The August 23rd issue of the San Diego Union-Tribune has an article by Bruce Lieberman, U-T staff writer entitled: “Restrictions asked on use of district’s idle site”

A few highlights:

• San Diego Union High School District (SDUHSD) Superintendent Ken Noah made it clear that ultimatums and scare tactics will make it more difficult to negotiate.
  • The Friends of North County (FONC) group had sent out scare-tactic letters, fabricated photographs, and mis-statements that have concerned many La Costa Valley residents. Other residents have supported these methods.
  • Some FONC members are now on the board of La Costa Valley and on a steering committee, and are issuing demands to the school district in advance of a vote by La Costa Valley Homeowners.

“If this is a set of demands that are not acceptable to the district and there’s no room to negotiate, it’s going to be very hard to forge a solution here,” Noah said yesterday.

• The article also raises the matter that the Mello-Roos taxes paid for the middle school were collected in other areas besides La Costa Valley, and also that those taxes were not designated only for a middle school.

Concerned La Costa Valley homeowners should get involved now:

• Attend the School District and City Planning Department meetings to listen to the issues and let your voices be heard 
• Let the La Costa Valley Homeowner’s Association know your concerns:
  • Encourage them to use effective negotiating techniques and not resort to the scare and mis-information tactics of the FONC group
  • Remind the board not to take action on this matter before it has been authorized to do so by a 2/3 vote of the La Costa Valley Homeowners. Otherwise, the time and money spent on such efforts won’t be legally binding so will be wasted.
  • Let the board know how you feel about the various proposals that have been raised, such as an assessment on all homeowners to buy or develop the property, an assessment on homeowners that live adjacent to the undeveloped property, or an assessment to pay for legal fees.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/northcounty/20080823-9999-1mc23lacosta.html

On this website in May, we asked La Costa Valley homeowners how much they would be willing to pay to simply buy the vacant land from the school district. (see the original article and poll results) Note: this is not a legally binding vote, does not represent all homeowners, and may not even be an option for us. Just the same, like every straw poll, it gives a better view of how things might turn out.

Based on the latest results, only a fraction of LCV homeowners have the will, interest or financial foresight to make any substantial committment.

Half said they would not be willing to pay any assessment. Just over a quarter (27%) said they’d pay up to $1,000 in the next 12 months. 12% said they’d pay up to $5,000. And 4% said they’d pay up to $10,000, 4% up to $25,000 and 4% up to $100,000. Taken all together, this amounts to about $6-$7 million dollars. Certainly a tidy sum, but only a fraction of the property’s value, even in these market conditions.

• If you’re a strong supporter of FONC and want La Costa Valley Homeowners to take this property into their own hands, then you need to get involved and convince your neighbors to pony up a bit more.
• If you’re a private property developer (many live in La Costa Valley), this straw poll shows will need to find additional financing beyond what the homeowners will come up with.
• If you’re one of the 50% of homeowners that doesn’t want to pay your share, then talk to your neighbors and the HOA board. If there is an assessment, it is likely that every homeowner will need to pay their share.

There is a little-known law which controls what a school district can and can’t do with property they own.

The Naylor Act (Education Code sections 17485-1750) requires school districts, who propose to lease or sell land used for outdoor recreation and open space land suited for recreational purposes, to offer to lease or sell a portion of the land at discount to either a city or county, whichever has jurisdiction.

It’s interesting how much power school districts can have. Apparently, it doesn’t matter which direction the lack of trust comes from. It could be lack of openness, not following some simple rules, or having conflicts of interest.

See this article from the July 8 North County Times.

ENCINITAS: School board to proceed with revoking academy’s charter

By BARBARA HENRY - Staff Writer - North County Times | Tuesday, July 8, 2008 11:00 PM PDT ∞

ENCINITAS —- After an intense two-hour meeting in which tears occasionally flowed, the Encinitas Union School District unanimously agreed to push forward Tuesday with plans to revoke the Theory Into Practice Academy’s charter.

Board members said they were taking the step to issue a “notice to revoke” because they no longer had any faith that the school could competently handle its affairs or that its leaders would act in an aboveboard fashion.

