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New Sweetwater Union financial officer has controversial past
Folks, I am on the Board of Directors of a charter in the CVESD, and let me tell you they smell blood! They are likely going to start accepting 7th and 8th graders next school year. They recognize the weakness in the high school district, and parents want and deserve better! Im telling you, education now includes competition and choice, and Sweetwater will lose on both of those fronts. The CVESD charters recognize this - 18% of students in our community attend k-8 elementary charters. This number is likely to increase as Sweetwater continues its downward spiral and elementary charters continue to offer parents better quality!! This will lead to reduced revenue at Sweetwater as ada continues to decline.— February 12, 2013 9:44 p.m.
Sweetwater school district’s weird, failed real estate deals
Bbq dont take it personal. Myself and another parent tried for months to hold parent meetings on the Mello Roos and Open Boundaries issues. After numerous attempts, we were able to get about 20-30 parents together for a few meetings. This was after months of working on it. We were ultimately able to draw close to 100 community members at Eastlake High to meet with Brand. So it will take constant work to get this community engaged in large numbers. I will be involved in future meetings you would like to hold - this Monday we had a Boy Scout meeting. Dont give up!— February 12, 2013 9:33 p.m.
Sweetwater school district’s weird, failed real estate deals
So I'm going to play devils advocate for a minute. I do not condone nor endorse Brand nor the trustees. Just something to think about. The district needs to be run more like a business. i know Education is not a business, but if money is involved, you must use sound and fundamental business practices to run any entity. The core business is educating 7-12th grade students. But a lot of things need to happen to make sure that is happening effectively. Lets look at a few things - we will start with the financials. A look at the budget for the last 3 years is very telling. For example, revenues have decreased by about 17% over the last 3 years. Expenses have also been cut dramatically (about $55 million dollars over the last 3 years). This would obviously explain the reduced student services, class size increases, etc. that kids have been experiencing in the district. A closer look at expenses reveals that employee compensation (all employees, not just teachers) makes up the largest expense item. Not unusual in most industries or for most organizations. What is a bit concerning is that employee comp makes up about 80% of expenses , with a 3% INCREASE in the last 3 years. This is much too high as it only leaves 17% to cover the rest of all the many expenses needed to run the district Most would agree that we've pretty much cut to the bone - where else can we cut expenses? Salaries and benefits are under contract, so those are hard to reduce. We need busses, supplies, equipment, maintenance, etc to keep the district going. So what to do? We have a core business thats in demand and is required, but we don't have enough revenue to effectively provide our core business - educating 7-12 grade students. We cant continue to borrow from Mello Roos, Prop O, issue high interest bonds, etc to get us out of this mess. Prop 30 will help, but we cant rely solely on increased taxes to increase revenues. So, how do we increase revenue in education? Well, we increase the number of students coming to our schools. With increased competition from elementary charters and private schools, the district has lost thousands of students, thus the loss of revenue. So, the district needs to consider how to compete to grow enrollment as the status quo is not working! The district needs to get creative to attract students and grow revenues, thus funding smaller class sizes, increased bus routes, better maintenance, more supplies, no teacher layoffs, etc. We need the revenues to make sure our district stays competitive and is the first choice for families in the community. How do we increase revenues? Think outside of the box, offer something better, give choices, options and enticements. The district needs to compete with elementary charters and privates. The elementary district is not a feeder district anymore, its competition! Thoughts?— February 11, 2013 5:21 p.m.
