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San Diego Unified School District, California
| San Diego Unified School District |
|---|
 |
| San Diego, California |
| District details |
| Superintendent: Cindy Marten |
| # of school board members: 5 |
| Website: Link |
San Diego Unified School District is a school district in California that served 130,270 students during the 2012-2013 school year.[1] This district was the second-largest school district by enrollment in California.
About the district
San Diego Unified School District is located in southern California in San Diego County. The city of San Diego is the county seat. San Diego County was home to 3,299,521 residents in 2015, according to the United States Census Bureau.[2]
Demographics
San Diego County outperformed in comparison to California as a whole in terms of higher education achievement in the years 2010 to 2014. The United States Census Bureau found that 35.1 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 31 percent of state residents. The median household income for San Diego County was $63,996, compared to $61,489 for the state. The percentage of people below poverty level for the coutny was 14.7 percent, while it was 16.4 percent for the state.[2]
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Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.
Superintendent
 |
This information is updated as we become aware of changes. Please contact us with any updates. |
Cindy Marten is the superintendent of the San Diego Unified School District. Marten was appointed superintendent in March 2013. Marten's previous career experience includes working as a teacher, principal, and literacy specialist.[4]
School board elections
The San Diego Unified Board of Education consists of five members serving four-year terms.[5]
| Office | Name | Date assumed office |
|---|---|---|
| San Diego Unified School District Board of Education District A | Sabrina Bazzo | December 11, 2020 |
| San Diego Unified School District Board of Education District B | Shana Hazan | December 9, 2022 |
| San Diego Unified School District Board of Education District C | Cody Petterson | December 9, 2022 |
| San Diego Unified School District Board of Education District D | Richard Barrera | 2008 |
| San Diego Unified School District Board of Education District E | Sharon Whitehurst-Payne | 2016 |
| |
This officeholder information was last updated on October 21, 2020. Please contact us with any updates. | |
Election dates
Members of the San Diego Unified Board of Education are elected by district to four-year terms. Seats are up for election on a staggered basis every even-numbered year.
A primary election was scheduled for March 3, 2020. A general election was scheduled for November 3, 2020.
Public participation in board meetings
The San Diego Unified Board of Education does not maintain published guidelines regarding public participation in board meetings.
Budget
From 1993 to 2013, the San Diego Unified School District had an average of $1,223,324,619 in revenue and $1,247,096,857 in expenditures, according to the United States Census Bureau's survey of school system finances. The district had a yearly average of $908,120,333 in outstanding debt. The district retired $44,952,429 of its debt and issued $152,532,667 in new debt each year on average.[6]
Revenue
The table below separates the district's revenue into the three sources identified by the agency: local, state, and federal.
