There were many emails circulating about a gun found in the open space in the middle of La Costa Valley.

Here’s what the Carlsbad Police Department had to say, in an email circulated to many residents:

The found property that was reported on 2/13/2009 at 12:36 PM in the Canyon by Camino Robledo was NOT a semi automatic weapon as being reported in these e-mails but an Airsoft rifle. Airsoft rifles are considered a toy. They shoot biodegradable plastic pellets that are less potent than a BB gun. For information on Airsoft please see the following website http://www.airsplat.com/Categories/EM.htm. Thank you. Jodee Sasway, Crime Prevention Specialist, Carlsbad Police Department

The Police Department had sent staff, cruisers, and even a helicopter to investigate.

There’s nothing in the police report about whose toy gun it is.

Since many residents got emails spreading rumors about it being identified as a real gun, even though it had the name “Stoner Rifle” on the side, let your neighbors know this is probably some parent’s poor idea of a holiday present.

This article just came in from the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Trustees turn down deed restriction on school district land

Bruce Lieberman
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

November 15, 2008

La Costa Valley parents looking for legal guarantees that an idle patch of land owned by the school district won’t be turned into apartments or a shopping mall didn’t find it this week.

They had wanted trustees of the San Dieguito Union School District to place a legal restriction on its deed to the property – but trustees unanimously said no on Thursday night.

Instead, they promised homeowners that they will have a voice in any deliberations on what to do with the land. Right now, they said, there are no plans to sell the property and the district hopes to build a school there someday.

The controversy has brewed for two years. Homeowners in the area, situated along Calle Barcelona and bounded roughly by Rancho Santa Fe Road and El Camino Real, say they bought their homes in recent years expecting that a middle school would be built on the 22 acres.

But school officials say their plans have changed since enrollment has flattened in recent years. With no immediate plans to build a school on the property, some homeowners have said they fear the district will try to sell the land for top dollar – to a developer with a high-density project in mind.

New enrollment projections, however, show that the district could eventually grow by 1,530 students at the northern end of the district, where La Costa Valley is situated, and by more than 1,400 students at the south end near Carmel Valley, said school board President Beth Hergesheimer.

“We really have no expectation of not using this ultimately as a school site,” Hergesheimer said.

The board rejected putting a restriction on the deed – to legally ensure that only a park or a school would go on the property – because of an agreement that’s already written into the purchase agreement when the district bought the land for $5.8 million in 1999 from developer Fieldstone.

The agreement says that Fieldstone will have first right of refusal to buy the property if the school district ever decides to sell it.

“The crux really came down to the fact that (a restriction) . . . is incompatible with the terms of the mitigation agreement that already exists for the property,” Hergesheimer said.

Andrew Weis, president of the La Costa Valley homeowners association, said he and other homeowners had hoped to continue discussions with the district, but the board “completely shut it down.”

Michael Klein, another homeowner who ran an unsuccessful campaign this fall for the school board, added that the board showed homeowners little regard.

“They show no respect for us,” Klein said. “It’s a shame. . . . They’re a public entity, and they just totally disregard the public.”

It looks like the Union Tribune has neighbor Klein pegged as an elite one-issue candidate, while the incumbents are getting ink on their interest in bringing up test scores for all kids in the district. Although Klein is quoted that he’s not a one-issue candidate, the vacant-land issue is more prominently mentioned in the article, and the others are quoted about what they would do to make sure No Child is Left Behind.

How would you vote if you voted today?

Here’s the original article:

Parent, two incumbents squaring off over two positions

By Bruce Lieberman
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

October 4, 2008

San Dieguito Union High School District is one of the highest performing in the state, but the next school board will be focusing on several areas of improvement.

Three candidates are running for two seats on the board. Incumbents Joyce Dalessandro, 62, and Beth Hergesheimer, 48, are campaigning together. Dentist and district parent Michael Klein, 43, seeks to unseat one of them.

The incumbents have argued that experience and familiarity with district issues will be extremely valuable as the board continues to tackle tight state budgets, growth in its career technical education programs, higher expectations in math education and other issues.

