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Vol. 19, No. 50
YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
District, charter school at odds by Dawnmarie Fehr Correspondent
The City of Antioch is currently the scene of a battle of letters between the Antioch Unified School District (AUSD) and Antioch Charter Academy (ACA). In a letter dated Oct. 30, AUSD informed ACA that they had failed to pay their lease rents — also known as pro rata shares — for seven of the past 12 years and had 60 days to correct the breach. “This is a material failure to comply with the terms of the facility-use agreement they entered into with the district,” said AUSD Superintendent Stephanie Anello in an email to The Press. “The notice also extends to ACA the opportunity to correct this issue over a period of three years, without interest.” ACA disagrees with the
district’s position. According to Todd Heller, an administrator at ACA, his school entered into a facility-use agreement (FUA) with AUSD in 2007, not a landlord-tenant relationship, which differs greatly. The shares ACA agreed to pay are intended to reimburse the district for the costs it incurs to maintain ACA’s school site and are calculated each year based on the incurred costs. The invoiced amounts during the years from 2007 to 2014 varied between $7,777.20 and $17,759.22 per year, and ACA always relied upon the district to calculate the amount owed. As of Oct. 30, ACA states they had not been billed since 2014, and had not paid any pro rata shares. AUSD’s letter included amounts owed for the past few years, as well as new amounts owed for the years from 2007 to 2014, for which ACA had
December 13, 2019
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The Antioch Unified School District and Antioch Charter Academy are in a dispute over past due rent dating back to 2007. already paid. The amounts owed each year varied between $80,000 and $125,000 — an increase from previous invoices. Anello confirmed this week
the new amount owed by ACA totals $1,140,837.26. “It now seems the district see District page 22A
Brentwood Union School District middle school teachers recognized with state honors. Page 5A
Davis Camp – a piece of East County history New Coach by Tony Kukulich Staff Writer
Sitting largely unnoticed alongside Brentwood Boulevard is a nondescript building, boarded up and falling into disrepair, with little left to indicate the central role it played in the lives of many families who moved to Brentwood during the early part of the last century. Descendants of families who passed through those nowshuttered doors and shopped in what was once a grocery store and gas station are still common in East County. One man, Frank Davis, is the nephew of O.R. “Cal” Davis, who built that general store and camp that grew up around it: Davis Camp. “Cal Davis came on out to California because we were
Photo by Tony Kukulich
Frank Davis, seen here with his wife Hiwanah, shared his memories of growing up in Brentwood’s Davis Camp. Frank’s uncle, O.R. “Cal” Davis, opened Davis Camp in the late 1920s. all starving to death in Oklahoma,” said Frank Davis. “The Depression hit. They were los-
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ing their farms left and right. So, Cal and his brothers and two sisters came to California
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... They could find work in the fruit fields. That’s what brought us out here.“ Davis Camp was situated along Marsh Creek, on the southeast corner of Brentwood Boulevard and Sunset Road. In the days before the Highway 4 bypass was built, Brentwood Boulevard was Highway 4, and the paths of it and Sunset Road have been moved in the years since the camp got its start. When Cal Davis arrived in the late 1920s, the property was used as a dump. Frank Davis explained that Cal Davis cut a deal with Contra Costa County to take over the property in exchange for cleaning the area. Using scrap materials, Cal Davis began building the Davis see Camp page 22A
Holiday Joy
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The Brentwood Community Chorus is preparing for annual holiday concerts.
At Freedom
Former Final Four player Michael Moses takes over as Freedom’s new basketball coach. Page 15A Classifieds..........................19A Cop Logs.............................13A Education ............................4A Entertainment.................... 9A Food....................................... 8A Holiday Happenings..........8B Opinion...............................14A Adopt A Pet.......................10A Sports..................................15A
Triathlon Time
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Sign-ups are underway for the popular Discovery Bay Triathlon.