| Revenue by Source | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fiscal Year |
Local | State | Federal | Revenue Total | |||||||
| Total | % of Revenue | Total | % of Revenue | Total | % of Revenue | ||||||
| Click [show] on the right to display the revenue data for prior years. | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | $333,296,000 | 46.94% | $319,331,000 | 44.97% | $57,406,000 | 8.08% | $710,033,000 | ||||
| 1994 | $378,619,000 | 51.45% | $297,470,000 | 40.42% | $59,809,000 | 8.13% | $735,898,000 | ||||
| 1995 | $369,778,000 | 49.91% | $309,152,000 | 41.72% | $62,022,000 | 8.37% | $740,952,000 | ||||
| 1996 | $380,075,000 | 47.24% | $359,616,000 | 44.70% | $64,883,000 | 8.06% | $804,574,000 | ||||
| 1997 | $380,255,000 | 43.69% | $422,151,000 | 48.51% | $67,855,000 | 7.80% | $870,261,000 | ||||
| 1998 | $431,946,000 | 43.96% | $472,515,000 | 48.09% | $78,081,000 | 7.95% | $982,542,000 | ||||
| 1999 | $438,379,000 | 44.21% | $466,380,000 | 47.04% | $86,720,000 | 8.75% | $991,479,000 | ||||
| 2000 | $562,279,000 | 47.09% | $511,942,000 | 42.88% | $119,748,000 | 10.03% | $1,193,969,000 | ||||
| 2001 | $562,336,000 | 43.84% | $619,909,000 | 48.33% | $100,393,000 | 7.83% | $1,282,638,000 | ||||
| 2002 | $594,700,000 | 45.28% | $603,551,000 | 45.95% | $115,128,000 | 8.77% | $1,313,379,000 | ||||
| 2003 | $671,538,000 | 44.27% | $683,055,000 | 45.03% | $162,374,000 | 10.70% | $1,516,967,000 | ||||
| 2004 | $648,552,000 | 46.13% | $599,294,000 | 42.62% | $158,168,000 | 11.25% | $1,406,014,000 | ||||
| 2005 | $614,410,000 | 46.14% | $575,637,000 | 43.22% | $141,702,000 | 10.64% | $1,331,749,000 | ||||
| 2006 | $677,825,000 | 48.27% | $566,739,000 | 40.36% | $159,576,000 | 11.36% | $1,404,140,000 | ||||
| 2007 | $718,141,000 | 44.41% | $754,229,000 | 46.64% | $144,726,000 | 8.95% | $1,617,096,000 | ||||
| 2008 | $792,500,000 | 50.78% | $623,080,000 | 39.93% | $144,969,000 | 9.29% | $1,560,549,000 | ||||
| 2009 | $781,096,000 | 51.67% | $529,738,000 | 35.04% | $200,987,000 | 13.29% | $1,511,821,000 | ||||
| 2010 | $728,765,000 | 51.87% | $476,872,000 | 33.94% | $199,441,000 | 14.19% | $1,405,078,000 |
| 2011 | $703,017,000 | 47.69% | $554,916,000 | 37.64% | $216,241,000 | 14.67% | $1,474,174,000 |
| 2012 | $738,625,000 | 52.43% | $508,108,000 | 36.07% | $162,054,000 | 11.50% | $1,408,787,000 |
| 2013 | $831,765,000 | 58.26% | $431,908,000 | 30.25% | $164,044,000 | 11.49% | $1,427,717,000 |
| Avg. | $587,518,905 | 47.88% | $508,837,762 | 42.06% | $126,967,952 | 10.05% | $1,223,324,619 |
Expenditures
The table below separates the district's expenditures into five categories identified by the agency:
- Instruction: operation expenditures, state payments on behalf of the district for instruction and benefits, and retirement system transfers
- Support Services: support services, food services, and retirement system transfers for support service staff
- Capital Spending: capital outlay expenditures (i.e., construction, land or facilities purchases, and equipment purchases)
- Debt & Gov. Payments: payments to state and local governments and interest on school system debt
- Other: all other non-K-12 programs, except food services
| Expenditures by Category | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fiscal Year |
Instruction | Support Services | Capital Spending | Debt & Gov. Payments | Other | Budget Total | |||||