Klein has said the board needs new blood and a fresh perspective. He has also called for more transparency in school board decisions, and he has been among the parents upset with the district’s decision not to build a middle school in La Costa Valley.

District administrators have said that flattening enrollment growth after about 2000 forced San Dieguito to reconsider building a new middle school. But parents say they are worried that the property could end up as high-density housing, offices or a strip mall.

Administrators and trustees have said the district has no plans to sell the land, and it could prove invaluable to them if enrollment bounces back and a school is eventually needed.

Beyond squabbles over real estate, the district faces several persistent challenges and new goals.

District profile
San Dieguito Union High School District. Three candidates are running for two seats on the school board.

Budget: $99 million

Enrollment: 12,575

Teachers: About 600

Campuses: Nine

San Dieguito enrolls nearly 12,600 students at four middle schools, four high schools, an alternative high school, and an independent study program. It also offers adult education classes. The district serves residents in the La Costa, Encinitas, Solana Beach, Del Mar, Rancho Santa Fe and Carmel Valley areas.

Overall, the district this year scored 855 out of 1,000 on the state’s Academic Performance Index, California’s key measure of a school’s success. The California Department of Education encourages schools to score at least 800.

While the district overall has a high API score, some groups of students, such as Latino and poor students, need help. Those groups failed to meet their state targets for improvement this year.

Dalessandro, whose two daughters graduated from district schools, is in her 12th year on the board. She said she’ll continue to work for more choices for students, including more opportunities for career technical education that offers instruction in engineering, robotics, biotechnology and other fields. She also wants the district to start offering an International Baccalaureate program, which would add new dimensions of academic rigor and also encourage students to get involved in community service.

She said closing the achievement gap between affluent and less affluent students and between students of various ethnicities is a big goal.

As for the La Costa Valley controversy, Dalessandro said there has been no attempt to mislead the public.

“We needed to plan for a middle school and we did that, but then things changed and the kids weren’t arriving,” she said. “The kids may come eventually.”

Hergesheimer, a community volunteer who has been active in the PTA, has served on the board for four years. She, too, said she wants to help guide the district as it works to close the achievement gap. Enhancing work experiences in school – such as the lab experiences in middle school that allow students to dabble in computer-assisted drawing, rocketry and other hands-on activities – is a priority, she said.

Hergesheimer said she has worked hard to build good relationships with administrators, teachers and others in the district, and she wants a second term to put that experience to use.

The fact that there hasn’t been a large number of candidates vying for the board says a lot, said Hergesheimer, who has a son at La Costa Canyon High.

“It’s because it’s a district that’s functioning quite well,” she said.

Michael Klein, who has a daughter at Oak Crest Middle and a son at La Costa Canyon High, said that while the La Costa Valley property issue may have prompted him to run for the school board, he’s not a one-issue candidate.

He said he also wants to help the district find a way to lower class sizes at the high schools.

Klein said he doesn’t have any specific concerns about academic issues. Rather, he said the school district needs to be more open, and decisions made at the school board level deserve more discussion and debate. He sees the La Costa Valley controversy as emblematic of a district that needs to be more open and honest.

“I think there needs to be more accountability and transparency,” Klein said. “I really feel there needs to be someone who represents the public more.”

Citing Dalessandro’s 12 years on the board, Klein said he would also push for term limits.

“It’s very important for new blood to come on the board,” he said.
——————————————————————————–

Bruce Lieberman: (760) 476-8205; bruce.lieberman@uniontrib.com

The Del Mar Times has a “meet the candidates” on the three contenders for the two seats on the SDUHSD school board.

http://www.delmartimes.net/news/249605-meet-the-candidates

How would you vote if you voted today?

After you take this poll, you’ll see how your neighbors have voted. Come back and check for the latest results.

The San Diego Union-Tribune covered a public forum with the three contenders for two seats on the board of SDHUSD – San Dieguito Union School District.

From reading the article, it sounds like La Costa Valley neighbor Klein didn’t fare very well.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/northcounty/20081009-9999-1mc9skuls.html

How would you vote if you voted today?

