine Union School District will be held in Alpine on April 29 at 6 p.m. in the Alpine Elementary School auditorium. The hearing will be conducted by the San Diego County Board of Education.

By Nadin Abbott

April 10, 2014 (El Cajon) --Think of it as a contested divorce.

With a vote of four to one, the Grossmont Unified High School District (GUHSD) board made its intent clear. The majority does not wish to allow Alpine parents and students to leave the GUHSD and join forces with the Alpine Union School District. Board Members Robert Shield, Richard Hoy, Jim Kelly and Jim Stieringer voted against unification, while Board Member Priscilla Schreiber cast the lone vote in favor. 

Unification would allow the Alpine district to become a K-12 district, adding high school students so that the AUSD could build the long-promised high school that Grossmont has failed to build.  Not even a scathing Grand Jury report has been able to prod GUHSD members into taking action. The Grand Jury admonished the board to either agree to build the high school by the end of last year, or cooperate with unification efforts. Instead, the board has done neither.

By Sharon Penny

February 15, 2014 (El Cajon)--At the February 13 Grossmont Union High School District  (GUHSD) meeting, the Governing Board provided some recent positive outcomes in the district (see side story: Grossmont District Schools Shine Academically), but took a step back for democracy.

By a vote of 4-1, the Board adopted a resolution: “In Recognition of the Citizens’ Board Oversight Committee (CBOC) and Their Service to the Grossmont Union High School District.”  It  praises the District’s bond oversight committee-- but also aims to muzzle school board members from giving testimony to the oversight comittee.

An East County Magazine/KNSJ Radio special report

By Miriam Raftery

February 13, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) – In the wake of a Grand Jury probe into the Grossmont Union High School District’s(GUHSD)  response to a Grand Jury probe, concerns have been raised over the level of oversight provided by the Citizens Bond Oversight Committee. (CBOC)  Listen to our radio interview on this explosive topic with Nick Marinovich, the San Diego Taxpayer Association’s representative on CBOC, Priscilla Schreiber, GUHSD board member, and Michael Waterman, an attorney/journalist who has been seeking answers to pointed questions from CBOC.  (Note: The District and CBOC chair Nancy Herbst declined our interview requests.)

Hear our interview on KNSJ 89.1 FM here, which originally aired February 12, 2014:

Resident submit signatures to unify AUSD, split off from Grossmont District

"How deaf can this CBOC be without being complicit and compliant with the Board Majority’s political bias towards Alpine, as cited by the Grand Jury?”—GUHSD trustee Priscilla Schreiber

By Miriam Raftery;  Janis Mork also contributed to this story

February 1, 2014 (Alpine) – At a contentious meeting of the Grossmont Union High School District (GUHSD) Citizens Bond Oversight Committee (CBOC) on January 30, Chris Loarie testified that the Alpine High School Citizens Committee  (AHSCC) has submitted final signatures to the County Office of Education for unification of the Alpine Union School District (AUSD).  Frustrated by the GUHSD board’s repeated  refusal to build an Alpine high school despite two bond measures for that purpose, Alpine parents aim to bolt from the Grossmont District and expand the AUSD to include high school students and ultimately, build a high school.

Others, including an attorney and a district trustee, are leveling sharp criticism at the CBOC for turning a blind-eye to findings of a Grand Jury report on the District’s failure to fulfill its promises to Alpine voters, a report titled “Fool me once, fool me twice.”  Critics contend that the CBOC has ignored facts and further, that the Chair has exhibited bias  and presented skewed information for oversight committee members.  

Youth focus group shows growing concern

January 5, 2014 (Spring Valley)– “After the assembly we had last week, I went to the bathroom. It was really smoky. I don’t think it was weed. It was hookah or something. I saw it and smelled it and just got out.”

Stories like this were common when students at a local East County high school participated in a focus group last month to discuss current drug trends on their campus, the Grossmont Union High School District reports.

September 30, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – Sprites of East County, a mother-daughter non-profit philanthropic organization, is looking for new members. The organization’s goals include providing volunteer service to local charities, financial assistance to their philanthropies, along with providing scholarships to deserving young girls in the community. Sprites is comprised of mothers and their 7th-12th grade daughters who reside in the Grossmont Union High School District.