| Total | % of Budget | Total | % of Budget | Total | % of Budget | Total | % of Budget | Total | % of Budget | ||
| Click [show] on the right to display the expenditure data for prior years. | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | $386,277,000 | 55.99% | $263,173,000 | 38.15% | $23,034,000 | 3.34% | $147,000 | 0.02% | $17,220,000 | 2.50% | $689,851,000 |
| 1994 | $381,526,000 | 53.06% | $273,179,000 | 37.99% | $46,282,000 | 6.44% | $132,000 | 0.02% | $17,991,000 | 2.50% | $719,110,000 |
| 1995 | $377,380,000 | 51.89% | $267,057,000 | 36.72% | $46,361,000 | 6.37% | $2,140,000 | 0.29% | $34,368,000 | 4.73% | $727,306,000 |
| 1996 | $413,521,000 | 51.72% | $281,099,000 | 35.16% | $62,350,000 | 7.80% | $2,084,000 | 0.26% | $40,441,000 | 5.06% | $799,495,000 |
| 1997 | $425,393,000 | 51.68% | $301,275,000 | 36.60% | $41,546,000 | 5.05% | $53,632,000 | 6.52% | $1,234,000 | 0.15% | $823,080,000 |
| 1998 | $481,752,000 | 55.03% | $324,567,000 | 37.08% | $43,324,000 | 4.95% | $24,429,000 | 2.79% | $1,348,000 | 0.15% | $875,420,000 |
| 1999 | $510,447,000 | 53.39% | $337,108,000 | 35.26% | $102,514,000 | 10.72% | $4,042,000 | 0.42% | $1,886,000 | 0.20% | $955,997,000 |
| 2000 | $598,728,000 | 52.14% | $353,346,000 | 30.77% | $189,057,000 | 16.46% | $3,902,000 | 0.34% | $3,252,000 | 0.28% | $1,148,285,000 |
| 2001 | $672,673,000 | 52.18% | $391,945,000 | 30.40% | $208,520,000 | 16.17% | $12,375,000 | 0.96% | $3,748,000 | 0.29% | $1,289,261,000 |
| 2002 | $694,027,000 | 48.70% | $424,803,000 | 29.81% | $283,065,000 | 19.86% | $19,152,000 | 1.34% | $4,144,000 | 0.29% | $1,425,191,000 |
| 2003 | $726,516,000 | 42.72% | $492,008,000 | 28.93% | $443,830,000 | 26.10% | $31,629,000 | 1.86% | $6,640,000 | 0.39% | $1,700,623,000 |
| 2004 | $667,131,000 | 42.64% | $478,131,000 | 30.56% | $361,745,000 | 23.12% | $50,810,000 | 3.25% | $6,831,000 | 0.44% | $1,564,648,000 |
| 2005 | $671,895,000 | 45.24% | $499,852,000 | 33.66% | $248,004,000 | 16.70% | $61,780,000 | 4.16% | $3,549,000 | 0.24% | $1,485,080,000 |
| 2006 | $719,740,000 | 46.97% | $515,042,000 | 33.61% | $223,475,000 | 14.58% | $71,290,000 | 4.65% | $2,688,000 | 0.18% | $1,532,235,000 |
| 2007 | $760,560,000 | 47.44% | $554,702,000 | 34.60% | $215,917,000 | 13.47% | $69,076,000 | 4.31% | $2,894,000 | 0.18% | $1,603,149,000 |
| 2008 | $758,822,000 | 49.98% | $596,949,000 | 39.31% | $87,015,000 | 5.73% | $72,656,000 | 4.79% | $2,939,000 | 0.19% | $1,518,381,000 |
| 2009 | $759,065,000 | 51.20% | $572,738,000 | 38.63% | $72,184,000 | 4.87% | $74,828,000 | 5.05% | $3,707,000 | 0.25% | $1,482,522,000 |
| 2010 | $727,698,000 | 48.62% | $542,888,000 | 36.27% | $146,868,000 | 9.81% | $75,588,000 | 5.05% | $3,575,000 | 0.24% | $1,496,617,000 |
| 2011 | $737,523,000 | 49.65% | $514,984,000 | 34.67% | $151,487,000 | 10.20% | $78,780,000 | 5.30% | $2,616,000 | 0.18% | $1,485,390,000 |
| 2012 | $724,011,000 | 50.67% | $486,113,000 | 34.02% | $159,838,000 | 11.19% | $55,574,000 | 3.89% | $3,368,000 | 0.24% | $1,428,904,000 |
| 2013 | $727,756,000 | 50.59% | $493,294,000 | 34.29% | $161,155,000 | 11.20% | $53,303,000 | 3.71% | $2,981,000 | 0.21% | $1,438,489,000 |
| Avg. | $615,354,333 | 50.07% | $426,869,190 | 34.60% | $157,979,571 | 11.63% | $38,921,381 | 2.81% | $7,972,381 | 0.90% | $1,247,096,857 |
Debt
The table below shows the amount of debt retired, issued, and outstanding in the district for each year.