Here is the original article:

Bruce Lieberman
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

October 9, 2008

NORTH COUNTY – School board candidates for the San Dieguito Union High School District had few sharp words for one another – until the last two minutes – at a forum Wednesday night.

Apparently exasperated by challenger Michael Klein, incumbent trustee Joyce Dalessandro launched into a prepared attack that suggested Klein would undermine the district’s successes if elected.

“Mr. Klein has called for change, and my question for him is, ‘Change what, Mr. Klein?’ ” Dalessandro began. “Change the fact that we are among the top-rated school districts in the county, state and nation?

“Change what?” she said again with more than a hint of sarcasm. “Change the fact that our students have an array of choices and opportunities rarely seen in public education?”

And so on.

Dalessandro’s closing statement revealed a lot about where the lines are drawn in this district’s school board race.

Dalessandro and fellow incumbent Beth Hergesheimer painted a picture Wednesday of an extremely well-run school district that is nevertheless vulnerable to the ongoing state budget crisis and therefore needs experienced trustees.

“In these tough economic times, we need proven, effective leadership,” Hergesheimer said.

Klein, one of a group of parents that feels betrayed that the school district changed plans to build a middle school in its neighborhood of La Costa Valley, argued for a “fresh set of eyes and a fresh pair of hands” to tackle ongoing budget issues and better prepare students for a rapidly changing economy.

Echoing district administrators during Wednesday’s debate, Dalessandro and Hergesheimer explained that the district hopes to build a school in La Costa Valley but not until there are enough students in the district to warrant it.

Klein argued that large class sizes in the district could be partly alleviated by building a middle school in La Costa Valley with Mello-Roos tax dollars he and his neighbors have been paying for years.

Dalessandro and Hergesheimer countered that larger class sizes are not the result of a lack of space, but tightened general fund budgets that limit the number of teachers the district can hire.

Klein, while offering the prospect of a new face on the board, was light on specifics about how he would reduce class sizes, particularly at the district’s high schools.

He also passed on a question about how the district gets its money. The district is now funded according to how many students attend but because of a somewhat complicated state formula, the district soon could be funded directly from local property taxes.

The change benefits districts when enrollment is low and property taxes are high. When the trends reverse, districts could end up short of money.

——————————————————————————–
Bruce Lieberman: (760) 476-8205; bruce.lieberman@uniontrib.com

The San Diego Union-Tribune covered a recent meeting of the SDUHSD trustees.

If you were at the meeting, do you feel the reporter got the story right? If not, add your comments.

Were all of the neighborhoods who have been paying into this Mello-Roos assessment (within CFD 94-2) represented?

Here is the U-T article:

Trustees pose questions on La Costa land proposal

NORTH COUNTY – San Dieguito Union High School District trustees have gotten their first look at a proposal from La Costa Valley residents to restrict how the district uses vacant land off Calle Barcelona.

Trustees responsed mostly with legal questions.

Later this month, the board is expected to revisit the residents’ proposal, which calls for a deed restriction on 22 acres south of Calle Barcelona between Rancho Santa Fe Road and El Camino Real.

La Costa Valley residents have said the district reneged on plans to build a middle school on the property, while the district has said flattening enrollment since 2000 forced a change of plans.

Directors of the La Costa Valley homeowners association say they want legally binding guarantees that the district will build a school there eventually or make sure the land is used for a community park.

The association’s directors have said that 2,750 homeowners have paid a Mello-Roos tax amounting to about $800 annually and that they should benefit directly from their property taxes.

San Dieguito administrators have said that more than $23 million of the tax dollars collected within the tax district have been put to good use, as allowed under the law. Campuses in the district that La Costa Valley children are or will be attending have been renovated and modernized.

Some La Costa Valley residents remain unsatisfied.

“We cannot understand why … the district wouldn’t support a limitation” on the district’s title to the property, resident Leonard Steinberg said at a school board meeting Thursday night.

“It seems to us and the homeowners that we represent that clearly this is something that would benefit this community since, after all, it is our money that paid for that school site.”

Andrew Weis, a homeowners association director, told the school board that his association wants the district to act soon.

“If this deed restriction is not finalized by Oct. 31 … we’re going to do what we need to do to ensure success,” Weis said. “We’re not sure what that is. We’re hoping that this will be resolved.”

