The VC-Pauma Unified School District (VCPUSD) has lost over $4 million in the last four years due to declining enrollment and state budget cuts, and hopes to avoid even more cuts this year.
Pam Moe, VCPUSD’s financial director, will give a presentation at Thursday night’s board meeting on the current budget situation in Sacramento and how that is affecting the district’s educational efforts.
The board will vote on a resolution asking that the state make no more cuts to the education budget.
During those four years of cuts the district moved from having a 3% reserve, which is the lowest reserve allowed by state law, to an 11.7%.
“We’ve been cutting our budget but this shows how well we’ve managed our budget so we are prepared for these current cuts,” Supt. Lou Obermeyer told The Roadrunner this week.
However, if the cuts to the budget that the legislature is contemplating are adopted, the district’s reserves will be brought down to 8% and if the trend continues that would take the district to 2.7% reserves.
Education’s share of the state budget is nearly half, with K-12 education accounting for nearly a third of the total budget. So it is likely that VCPUSD faces more cuts this year.
However, Dr. Obermeyer is joining other superintendents in supporting Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s proposal that district’s temporarily (for possibly the next two years) be given the authority to spend categorical funding any way they see fit.
Categorical funding is normally tightly restricted to the programs they are intended for. The governor’s proposal is highly controversial among the various educational interest groups that fight strongly for their particular funding.
It’s not so controversial among individual school educators.
“Give us the flexibility to decide where to backfill on our individual programs,” said Dr. Obermeyer. “That’s what we are asking of the state.”
Also at Thursday night’s meeting, Chris Sommer, principal at the middle school, will present a report on Project Clean, a project that emphasizes student leadership in the promotion of a clean campus.
Mrs. Sommer will show a four minute video of the efforts that the middle school students are making to be responsible for keeping the campus clean, not only by picking up their own trash, but also by picking up stray items that they might encounter during their day.
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The VCPUSD board meeting will be Thursday, Feb. 12, 6:30 p.m. at the VCHS media center (library). The public is invited.
John Yeager captured this rare full rainbow over the weekend during a break in the weather. The view is from his home overlooking Pauma Valley and Palomar Mountain.
The career of author Elle Newmark of Valley Center is nothing less than phenomenal. She has been promoting her new novel The Book of Unholy Mischief throughout the United States and Europe.
During her promotional travels Newmark found herself caught in a snow blizzard in London and feted at a private palazzo in Venice.
Next month her New York publisher is sending Newmark to India as she begins research on her next novel, The Devil’s Wind: A Love Story.
With so many adventures it’s hard to believe that, just five months ago, she was a local Valley Center writer who was only dreaming that someday she would see her work in print.
Today her book is being published in 20 countries and has been named a New York Times Editor’s Choice.
How did the career of Elle Newmark change so quickly from aspiring writer to internationally recognized author?
Find out when she appears at the Valley Center Branch Library on Wednesday, Feb. 18, to sign copies of The Book of Unholy Mischief, share her recent globetrotting experiences and reveal the surprising secret that catapulted her amazing career as an author.
Elle Newmark will appear at 5 p.m. and admission is free. For more information call the Valley Center Library at 749-1305.
The Valley Center Chamber of Commerce is working with the organizers of the Amgen Tour of California race and the San Diego North Convention & Visitors Bureau to provide a festival for locals and visitors on the day of the race, Feb. 22, at Adams Park.
The 96.8-mile race will begin at noon near Lake Hodges, go through Escondido, and pass through Valley Center on Valley Center Road, Lake Wohlford Road and Cole Grade Road, along Hwy 76, up and down Palomar Mountain, and then pass through VC again to finish in Escondido between 3:34–4:43 p.m.
Roads will be closed in Valley Center when the race is passing through, 30 minutes ahead of the lead racer and some minutes behind the last racer.
This means there are no exact times for road closures, just approximate ones. So if you need to get in or out you should plan to do it before 11 a.m. or after 3 p.m.
