Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed
Big Screen — Movie commentary
Blurt — Music's inside track
Booze News — San Diego spirits
Classical Music — Immortal beauty
Classifieds — Free and easy
Cover Stories — Front-page features
Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes
Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts
Feast! — Food & drink reviews
Feature Stories — Local news & stories
Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore
From the Archives — Spotlight on the past
Golden Dreams — Talk of the town
The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it
Letters — Our inbox
Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites
Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans
Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists
Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news
News Ticker — News & politics
Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated
Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna
Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated
Poetry — The old and the new
Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers
Reading — The hunt for intellectuals
Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails
San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds
SD on the QT — Almost factual news
Sheep and Goats — Places of worship
Special Issues — The best of
Street Style — San Diego streets have style
Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves
Theater — On stage in San Diego this week
Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative
Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work
Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego
Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads
Your Week — Daily event picks
Sweetwater Union HS District Board Meeting Skips Public Comment
You should check the District's by-laws about posting items on the agenda. The agenda is prepared in advance, that is why the Brown Act requires 72 hours prior notice to post the agenda for the public to see. However, I believe there is a requirement that the items be submitted in advance (by some deadline) and so it might be legitimately rebuffed if just 'presented' for consideration at the meeting.— June 15, 2012 9:46 a.m.
Sweetwater Union HS District Board Meeting Skips Public Comment
Reply to Greenville and Bonitaresident: The election for County Office of Education Board was on the June 5 ballot. It was Nealon vs. Rindone. The final 3000 ballots are being counted now, with Nealon with a less than one percent lead (about 875 votes ahead). It looks like she will be the new Board Member for District 2, replacing Rindone. However, I do not know when the swearing in will take place (when she will officilally take office.). In the meantime, surely Rindone might do at least one good deed for the citizens of the South County before he leaves office?— June 15, 2012 9:42 a.m.
Sweetwater Union HS District Board Meeting Skips Public Comment
Good questions eastlaker! It looks like a new board member for the San Diego County of Education will be elected if Lyn Nealon keeps her lead in the vote count for District 2, which covers the South Bay. Perhaps she is the one to ask the big question of the County Superintendent about just how long it will take for the Sweetwater antics to get on that radar screen. If she does win the seat, I am not sure when she will be sworn in. If she does not prevail in the vote count, it would be up to the current holder of the seat on the County Board ( who has past ties to the SUHSD) and who apparently continues to sit on his hands in this matter.— June 14, 2012 4:46 p.m.
Sweetwater Union HS District Board Meeting Skips Public Comment
Eastlaker: go to www.scoe.org/files/statutory_functions.pdf for the full document. Here is just an excerpt: GENERAL DUTIES OF COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS OF SCHOOLS: Education Code § 12402 describes the general statutory duties of the county superintendent. This section was significantly amended by the legislation enacted to implement the settlement of the Williams, et al v. State of California, et al. lawsuit. Section 1240 states that county superintendents shall: (a) Superintend the schools of his or her county. (b) Maintain responsibility for the fiscal oversight of each school district in his or her county.— June 14, 2012 4:14 p.m.
Sweetwater Union HS District Board Meeting Skips Public Comment
Eastlaker: Great info, and kudos for pursuing. I believe, however, that the County Office of Education has a statutory responsbility for oversight (not just the accounting) of the school districts within their jurisdiction. There is some web-based info on role of County Offices of Education per the Ed Code.— June 14, 2012 4:04 p.m.
Sweetwater Union High School District Borrowing on Bond Funds?
I believe the CEO may meet with individual members, even in serial meetings, BUT he/she is prohibited from revealing the position(s) of any of the members to any of the other members. This is a very gray area and is best avoided.— June 14, 2012 2:44 p.m.
Sweetwater Union HS District Board Meeting Skips Public Comment
1)It is my understanding that the County Office of Education has oversight of school districts' financial staus and irregularities, and has the authority to order 'extraordinary' audits of individual districts when necessary. 2)Violations of the Brown Act are violations of a State law and should be brought to the Office of the District Attorney for prosecution.— June 14, 2012 1:33 p.m.
Sweetwater Union HS District Board Meeting Skips Public Comment
WOW! First, they violate the Brown Act on June 11 by not allowing any public comment at an open meeting of a public agency; Next, they re-write the District's By-Laws regarding agenda items, which is again in blatant violation of the Brown Act -- there is nothing in the Brown Act that permits the District to require a 12-month hiatus on any topic before it appears on an agenda again. ANY MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC HAS A RIGHT TO HAVE AN ITEM ON THE AGENDA...PER THE BROWN ACT. Then Dr. Brand has the hubris to talk down to a member of the public who has sought to put an item on the agenda within her absolute rights under the Brown Act? I am aghast, as should be everyone in the District's boundaries. The Brown Act is law, and violations should be investigated by Grand Jury and DA. With regard to finances, the County Office of Education has the option to order up an 'extraordinary audit'....why haven't they?— June 13, 2012 10:13 p.m.
Sweetwater Union High School District Borrowing on Bond Funds?
Whoa! The meeting of 6/11 was *recessed prior to Public Comment* !!!! So the public was denied its Brown Act rights to be heard during an open meeting of a public agency???? As of today (6/12) there is no notice of a resumption of the 'recessed' meeting of 6/11. And who is Dr. Brand to 'decide' that he only agrees to place an item on the agenda (his quote in UT article) only if and when he has the ok of three board members? That smacks of collusion of board members, which is absolutely prohibited by the Brown Act. He just does not have any authority to do that. Further, the Brown Act, as well as the SUHSD own by laws, stipulate that any member of the board (singular) or any member (singular) of the public may provide agenda items. Please call in the 'Brown Act' police here and arrest Dr. Brand and Co. There are flagrant violations here.— June 12, 2012 1:59 p.m.
Sweetwater Boardmember John McCann Calls Cops on Recall Activist
One has to wonder what McCann actually DOES for a living to support Mrs. MC and the four little ones. The stipend board members receive has a legal maximum and is minimal. Even with the benefits package (most board members of public agencies receive the same package afforded employees) it must be difficult to make ends meet in the McCann household. He may also be eligible for some pay as a member of the reserves? That is probably why John is reported to want the CV mayors job, because it pays pretty well I think-- maybe around $100K, plus benefits, of course. Certainly an improvement over the SUHSD board stipend, whatever it is. Any day now, all California public agencies must report to the public how much each and every person on their payroll earns, including all pension contributions made by the agency, and benefits. His name should show up on the SUHSD list along with the other board members. Sometimes the board members take 'cash in lieu' of the benefits if they are already covered, but I believe that data must also be included in these new required reports. (One must also wonder about Cartmill's source(s) of income from other sources. We know that Ricassa has --albeit is now on admin. leave-- a full-time well-paying job at Southwestern. She may be taking 'cash in lieu from Sweetwater as well. ) I believe the reporting form 700 must list sources of income -- except public agency employment -- as well as the 'gifts'. McCann seems quite angry, acting as if someone is taking something away from him. He seems not to understand that elected public officials do not 'own' their positions; rather they serve at the public's will. The recall process is in place precisely as a mechanism for the public to remove elected officials who do not measure up.— April 21, 2012 5:53 p.m.