| Debt | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fiscal Year |
Retired | Issued | Outstanding |
| Click [show] on the right to display the debt data for prior years. | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | $450,000 | $0 | $1,025,000 |
| 1994 | $500,000 | $0 | $525,000 |
| 1995 | $525,000 | $0 | $0 |
| 1996 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| 1997 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| 1998 | $126,330,000 | $10,195,000 | $371,360,000 |
| 1999 | $27,000 | $139,995,000 | $157,946,000 |
| 2000 | $17,903,000 | $0 | $140,043,000 |
| 2001 | $56,215,000 | $149,999,000 | $527,983,000 |
| 2002 | $64,655,000 | $199,996,000 | $588,164,000 |
| 2003 | $0 | $274,995,000 | $765,009,000 |
| 2004 | $25,945,000 | $349,994,000 | $1,089,058,000 |
| 2005 | $66,598,000 | $199,996,000 | $1,250,453,000 |
| 2006 | $38,082,000 | $195,025,000 | $1,513,202,000 |
| 2007 | $302,244,000 | $279,970,000 | $1,503,767,000 |
| 2008 | $34,330,000 | $13,132,000 | $1,485,195,000 |
| 2009 | $36,480,000 | $183,052,000 | $1,631,766,000 |
| 2010 | $38,645,000 | $11,916,000 | $1,605,037,000 |
| 2011 | $41,145,000 | $174,867,000 | $1,703,914,000 |
| 2012 | $52,027,000 | $454,152,000 | $2,106,039,000 |
| 2013 | $41,900,000 | $565,902,000 | $2,630,041,000 |
| Avg. | $44,952,429 | $152,532,667 | $908,120,333 |
Teacher salaries
San Diego Unified School District employed 7,060 K-12 teachers during the 2011-2012 school year.[1] Teacher salaries are categorized based on higher education achievement, professional development and years of service. A teacher with a bachelor's degree can earn higher salaries by pursuing graduate courses with raises at credit intervals. The salary schedule also accounts for graduate degrees by providing higher starting salaries and greater potential salaries. The following table details the salary schedule negotiated between the district and the California Teachers Association (CTA) for 2013-2014:[7]
| Salary structure | ||
|---|---|---|
| Degree level | Minimum salary ($) | Maximum salary ($) |
| B.A. | 39,982 | 63,187 |
| B.A. + 36 or M.A. | 42,422 | 67,896 |
| B.A. + 60 or B.A. + 54 w/ M.A. | 44,863 | 72,696 |
| B.A. + 72 w/ M.A. | 47,302 | 77,588 |
| B.A. + 90 w/ M.A. | 49,743 | 82,577 |
Schools in San Diego Unified School District
Enrollment
San Diego Unified School District served 130,270 students during the 2012-2013 school year. San Diego Unified School District does not publicly archive enrollment data.[1]
District schools
San Diego Unified School District operates 226 schools listed below in alphabetical order:[8]
| San Diego Unified School District | ||
|---|---|---|
| School Name | ||
| Adams Elementary | ||
| ALBA | ||
| Albert Einstein Academy Charter Middle | ||
| Alcott Elementary | ||
| America's Finest Charter | ||
| Angier Elementary | ||
| Arroyo Paseo Charter High | ||
| Audeo Charter | ||
| Audubon K-8 | ||
| Baker Elementary | ||
| Balboa Elementary | ||
| Barnard Elementary | ||
| Bay Park Elementary | ||
| Bayview Terrace Elementary | ||
| Bell Middle | ||
| Benchley/Weinberger Elementary | ||
| Bethune K-8 | ||
| Bird Rock Elementary | ||
| Birney Elementary | ||
| Boone Elementary | ||
| Cabrillo Elementary | ||
| Cadman Elementary | ||
| Carson Elementary | ||
| Carver Elementary | ||
| Central Elementary | ||
| Challenger Middle | ||
| Charter School of San Diego | ||
| Chavez Elementary | ||
| Cherokee Point Elementary | ||
| Chesterton Elementary | ||
| Chollas/Mead Elementary | ||
| City Heights Preparatory Charter | ||
| Clairemont High | ||
| Clark Middle | ||
| Clay Elementary | ||
| Coleman Tech Charter High | ||
| Correia Middle | ||
| Crawford High | ||
| Creative, Performing, and Media Arts | ||
| Crown Point Elementary | ||
| Cubberley Elementary | ||
| Curie Elementary | ||
| Dailard Elementary | ||
| Dana | ||
| Darnall Charter | ||
| De Portola Middle | ||
| Dewey Elementary | ||
| Dingeman Elementary | ||
| Doyle Elementary | ||
| Emerson/Bandini Elementary | ||
| Edison Elementary | ||
| Einstein Academy | ||
| Encanto Elementary | ||
| Ericson Elementary | ||
| Euclid Elementary | ||
| Evangeline Roberts Institute of Learning | ||
| Explorer Elementary | ||
| Farb Middle | ||
| Fay Elementary | ||
| Field Elementary | ||
| Fletcher Elementary | ||
| Florence Elementary | ||
| Foster Elementary | ||
| Franklin Elementary | ||
| Freese Elementary | ||
| Fulton K-8 | ||
| Gage Elementary | ||
| Garfield Elementary | ||
| Garfield High | ||
| Golden Hill K-8 | ||
| Gompers Preparatory Academy | ||
| Grant K-8 | ||
| Green Elementary | ||
| Hage Elementary | ||
| Hamilton Elementary | ||
| Hancock Elementary | ||
| Hardy Elementary | ||
| Harriet Tubman Village Charter | ||
| Hawthorne Elementary | ||
| Health Sciences High | ||
| Hurst Elementary | ||
| Henry High | ||