“We would not be here tonight if there were not the illegal actions (by the school’s leaders) ��- illegal actions and the lack of trust,” board President Cathy Regan said.

Her comments, and those by other board members, drew cries of protest from some 100 academy supporters who packed the board’s meeting room.

Several of them urged the district to give the school a second chance, saying its old leaders have been dismissed and it is being run by mostly new board members.

“I implore you to please meet with us as a board so we can come to some common understanding,” said academy board member Kelly Ma.

But district officials said their trust in the academy was long gone.

Superintendent McLean King said the school’s former leaders had engaged in repeated, willful violations of the state’s open meeting laws over many months and had disregarded conflict of interest problems. He said the new leadership, which includes a board president whose wife until last week occasionally worked at the school, doesn’t show proof that the situation is improving.

The district’s next step will be a public hearing on the issue within 30 days, followed by a board vote, officials said.

If the board votes to revoke the charter, the academy’s leaders could appeal the decision to the county and ultimately the state Board of Education. Whether the school will remain open during that process would be decided during the appeal, the district’s attorney said.

Several district board members said Tuesday that they didn’t believe that two administrators at the academy whose contracts have been terminated recently —- Deborah and Michael Hazelton —- have actually stopped working for the school.

For several months, the district has been investigating allegations of conflict of interest and fiscal mismanagement at the two-year-old charter school, which was founded by a group of teachers led by Deborah Hazelton. The district has alleged that board members benefited financially from hiring decisions and that financial documentation from the school is woefully incomplete.

In early May, the district issued a list of changes that it wanted at the school. Paul Minney, an attorney representing the charter school, said Tuesday that the academy has met nearly all of those demands in recent weeks, including removing several conflicted board members and dismissing the Hazeltons.

The only large item left is getting the administrators to pay back the salaries they received, and the school’s board is looking into that, he said.

If there are other issues, “we’ll cure them, but we didn’t have advance notice and the opportunity to cure,” he said.

After he spoke, several parents made impassioned pleas to the board, saying the school’s teachers were amazing and they didn’t know what they would tell their children if the school was forced to close.

Dale Perkins, whose 11-year-old son attends the school, said her son has made impressive academic progress in two years.

“Last evening, when he heard (that the district might revoke the charter), he cried himself to sleep with his TIP Academy yearbook in his arms,” she said, her voice breaking.

As she told the story, at least a half-dozen parents and teachers in the audience also begin to wipe away tears.

The academy, which has about 280 students, is Encinitas Union’s only charter school. Charter schools receive public funding, but operate somewhat outside the regular school system. They report to their sponsoring districts, but have their own boards and are exempt from some of the requirements placed on traditional public schools.

Did you ever read something fro a governmental agency that you’re sure says something, but then again, it’s not quite clear what it says?

Property owners in La Costa Valley and beyond should have received a mailing from the SDUHSD entitled “Community Information Session” and District Facilities Action Plan Overview of Process.

Reading between the lines, as they talk about a “multi-step analysis of all District sites and facilities” this certainly involves the vacant property in La Costa Valley.

More information is promised on the SDUHSD.NET website.

If you’re interested, attend the meeting at Oak Crest Middle School’s Crest Hall on June 23rd at 6pm.

The first of the summer series of popular free jazz concerts starts on June 20th. We’re lucky that the first four concerts will be in Stagecoach Park, not far from La Costa Valley.

For the complete lineup of bands, see the City of Carlsbad official site: www.carlsbadca.gov/arts

Many residents and visitors alike share the wonderful trails that surround and run through all the open space of La Costa Valley.

The City of Carlsbad have developed and continue to expand a city-wide trail system. That means the many local long-distance runners and triathletes can enjoy more cross-country training without needing to leave Carlsbad. Also, about anyone with a dog can give their pooch some new areas to check out (on a leash, of course.)