Those interested in becoming a “Sprite” can contact membership coordinators Jocelyn Cherin and Emily Waring at contact@spritesofeastcounty.org, on Facebook, and by mail at Sprites of East County Inc., P.O. Box 786, El Cajon, California 92022-0786.

By Doug Deane

August 8, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – As you know, I was the Chairperson for the Grossmont Union High School District’s 2011 Boundary Study, and I appeared as a witness before the Grand Jury's Education Committee on 11/14/12.  I am disappointed by many aspects of the GUHSD's July 25th response to the Grand Jury's report, and as the Boundary Committee Chair, I believe that I have a responsibility to clarify some misstatements and errors in the GUHSD Response to that report.

By Bill Weaver



May  24, 2013 (Alpine--originally written May 14, 2013) -- I am disappointed to report that new information has recently surfaced that indicates that Propositions H and U Bond funds have been grossly misused by the GUHSD, and that this misuse has been the subject of a cover-up by the GUHSD Trustees and Administrative staff.  A "smoking gun" has been discovered that points toward unethical and non-transparent behavior by District staff, presumably under the direction of the Trustees.



You will see from the content in the attachment that District bond construction funds have been mismanaged at best, and GUHSD fiscal policies and decision-making are a train wreck. The attachment shows that the District's ongoing bond management practices and accounting procedures have cheated taxpayers and burdened the district with unsustainable district "OPEX" Operating Expenses.

Eileen Bagg-Rizzo and Randy Cambou to Represent GUHSD in Prestigious San Diego County Teacher of the Year Competition

May 21, 2013 (San Diego’s East County)—At its Governing Board Meeting on Wednesday, April 10, 2013, the Grossmont Union High School District honored Teacher of the Year nominees from its school sites. These nominees are selected by their peers. A panel comprised of previous Teachers of the Year and District personnel selected two representatives from this distinguished group of nominees to be considered for the San Diego County Teacher of the Year competition. If selected to represent the County, the next step is the California State Teacher of the Year competition.

GUHSD 2013-14 Teacher of the Year Nominees:

Critics call action "meaningless"

February 12, 2013 (El Cajon )—Newly elected Grossmont Union High School District Board Trustee Jim Stieringer plans to introduce a resolution on the 12th high school for Alpine at the board meeting at 924 East Main Street, El Cajon.   The public portion of the meeting will begin at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, February 13.

The motion directs the GUHSD to developed modified building plans and submit to the Division of the State Architect  (DSA) –but only after it is determined that the Alpine School District Unification plan is either abandoned or fails to achieve voter approval. In addition, the site and building plans must be modified to stay within the remaining budget.

GUHSD Board Member Jim Kelly led the last 8 years by controlling the Board’s majority; now with a new member, Jim Stieringer, elected, let's review progress of a 12th high school

By Bill Weaver

December 2, 2012 (San Diego's East County)--There is an endless trail of disingenuous acts on behalf the majority on the Grossmont Union High School District (GUHSD) Governing Board; this editorial touches on a few. Let’s reflect on years past. Prop H passed in 2004, authorizing $274 million; the Superintendent and the Board put a 12th new high school in the main summarizing Ballot statement headlining the bond explanation. There was a GUHSD Long Range Facilities Master Plan (LRFMP) dated 2003 that stipulated a 12th high school for "Safety and Overcrowding" reasons.

A Rebuttal to Jim Kelly's guest editorial in ECM

By Bill Weaver, candidate, Grossmont Union High School Board

November 2, 2012 (San Diego’s East County)--Jim Kelly is a blue ribbon fibber. Jim Kelly says, "It is time to answer these misleading, politically-motivated attacks."

I'll say it is--there is only one politically motivated attack agent. It is Jim Kelly who for years has been officially the recruiter for the out of touch extremist right local party that is in charge of ruining the conservative name with its radical right agenda. There is zero validity to Jim Kelly's rebuttal.