| Hickman Elementary | ||
| High Tech High | ||
| High Tech High International | ||
| High Tech High Media Arts | ||
| High Tech Middle | ||
| High Tech Middle Media Arts | ||
| Holly Drive Leadership Academy | ||
| Holmes Elementary | ||
| Home & Hosp/Transition Support | ||
| Hoover High | ||
| Horton Elementary | ||
| Ibarra Elementary | ||
| Iftin Charter | ||
| Iftin University Prep High | ||
| iHigh Virtual Academy | ||
| Innovation Middle | ||
| Innovations Academy | ||
| Jefferson Elementary | ||
| Jerabek Elementary | ||
| John Muir | ||
| Johnson Elementary | ||
| Jones Elementary | ||
| Joyner Elementary | ||
| Juarez Elementary | ||
| Kearny Construction Tech | ||
| Kearny Digital Media & Design | ||
| Kearny International Business | ||
| Kearny SCT | ||
| Keiller Leadership Academy | ||
| Kimbrough Elementary | ||
| King-Chavez Academy of Excellence | ||
| King-Chavez Arts Academy | ||
| King-Chavez Athletics Academy | ||
| King-Chavez Community High | ||
| King-Chavez Preparatory Academy | ||
| King-Chavez Primary Academy | ||
| KIPP Adelante Preparatory Academy | ||
| Knox Middle | ||
| Kumeyaay Elementary | ||
| La Jolla Elementary | ||
| La Jolla High | ||
| Lafayette Elementary | ||
| Language Academy | ||
| Learning Choice Academy | ||
| Lee Elementary | ||
| Lewis Middle | ||
| Lincoln High | ||
| Linda Vista Elementary | ||
| Lindbergh/Schweitzer Elementary | ||
| Logan K-8 | ||
| Loma Portal Elementary | ||
| Longfellow K-8 | ||
| Madison High | ||
| Magnolia Science Academy San Diego | ||
| Mann Middle | ||
| Marshall Elementary | ||
| Marshall Middle | ||
| Marston Middle | ||
| Marvin Elementary | ||
| Mason Elementary | ||
| McGill School of Success | ||
| McKinley Elementary | ||
| Memorial Scholars & Athletes | ||
| Millennial Tech Middle | ||
| Miller Elementary | ||
| Mira Mesa High | ||
| Miramar Ranch Elementary | ||
| Mission Bay High | ||
| Montgomery Middle | ||
| Morse High | ||
| Mt. Everest Academy | ||
| Muirlands Middle | ||
| Museum | ||
| Normal Heights Elementary | ||
| Nubia Leadership Academy | ||
| Nye Elementary | ||
| Oak Park Elementary | ||
| Ocean Beach Elementary | ||
| Old Town Academy K-8 Charter | ||
| Pacific American Academy | ||
| Pacific Beach Elementary | ||
| Pacific Beach Middle | ||
| Paradise Hills Elementary | ||
| Penn Elementary | ||
| Perkins K-8 | ||
| Perry Elementary | ||
| Pershing Middle | ||
| Point Loma High | ||
| Porter Elementary | ||
| Preuss School UCSD | ||
| Riley/New Dawn | ||
| Rodriguez Elementary | ||
| Rolando Park Elementary | ||
| Roosevelt International Middle | ||
| Rosa Parks Elementary | ||
| Ross Elementary | ||
| Rowan Elementary | ||
| San Diego Business | ||
| San Diego Cooperative Charter | ||
| San Diego Early/Middle College | ||
| San Diego Global Vision Academy | ||
| San Diego Global Vision Academy Middle | ||
| San Diego International Studies | ||
| San Diego LEADS | ||
| San Diego Metro Career and Tech | ||
| San Diego MVP Arts | ||
| San Diego Science and Technology | ||
| San Diego SCPA | ||
| Sandburg Elementary | ||
| Scripps Elementary | ||
| Scripps Ranch High | ||
| Sequoia Elementary | ||
| Serra High | ||
| Sessions Elementary | ||
| Sherman Elementary | ||
| Silver Gate Elementary | ||
| Spreckels Elementary | ||
| Standley Middle | ||
| Sunset View Elementary | ||
| Taft Middle | ||
| The O'Farrell Charter | ||
| Tierrasanta Elementary | ||
| Toler Elementary | ||
| Torrey Pines Elementary | ||
| TRACE | ||
| Twain High | ||
| University City High | ||
| Urban Discovery Academy Charter | ||
| Valencia Park Elementary | ||
| Vista Grande Elementary | ||
| Walker Elementary | ||
| Wangenheim Middle | ||
| Washington Elementary | ||
| Webster Elementary | ||
| Wegeforth Elementary | ||
| Whitman Elementary | ||
| Whittier K-12 | ||
| Wilson Middle | ||
| Zamorano Elementary | ||
Academic performance
California STAR program
California's Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) program, which includes the California Standards Tests (CST), the California Modified Assessment (CMA) and the California Alternate Performance Assessment (CAPA), measures the achievement of California content standards for grades two through 11. STAR results include English-language arts and mathematics in grades two through 11, science in grades five and eight through 11 and history-social science in grades eight, 10 and 11. In high school, math and science tests reflect the course in which the student is enrolled. There are five benchmarks to indicate a student's proficiency on STAR. "Proficient" or "Advanced" indicates that a student is meeting or exceeding state standards, which is the desired achievement goal for all students.[9]
| STAR Results, % of Proficient/Advanced Students, 2012-2013 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Subject | District (%) | State average (%) |