Jeanie Sprague-Bentley has an article in the Coast News today - Trail Introduced as part of National Trails Day - about the progress on harmonizing trails in the city, and about National Trails Day.

http://www.thecoastnews.com/articles/4237/

The running/walking trails rank very high on a poll among La Costa Valley residents:

http://lacostavalley.wordpress.com/2008/05/11/what-do-you-like-best-about-la-costa-valley-poll/

The next La Costa Valley HOA Board meeting will be at the Valley Club on June 9th at 7pm.

See the official HOA website for the agenda.

Typically, all open meetings include time for homeowners to speak for up to 3 minutes each.

This upcoming meeting will likely include several open items:

• Will the pool lanes be changed during the summer?
  • To see how other homeowners feel, see the poll results on this web
• What’s going on with the vacant middle school property?
• What’s the latest shakeup on the HOA Board now that another Board member has stepped down? Will another Friends of North County member be put on the board?
• Will the Board vote to move over a million dollars to a different financial institution?

Attend the HOA Board meeting and find out for yourself, or even have some say in these matters.

The Coast News reported on the La Costa Valley vacant school property and the move to put members of “Friends of North County” onto the La Costa Valley HOA as well as special committees. They also mentioned the need to change the CC&Rs & By-Laws before the HOA can get involved in the sorts of things Friends of North County wants to do. The article quoted attorney Greg Brucia, new HOA Board Member, as saying that a special assessment would only be needed “if the district sues or if we need to sue the district.”

• La Costa Valley Homeowners, what are your thoughts?:
  • How much will you pay to protect La Costa Valley? (poll)
  • Will lawsuits affect property values? (poll)

“La Costa Valley HOA weighs in on vacant lot” - May 23, 2008

http://www.thecoastnews.com/articles/4147/

Do you want to change who uses the pool, and when?

Give your vote in the following poll and show up at the next HOA Board meeting to voice your concern.

At the last La Costa Valley HOA board meeting (May 12th), a concerned homeowner brought up a proposal to restrict use of the pool. His concern is that during the daytime in summer, the pool gets so busy that kids don’t have enough room to play.

His proposal is to remove the lane lines at 10am and replace them at 4pm throughout the summer.

Many homeowners were in attendance and voiced their opinions and concerns.

Some of the comments were:

• Since there are many adult swimmers, there should be more lane lines, not fewer.
• What about swim lessons? Honey needs the lane lines and not all swim students can come early in the morning.
• Safety is a concern, because kids get in the way of swimmers, some of whom can’t see the kids.
• The pool is only busiest on certain holidays and the hottest days. Most of the time, the pool has lots of room.
• We’ve been able to work it out among ourselves for nearly 10 years, so why change things?
• Some swimmers have been swimming outside of the lane lines, in the way of kids
• Some parents do not want to have their kids reminded to stay off the lane lines and out of the lanes when there are swimmers there.
• Some parents do not mind having their kids reminded.
• The lane lines are fragile and removing and replacing them twice a day will likely break them. They also cost something like $800 to be replaced.
• It takes two people to remove and replace the lane lines. Asking a homeowner to do that or assist with that might bring up liability exposure for the HOA. Hiring extra staff to remove and replace the lines each day will add more expense.
• There are plenty of places for kids to play: playgrounds, the wading pool, the larger part of the pool outside the lane lines, but swimming is only in a small part of the pool.
• The pool is one of the greatest things about living in La Costa Valley so should be kept available for everyone.
• Not everyone can swim as early or as late as the time blocked out. Many swimmers have a work schedule that only permits mid-day swimming.
• Lap swimmers can’t use the lap lanes when Honey is teaching.

After the discussion, the HOA Board voted 4-1 in favor of keeping things the way they are.

The concerned homeowner has asked that the matter be put on the agenda again at the next HOA meeting. (Monday, June 9th, 7pm at the Valley Club)

What do you think?

What do your neighbors think?

Take this poll to let your voice be heard. Immediately after you take the poll, you will be able to see how your neighbors have voted. Tell your friends to visit this site and make their wishes known.

Also, come to the next HOA meeting, especially if your opinion is different than your neighbors. See the official La Costa Valley HOA website for details about the place and time of the next Board meeting, and if this issue will be on the agenda.