Spectators can enjoy race-day festivities at Adams Park, along Cole Grade, as they wait for riders to pass by. Festivities are scheduled for 11 a.m.–4 p.m. Pony rides, a petting corral and a jumping inflatable will be on-site for children to experience along with various booths, games and food.
We were told last week that the Sheriff’s Dept. would be putting on a bike safety demo this day also, but we have not yet been informed of the location.
Other festivities in Valley Center along the race route can be found at Ridgeview Church, the Baptist Church and by the Valley Center Kiwanis Club.
Welk Resort Golf – A chipping/putting contest with PGA Pro Josh Karp will be held for spectators to win prizes including rounds of golf and theatre tickets.
Some of the “Best Viewing Spots,” in our community are listed as follows:
The Sprint–A designated sprint line, where riders compete for the coveted Sprinter’s Jersey, is located at Harrah’s Resort (777 Harrah’s Rincon Way). With speeds topping 40 miles per hour, this will be an exciting and accessible viewing spot for spectators.
The Climb—Palomar Moun-tain–Cyclists will have to fight through the very end of the race due to the addition of Palomar Mountain (5,123 ft). At 11.7 miles, a 7% average grade, 4,200 feet of climbing and 21 switchbacks, Palomar Mountain will provide a challenging conclusion to the Tour.
Cole Grade—Race organizers expect this to be a popular spot to watch the race because spectators will be able to watch the start in Rancho Bernardo and get to Cole Grade. This is a great location for those willing to ride their bikes or hike in for the best vantage point. Spectators can partake in race-day festivities at Adams Park, located along Cole Grade, while waiting for the teams to zoom by.
Family Fun on Lake Wohlford– Families will want to take advantage of the double take as cyclists loop through Lake Wohlford twice during the road race. In between laps, visitors can enjoy the shores of Lake Wohlford which provide scenic picnic areas, hiking and fishing. There are lots of turnouts on this road with a beautiful setting to enjoy the day.
Several businesses along the way will serve visitors.
Mother’s Kitchen on Palomar Mountain will be showing live coverage of the entire race beginning Feb. 14. Food specials and a raffle will be held at the restaurant’s bicycle and pet-friendly Beer Garden.
The Lake Wohlford Café will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner on race day. Dine in and watch the race on their TVs or pick up a sack lunch to go and enjoy a lakeside picnic while watching the competitors race along Lake Wohlford Road on their way to and from Palomar Mountain.
Country Junction deli at Old Town Center plans to be open on Sunday to serve visitors, according to Abe Boulos, owner.
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The Roadrunner will post the official road closure times from the County as soon as we have them. Check our Web site at www.valleycenter.com/
The San Diego North Amgen Tour of California Web site features a variety of information about the race, including the best viewing spots and fun, free family-friendly activities for the race day. The Web site is updated daily, making it a great resource for up-to-date race information. You’ll find it at www.sandiegonorth.com/amgen/
Call it poetic justice. Valley Center has been put on the map by its young poetry performance contestants.
The high school’s Maxine Theater, Thursday, Feb. 12 at 10 a.m., will host the final competition of the Poetry Out Loud contest.
Poetry Out Loud (www.poetryoutloud.org) is a nationwide poetry performance bee in which any high school is welcome to participate. Besides familiarizing students with classic poetry and giving them a chance to perform it, the U.S. grand prize winner is a $50,000 scholarship.
For the last two years Oak Glen and Valley Center high schools have been the only schools in the county that competed.
The county winner, who will compete in March in Sacramento, is guaranteed to be from Valley Center.
Past VC students who have competed in Sacramento include Jason Klingerman and Colton Peltzer.
Whoever wins on Thursday will be competing against counties with well-funded arts councils and local poets who recruit dozens of schools.
Locally the poetry slam effort has been shepherded by Brandon Cesmat, a local poet and poetry professor at CSU San Marcos. The winner of many slams himself, Cesmat has coached the finalists each year.