| English-Language Arts | 59 | 55 |
| Mathematics | 51 | 50 |
| Science | 63 | 59 |
| History - Social Science | 50 | 49 |
Issues
District one of 100 to pursue socioeconomic integration
The San Diego Unified School District was included in a list of 100 school districts pursuing socioeconomic integration. The school districts, which included 13 other California school districts and charter schools, were listed in a report published by the Century Foundation, a "progressive, nonpartisan think tank that seeks to foster opportunity, reduce inequality, and promote security at home and abroad," according to its website. The report showed that socioeconomic integration grew from two schools in 1996, when the foundation first started researching the issue, to 100 in October 2016, when the report was published. Richard Kahlenberg, a senior fellow at the Century Foundation, praised the U.S. Department of Education for offering incentives for school districts to voluntarily use socioeconomic integration.[10][11]
The Century Foundation's report came five months after data released by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) in May 2016 showed schools across the country had been largely resegregated. The data showed that "the number of high-poverty schools serving primarily black and brown students more than doubled between 2001 and 2014," according to The Washington Post.[12]
The GAO said that those high-poverty schools did not offer students the same access to opportunities that other schools did and were also more likely to expel or suspend students for disciplinary issues. The rise of resegregation began in the 1990s when school districts that had integrated were released from court-ordered mandates. The student population in the United States also changed, becoming less white and affluent.[12]
A 2007 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court stopped school districts from assigning students to schools based on race. Those in favor of integrating schools turned to a different integration method: using the socioeconomic status of students.[10]
District sues charter schools
The San Diego Unified School District joined a lawsuit against the Julian Union Elementary School District in June 2016. The lawsuit was originally filed in 2015 by the Grossmont Union High School District after Julian Union Elementary authorized the creation of satellite charter schools outside of the district's boundaries. Both San Diego Unified and Grossmont Union High had charter schools opened within their boundaries without their knowledge and without listing the addresses of the charter schools on their petitions, according to the lawsuit.[13]
Julian Union Elementary received a portion of its authorized charter schools' revenue for providing oversight. By opening charter schools outside of its boundaries, it also did not lose students or the state funding attached to them. Julian Union Elementary Superintendent Brian Duffy did not comment on the lawsuit, but he said, "Julian Union School District strives to provide the best programs for students."[13]
The satellite charter schools in the Grossmont Union High and San Diego Unified school districts were set up as resource centers, which kept students in classrooms less than 80 percent of the time. Officials in the San Diego Unified School District, however, said they did not believe the charters were acting as resource centers. “We don’t believe they are resource centers,” said Andra Donovan, San Diego Unified’s general counsel. “If you want to operate a charter in San Diego Unified, apply to San Diego Unified. You’ve got a school district that’s relying on charter school revenue to stay afloat.”[13]
“When another school district authorizes a charter that goes and operates in our boundaries and without our approval, we are no longer completely overseeing education in our boundaries,” said Grossmont Union's deputy superintendent of business services Scott Patterson. “It gets into accountability. Grossmont taxpayers are paying taxes that are going to Julian.”[13]
The California Charter Schools Association responded to the lawsuit by saying the Grossmont Union High and San Diego Unified school districts did not understand the law. The association said the charter schools named in the lawsuit were "non-classroom-based schools that by law may locate outside of the the [sic] district that authorizes them."[14]
| “ | The issue here is simple: what's best for students and for learning? The issue is not: what's the best way to keep fueling an antiquated system? If students' educational needs met aren't being met by the traditional system, they deserve to access programs that will meet their needs. Building barriers to prevent them from doing so is simply wrong.