School trustees said a long list of questions need to be addressed before they can consider any proposal to place restrictions on the deed. Among them:

• What percentage of the homeowners who live within the tax district (known as Community Facilities District 94-2) are members of the La Costa Valley homeowners association?
• Can the school board enter into an agreement with the La Costa Valley homeowners association if the tax district includes homeowners who are not members of that association?
• How do other homeowners associations within the tax district feel about the La Costa Valley proposal?
• Can the current school board legally encumber future school boards with such a deed restriction?
• Would a deed restriction violate provisions of the original Mello-Roos tax district?

San Dieguito administrators and attorneys are expected to address the issues in coming weeks, before the school board casts a final vote on the proposal.

Trustee Dee Rich suggested that the school district and La Costa Valley residents are more in line with their goals for the property than some people might realize.

“Obviously, we want a school built there,” she said.

“Demographics change. Why do we have to put anything on the property if we want to put a school there? What is the problem with simply holding on to the property?”

La Costa Valley and SDUHSD Board seat challenger and homeowner Dr. Michael Klein were mentioned in this letter to the editor in the Del Mar Times.

Letters to the Editor: Sept. 26, 2008

Sep 25, 2008

Support for high school board incumbents
The upcoming San Dieguito Union High School District election is important to our community. The incumbents running for the two positions on the school board, Joyce Dalessandro and Beth Hergesheimer, have a proven commitment to our children and the school district. These two women have been providing strong, experienced and forward-looking leadership to the board for the last 12 years.

As the race heats up, a small special interest group of homeowners in the La Costa Valley have put forward a candidate to carry their banner. Who is this candidate? An Encinitas dentist, Michael Klein, is adamant that his, “platform does not hinge on a single agenda.” Yet, he is praised by the La Costa Valley Homeowners Association (the community where he lives) for championing their cause. For those not familiar with the La Costa Valley property, the district Web site has a 10-page document that addresses the concerns that have been voiced on this issue (www.sduhsd.k12.ca.us). At issue is a piece of property that the school district owns in La Costa Valley that was purchased for the purpose of building a middle school to meet a projected increase in student population.

Unfortunately, that population has not increased as expected, and to build a middle school at this time would be fiscally irresponsible. The school district is holding on to the property in hopes that a middle school can be built on the site at a future date.

The La Costa Valley population is a small part of the 12,500 students in the San Dieguito Union School District. Both Dalessandro and Hergesheimer have experience dealing with the academic, budgetary, legal, personnel and legislative aspects of running a quality school district. Their role as board members has been one of consideration of the needs of all students in the district and the impact of their policies and planning on the education of these students. It is not a narrow political agenda concerned with a piece of property up in the northern part of the district, but with finding creative, alternate solutions, within existing budget constraints, to avoid program cuts, to restore areas that have been lost to funding limits and to champion the addition of innovative programs that maximize our limited resources.

The San Dieguito Union High School District is one of the nation’s finest school districts offering a wealth of academic and extracurricular opportunities in which its students can engage and excel. All of the district’s traditional schools score over 800 in the Academic Performance Index (API). Students from its different high schools have high acceptance rates at colleges and universities across the nation. These statistics are the result of a strong school board that has the best interests of the students in mind. The board has the management skills and experience to deal with the ongoing state budget concerns. We don’t need someone to give a “fresh perspective” to the board; we need the proven leadership of the current trustees to get us through the difficult times that are ahead.

Marilee Pacelli

Carmel Valley

Regardless of how you feel about the Middle School property in La Costa Valley, or feel about the San Dieguito Union High School District (SDUHSD), you should vote in the upcoming November election.

In addition to the national Presidential races, La Costa Valley citizens can vote for up to 2 new SDUHSD Board Members, and 2 of the 3 contenders are incumbents.

How would you vote if you voted today?

You can read more about the candidates on SmartVoter.org created by the League of Women Voters.

Here’s some information about the current board on the SDUHSD website.

Here’s what they have to say for themselves as shown on SmartVoter. Any typos were left in.

