The Coast News
VISTA, SAN MARCOS, ESCONDIDO
VOL. 11, N0. 2
Jan. 19, 2024
SMUSD sees enrollment woes ahead
Man charged with abusing teen drivers Ex-driving teacher faces 33 sex counts
State funding loss could drain district’s reserves
By City News Service
VISTA — A driving instructor accused of molesting and secretly filming multiple female students, most of whom were underage, pleaded not guilty Jan. 16 to nearly three dozen felony and misdemeanor charges. Richard Joseph Banks, 50, of Escondido, is accused of sexually abusing female students during driving lessons, as well as “using secret cameras hidden in the instructional car to record his students’ BANKS private areas,” according to the San Diego Police Department. At the time of the purported offenses, Banks was an instructor with El Cajon-based American Driving School, according to San Diego police, who are involved in the case because one of the alleged crimes occurred within their jurisdiction, according to SDPD Capt. Mike Holden. All but one of the 11 victims listed in a criminal complaint were underage at the time of the alleged offenses, according to Deputy District Attorney Casey French. The complaint states the alleged crimes occurred between April and November of last year. Banks was booked into county jail last week. He faces up to 18 years and six months in state prison if convicted of all 33 charges he faces, which include counts of child molestation, sexual battery and possession of child pornography. He remains jailed without bail but a hearing was scheduled for Friday to re-examine his bail status. American Driving TURN TO DRIVERS ON 3
By Laura Place
FACULTY MEMBERS and their families picket outside Sacramento State University in December. A systemwide strike of all CSU campuses, including Cal State San Marcos and San Diego State University, will commence on Monday to protest unsuccessful contract negotiations. Story on 3. Courtesy photo/Californis Faculty Association
Hearing held in double-fatal crash By Laura Place
VISTA — A man accused of killing a San Marcos mother and daughter in a suspected DUI crash on Interstate 15 near Fallbrook last spring appeared in court for a preliminary exam on Wednesday. Erick Arambula, 24, of Oceanside was charged with seven felonies, including gross vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence causing great bodily injury, after crashing head-on into a Kia carrying Courteney Taylor, 29, and her fouryear-old daughter Amaya,
on April 23, 2023. Neither the mother or daughter survived. The Silverado also struck the front end of a white Tesla carrying three passengers, causing minor injuries. A preARAMBULA liminary exam is typically held prior to a trial to hear testimony and review evidence. Several witnesses, including California Highway Patrol officers and a California
Department of Fish and Wildlife officer who were on scene the day of the crash, were called to testify in Vista Superior Court by Deputy District Attorney David Uyar. Five members of the Taylor family were present in the courtroom, all wearing shirts featuring photos of Courteney and Amaya and the phrase “never forgotten.” Fish and Wildlife warden Mario Noriega testified that on the afternoon of April 23, he saw a Toyota Silverado, whose driver was later identified as Ar-
ambula, run through a red light on Old Highway 395, which he pursued with his lights on for about 20 seconds until he stopped due to the dangerous rate of speed. Noriega said the Silverado did not yield or slow down, and then crashed into a fence on the side of the 395, which runs alongside and above I-15, creating a cloud of dust. The officer parked in the area and exited his vehicle, and saw the Silverado down the hill on the 15, turned upside TURN TO HEARING ON 5
Board game fans gather
New play area is all-inclusive
Hundreds of enthusiasts attended the ninth annual EsCon Gaming Convention in Escondido, a three-day event featuring unique and trending board games.
Kiwanis Club dedicates playground along the lakefront at Dixon Lake, the first ADA-compliant facility in Escondido and one of the few in San Diego County.
Story on 7
Story on 15
SAN MARCOS — Leaders in the San Marcos Unified School District are bracing for continued financial challenges in the coming years due to ongoing declining enrollment and will be relying on the current buildup of reserves to weather the storm. Like most districts in California, San Marcos Unified has seen a steady decline in students since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, losing around 1,100 students in the 2020-21 school year and around 240 more in the past two years. Because state funding is calculated based on average daily attendance, or ADA, using a three-year average, the loss of students year-over-year also results in a drastic loss of funding. Looking ahead, state funding for San Marcos Unified will be based on an ADA of around 18,300 students in 2024-25, which leaders say is a major drop from the figure of just over 19,000 students this year. Previously, the ADA was based on pre-pandemic numbers, which kept the average higher. “It costs more money to open our school doors next year even if we do everything exactly the same,” Erin Garcia, assistant superintendent of business services for San Marcos Unified, told the district board at their Dec. 14 meeting. “The main reason why this is happening is because our revenues are dropping and our expenditures continue to increase or stay steady as we move out.” Based on current trends, district leaders predict that San Marcos Unified will lose another 100 students in each of the next two school years. San Marcos Unified was previously considered at risk for
SMUSD is expected to lose 100 students in each of the next two school years.
TURN TO ENROLLMENT ON 5