It is time to put politics aside and support parents and students who seek alternatives to the status quo. These schools are not breaking the law. They are doing exactly what the charter law envisioned: providing flexibility, choice, and above all, better options for students and families.[15] |
” |
| —California Charter Schools Association (June 28, 2016)[14] | ||
On October 17, 2016, the California Third District Court of Appeal ruled in favor of the Anderson Union High School District in a similar lawsuit as the one filed by San Diego Unified and Grossmont Union High. The court determined that charter schools could not legally expand by opening satellite campuses outside of their authorizing school district. “This ruling fully supports our position," said Donovan.[16]
Ricardo Soto, general counsel for the California Charter Schools Association, said he was disappointed by the ruling. He also said, “It’s going to have a really significant impact on tens of thousands of students and their families that depend on the charters schools that operate those resource centers.”[16]
In January 2017, the California Supreme Court declined to review the appellate court's decision, leaving the ruling in place.[17] The California Charter Schools Association advised charters with satellite campuses outside of their authorizing school district to "seek a new charter agreement from the school district where the resource centers are located to avoid having students and families travel longer distances to continue attending the schools.”[18]
In April 2017, Judge Donal Donnelly ruled in favor of the Grossmont Union High and San Diego Unified school districts and ordered the satellite charter schools to close by June 30, 2017. The California State Board of Education, however, granted the schools a waiver, allowing them to close in 2018.[19]
Charter school sues district
A charter school called the Evangeline Roberts Institute of Learning sued the San Diego Unified School District in June 2016 after its charter was revoked. Officials of the charter school filed the lawsuit in order to seek an injunction to stop the district from shutting down the school. The lawsuit said the district violated the law when staff decided the fate of the charter school rather than the elected school board.[20] The judge ruled in favor of the charter school, allowing it to remain open for the 2016-2017 school year.[21]
The Evangeline Roberts Institute of Learning was opened in 2011 with a five-year charter. In order to renew the charter, the school had to meet eight criteria set by San Diego Unified, including renewing its nonprofit status and meeting performance benchmarks. According to the agreement reached by the school and the district, the Evangeline Roberts Institute of Learning had until June 15, 2016, to meet the criteria. If it did not, it had to "voluntarily surrender" its petition for renewal.[20]
The charter school filed the lawsuit against the district after San Diego Unified staff determined the school had not met the eight criteria. The lawsuit said that district staff did not have "the authority to make final judgments on the opening and closing of charter schools," according to the San Diego Reader.[20]
The lawsuit also said that the Evangeline Roberts Institute of Learning did meet the necessary criteria to renew its charter. It said district staff had failed to verify the performance benchmarks by the deadline.[20]
Former board member's misdemeanor plea bargain leads to new ethics policy
In March 2016, the San Diego Unified Board of Education unanimously approved a new ethics policy plan for the district. The plan was co-authored by Board President John Lee Evans and Board Vice President Richard Barrera and came one month after former board member Marne Foster pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and resigned from the board.[22][23]
Foster pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of accepting illegal gifts as a public official after she accepted over $3,000 in funding from a philanthropist for her son to attend a youth theater camp. The funding gift was over the $460 threshold a public official is allowed to accept from a single source in a calendar year. As part of her plea, Foster was put on probation, required to do community service, and forbidden from running for public office for four years.[23][24]
Though the acceptance of an illegal gift was the only charge filed against Foster, allegations that she had used her position as board member for personal gain had also been made. The allegations included pressuring San Diego Unified Superintendent Cindy Marten to remove the principal of the School of Creative and Performing Arts where Foster's sons attended, meddling in other personnel decisions at the school in alleged retribution for actions taken against her sons, holding a private fundraiser to raise money for her sons and inviting people through her professional contacts, and enrolling her son in the district's subsidized lunch program even though her income level disqualified him from joining the program.[23][24]