New Sweetwater Union financial officer has controversial past
So im going to play devils advocate for a minute. I do not condone nor endorse Brand nor the trustees. Just something to think about. The district needs to be run more like a business. Many of you will say Education is not a business. I say, if money is involved, you must use sound and fundamental business practices to run any entity. The core business is educating 7-12th grade students. But a lot of things need to happen to make sure that is happening effectively. Lets look at a few things - we will start with the financials. A look at the budget for the last 3 years is very telling. For example, revenues have decreased by about 17% over the last 3 years. Expenses have also been cut dramatically (about $55 million dollars over the last 3 years). This would obviously explain the reduced student services, class size increases, etc. that kids have been experiencing in the district. A closer look at expenses reveals that employee compensation (all employees, not just teachers) makes up the largest expense item. Not unusual in most industry's or for most organizations. What is a bit concerning is that employee comp makes up about 80% of expenses , with a 3% INCREASE in the last 3 years. This is much too high as it only leaves 17% to cover the rest of all the many expenses needed to run the district Most would agree that weve pretty much cut to the bone - where else can we cut expenses? Salaries and benefits are under contract, so those are hard to reduce. We need busses, supplies, equipment, maintenance, etc to keep the district going. So what to do? We have a core business thats in demand and is reqiured to be provided, but we dont have enough revenue to effectively provide our core business - educating 7-12 grade students. We cant continue to borrow from Mello Roos, Prop O, issue high interest bonds, etc to get us out of this mess. Prop 30 will help, but we cant rely solely on taxes to increase revenues. So, how do we increase revenue in education? Well, we increase the number of students coming to our schools. With increased competition from elementary charters and private schools, the district has lost thousands of students, thus the loss of revenue. So, the district needs to consider how to compete to grow enrollment as the status quo is not working! The district needs to get creative to attract students and grow revenues, thus funding smaller class sizes, increased bus routes, better maintenance, more supplies, no teacher layoffs, etc. We need the revenues to make sure our district stays competitive and is the first choice for families in the community. How do we increase revenues? Think outside of the box, offer something better, give choices, options and enticements. The district needs to compete with elementary charters and privates. The elementary district is not a feeder district anymore, its competition! Thoughts?— February 11, 2013 4:52 p.m.
Sweetwater school district’s weird, failed real estate deals
Bbq, open boundaries was another Brand scheme to compete with CVESD k-8 charters, like the ipads, k-12 charter, Grand Canyon U, etc. A number of us residents fought it, and we hope to end this practice for coming years. Its a short term solution to a district wide problem. Its just going to drag the remaining schools that are not in program improvement into program improvement! If this train continues on its current course, we could be one of the first school districts to have every single school in the district on program improvement. Of course, Brand wont care as he will be long gone! But my 3 children in the district, along with thousands of others, will pay the price of all these schemes. We need to keep the pressure on this board and remind them at every board meeting, when we see them in the community, at church, the grocery store, everywhere, that we don't approve of this!— February 8, 2013 1:17 p.m.
Sweetwater school district’s weird, failed real estate deals
If the results in their area of expertise - education - is any indicator, soccer stadiums and apartment complexes are going to be more bad news for our community and taxpayers!— February 8, 2013 1:08 p.m.
Sweetwater school district’s weird, failed real estate deals
This is a concern many of us parents have with the Districts new 'open boundaries' decision, another of Brands schemes. We met with Maria Castilleja and saw Eastlake High's master schedule. Some classes with 40+ students, many hundreds of students transferred in from other areas, furniture having to be transferred into Eastlake, bathrooms not operating, HVAC equip broken down, not enough textbooks or seats in some classes. Her response is that the union negotiated the teacher student ratio! Cmon district you can do better than this!!— February 8, 2013 11:49 a.m.
Sweetwater's gathering storm
If you have concerns call Ed Brand to advise: Superintendent’s Hotline is Open When Tue, February 5, 2:30pm – 4:30pm Where (619) 691-5570 (map) Description Dr. Brand is accepting calls at the Superintendent’s Hotline. If you have a suggestion or concern, call 691-5570 between 2:30 and 4:30 p.m. to talk directly with the superintendent. The hotline is open the first Tuesday of every month. more details» copy to my calendar»— February 4, 2013 5:35 p.m.
New Sweetwater Union financial officer has controversial past
If you have concerns, call Ed Brand to advise: Superintendent’s Hotline is Open When Tue, February 5, 2:30pm – 4:30pm Where (619) 691-5570 (map) Description Dr. Brand is accepting calls at the Superintendent’s Hotline. If you have a suggestion or concern, call 691-5570 between 2:30 and 4:30 p.m. to talk directly with the superintendent. The hotline is open the first Tuesday of every month. more details» copy to my calendar»— February 4, 2013 5:35 p.m.
Sweetwater board votes to open second charter school
If you have concerns, call Ed Brand to advise: Superintendent’s Hotline is Open When Tue, February 5, 2:30pm – 4:30pm Where (619) 691-5570 (map) Description Dr. Brand is accepting calls at the Superintendent’s Hotline. If you have a suggestion or concern, call 691-5570 between 2:30 and 4:30 p.m. to talk directly with the superintendent. The hotline is open the first Tuesday of every month. more details» copy to my calendar»— February 4, 2013 5:34 p.m.