VC residents are encouraged to attend Thursday’s competition and cheer on the contestants—and give them an audience to perform to.
Woods Valley Golf Club in VC has pledged $5,000 to the Guardian Fund, an endowment at VC History Museum. Shown are Y.J. Kim, director, and Inho Lieuw, chairman and CEO of the club; Bill Hutchings, museum president and Wayne Hilbig, museum board director. The thermometer shows that the museum’s fund-raising efforts has hit $167,500, or 67% of its goal.
Three local water districts will dedicate a Cal Fire fire apparatus building Feb. 23 that was built with fire mitigation fee funds collected from 20 years of development in Pauma Valley, which is served by the Yuima, Pauma and Mootamai Municipal Water Districts.
The public is invited to attend the dedication, which will be held Feb. 23, 1 p.m. at the new building, located at 16971 Hwy 76 in Pauma Valley, on the same property as the existing Cal Fire station.
Some local fire dignitaries expected to be attending include Cal Fire Chiefs Kevin O’Leary, John Kremensky, Captains Nick Schuler and Rick Johnson.
According to Schuler, a spokesman for Cal Fire: “This new apparatus bay represents the cooperative efforts of the Yuima Water District and CAL FIRE. The bay will provide critical space for fire apparatus, and a Chiefs Office.”
The facility will also be used during large incidents for planning meetings and operational briefings.
Schuler told The Roadrunner: “This project would not have been successful without the leadership of Lori Johnson [of the Yuima Municipal Water District], previous Chief Kevin O'Leary, and current Chief Jeff Johnson.”
In Pauma Valley the water districts, in addition to providing water, are also tasked with the responsibility of providing for fire services to their rate payers.
By DAVID ROSS
Nobody is happy about the current budget impasse in Sacramento, but out of the scorched earth battle for supremacy between the governor, the Democrats and the Republicans over spending priorities there has been planted a tiny seed. A seed that, if it grows and is watered, could lead to a very good thing: more autonomy for local school districts.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who a few years ago challenged the power of the state’s public employees unions, and was emasculated politically as a result, may have laid his hands on some regenerative tissue restorer. For the last few months of his administration perhaps the governator is back.
We don’t know if this means he’ll be standing up to Maria on any significant issues, but he sure has taken on a large segment of the educational establishment with his proposal that school districts be allowed to spend categorical money any way they choose, in return for taking even more cuts to their budgets.
Schwarzenegger, arguably the worst governor in my lifetime—even worse than Grey Davis—has proposed that during the temporary budget crises the number of categorical programs be reduced and districts be given more flexibility in how they spend the money they are given.
Good idea. Moves him up a few notches in my pantheon of bad governors. Now he’s above Blagojevich. Keep going, Arnold. Maybe you’ll get on a roll!
The way the categorical programs work now: if you have a category that requires that a district spend X amount of dollars on textbooks on medical treatments for spavined cattle, the district can’t retarget that money for teacher’s salaries, bus maintenance or school lunches. Naturally a lot of money gets spent on questionable programs –not that I think we have any programs that silly.
California has a very strong educational establishment whose tolerance for deviating from its party line is comparable to Saddam Hussein’s old Mukhabarat secret police. It will be interesting to see who is going to win the battle between the establishment and Schwarzenegger.
Local school districts, of course, like the idea of more autonomy. So does anyone who doesn’t subscribe to the idea that big government is wiser, smarter and knows best in all things.
But the educational establishment is strong, it’s tenacious, and everyone who is anyone in Sacramento is beholden to it. It will fight this idea like a cat will fight having its head pushed under water.
Maybe local districts could find ways to do with less if they had more flexibility to spend what they get. Maybe this temporary fix might produce such good results that it would become a permanent thing.
Maybe …but I’m not going to get my hopes up just yet.
The Valley Roadrunner
P.O.B. 1529, Valley Center, CA 92082
Tel. 760.749.1112 Fax 760.749.1688
Website: www.valleycenter.com
Email: editor@valleycenter.com
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