“We must hold ourselves to a high standard,” Evans said at a press conference before the board voted on the new ethics policy plan. “It is unacceptable and contrary to the mission of the school district for any one board member to give the public cause to question our integrity.”[22]
The ethics policy plan set up a process for the superintendent to inform the full board if an individual member attempted to interfere in the operation of the school district and to inform the public if the behavior continued. It also set up a way for district employees to notify the superintendent of a board member's interference without risk of retaliation. The policy also required new board members to go through ethics and conflict of interest training within 60 days of taking office, and it required board members who were parents of students in the district to meet with staff at their students' schools to draw a clear line between their actions as parents and their actions as board members. The board began their first ethics training session a week after the plan was approved.[22]
Contact information
San Diego Unified School District
4100 Normal Street
San Diego, CA 92103
Phone: (619) 725-8000
See also
| California | School Board Elections | News and Analysis |
|---|---|---|
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 |
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External links
- San Diego Unified School District
- California Teachers Association
- San Diego County, California
- California Department of Education
- California School Board Association
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Education Data Partnership, "San Diego Unified School District," accessed April 24, 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 United States Census Bureau, "Quickfacts: San Diego County, California," accessed June 2, 2016
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Report of Registration as of January 5, 2016 - Registration by County," accessed June 2, 2016
- ↑ San Diego Unified School District, "Superintendent Cindy Marten," accessed April 24, 2014
- ↑ San Diego Unified School District, "Board of Education," accessed April 22, 2014
- ↑ United States Census Bureau, "Public School System Finances: Historical Data," accessed December 1, 2015
- ↑ San Diego Unified School District, "ANNUAL SALARY RATES 183-DAY CONTRACT YEAR," accessed April 24, 2014
- ↑ San Diego Unified School District, "School Directory," accessed April 24, 2014
- ↑ Education Data Partnership, "Student Performance - 2012-2013 San Diego Unified School District," accessed April 21, 2014
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 The Washington Post, "These are the 100 U.S. school districts that are actively pursuing socioeconomic integration," October 14, 2016
- ↑ The Century Foundation, "About the Century Foundation," accessed October 18, 2016
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 The Washington Post, "On the anniversary of Brown v. Board, new evidence that U.S. schools are resegregating," May 17, 2016
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 The San Diego Union-Tribune, "Julian charter schools under fire," June 27, 2016
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 California Charter Schools Association, "CCSA Responds to Misguided Lawsuit Against Non-Classroom-Based Charters," June 28, 2016
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 San Diego Union Tribune, "Court ruling limits storefront charter schools," October 17, 2016
- ↑ San Diego Union Tribune, "Supreme Court lets stand ruling against satellite charters," January 18, 2017
- ↑ San Diego Union Tribune, "Supreme Court forces cooperation among satellite charters, districts," January 21, 2017
- ↑ The San Diego Union-Tribune, "SD Unified victorious in Julian, Point Loma lawsuits," June 30, 2017
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 San Diego Reader, "Encanto charter school, facing shutdown, files lawsuit," July 1, 2016
- ↑ Facebook, "The Evangeline Roberts Institute of Learning (ERIL) post from August 3, 2016," accessed December 28, 2016
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 Times of San Diego, "San Diego Unified Tightens Ethics Policy in Wake of Foster Resignation," March 9, 2016
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 Voice of San Diego, "What Brought Marne Foster Down," February 2, 2016
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 San Diego Union Tribune, "Philanthropist gift at center of Foster plea," February 2, 2016
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