Beth Hergesheimer

Occupation: President, Board of Trustees
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, California Polytechnic University, Pomona
Masters in Governance, California School Boards Association
Prior positions as Human Resources Administrator and Consultant
Christ Presbyterian Preschool Advisory Committee Chairperson ‘02-’08
PTA President, Flora Vista Elementary School
Foothill Greens Homeowners Association Board Member before relocating to San Diego County

Priorities:

Fair and adequate state funding for the public school system
Reducing the achievement gap
Developing cooperative partnerships among students, teachers, businesses, parents, and administration

Michael Klein

Occupation: Dentist/Parent
Graduated Tufts Dental in 1993
Practicing Dentist In Encinitas for the past 13 years.
On the board of the Encinitas Chamber of Commerce for the past 10 years.
Served as president of the board of the Encinitas Chamber of Commerce for 2 years and now serve as the past-president.

Priorities:

I bring to the board experience and a fresh perspective.
I will pursue the highest standards for our students and their well- being is paramount.

Joyce Dalessandro

Occupation: Vice-President, Governing Board
B.S. Cornell University; M.A. Columbia University
California School Boards’ Association Masters of Boardsmanship
California School Boards’ Association Masters in Governance
1996-present San Dieguito Union High School District Board of Trustees –all positions, currently Vice President
Past Vice President for Business Fundraising, Torrey Pines High School Foundation
Redbook Magazine’s Volunteer of the Year, 1994

Priorities:

Continued reponsible fiscal management that ensures that every education dollar is used wisely.
Continued commitment to strong academic programs, technology and the arts, with expanded offerings in Career Technical Education
Support faculty and staff in their efforts to close the achievent gap

The San Dieguito Union High School Board has a hearing on Thursday, October 2nd at 6:30pm. It’s at the SDUHSD offices at 710 Encinitas Blvd in Encinitas.

On the agenda is a Deed Restriction put on the agenda by the La Costa Valley Homeowners Association.

If you support FONC (Friends of North County) and want to limit how SDUHSD and any subsequent owner may develop the property, then you should go to this meeting. First, contact the HOA Board to get a copy of the Deed Restriction to see for yourself what it asks to restrict.

If you do not support FONC (Friends of North County), then you should go to this meeting. Don’t let someone speak for you.

Note: an even more important meeting is the next day, – October 3rd – with the SDUHSD Superintendent Ken Noah, the Honorable Judge DeFiglia and anyone who has any specific complaints or allegationrs of wrongdoing on the part of SDUHSD or its staff relating to the vacant property on Calle Barcelona or CFD 94-2. In Mr. Noah’s letter of September 22nd, he shares some procedural questions that FONC asked Mr. Noah, however either FONC did not share any specific complaints or allegations of wrongdoing, or Mr. Noah left those out of his letter. Perhaps at this meeting there will be the opportunity to hear specific complaints instead of the vague, general, and strong statements that have been sent in FONC emails. You may need to contact Mr. Noah’s office to learn the place and time of the meeting.

Things are moving right along in building a dialog between concerned residents, the school district (SDUHSD) and the FONC group (“Friends of North County”).

The new supertintendent, Ken Noah, is a refreshing addition. Instead of circling the wagons after flaming arrows were rained down on the district, he’s moving to transparency and openness. It’s a great thing to have more of this out in the open, as that will both help homeowners in La Costa Valley and the other neighborhoods which have been paying into the Mello-Roos assessment, and it will also help the district.

Mr. Noah’s letter was mailed to every taxpaper in CDF 94-2, so if, for some reason, you’ve been paying your assessment and didn’t get your copy, contact the school district right away.

In the meantime, hopefully the October 3rd meeting with Mr. Hoah and the Honorable Judge DeDiglia will help us all have a better understanding of the facts, as well as the motivations of the FONC group, the school district, and other concerned homeowners.

Be sure to put the date October 3rd into your calendar. Contact the district for exact details about the place and time. Also, contact members of the La Costa Valley Homeowners Association Board and the middle school steering committee to make sure they know your concerns and interest.

Take this poll. Do you plan to be at the meeting, or will you let others speak for you?