PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID ENCINITAS, CA 92025 PERMIT NO. 94
THE COAST NEWS
.com MAKING WAVES IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
VOL. 28, N0. 9
Feb. 28, 2014
SAN MARCOS -NEWS
OUSD sees number of dropouts shrinking
.com THE VISTA NEWS
.com
By Rachel Stine
OCEANSIDE — In recent years, the Oceanside Unified School District (OUSD) had a reputation that no one was proud of. “Our dropout rates tend to be one of the highest in the county,” said Cheri Sanders, OUSD director of student services. In the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 school years, OUSD’s dropout rates were 165 students and 156 students in grades 7 through 12 respectively. School districts of similar size like Vista Unified and San Marcos Unified had rates below 80 students during those years. For years, district administrators had been asking themselves what other school districts were doing to keep their dropout rates lower that OUSD was not. In fall 2013, the board directed staff to investigate the matter. Months of research by the student services depart-
From urban agriculture to joining the North County Regional Economic Development Council, the City Council discussed a number of economic initiatives at its meeting on Wednesday night. Photo by Jared Whitlock
OUSD Board Vice President Emily Ortiz Wichmann said at the Feb. 25 meeting that for her nearly 10 years on the board, she wondered, “What is it that we are not doing (about dropouts) that other districts are doing?” Photo by Rachel Stine
ment revealed that OUSD’s dropout rates stemmed from an inadequate reporting system and incomplete follow ups with students who left the district — not higher numbers of middle schoolers and high schoolers leaving the district. OUSD Student Services Coordinator Dan Daris revealed the findings to the board at its Feb. 25 meeting. Relying on the state
definition, OUSD classifies school dropouts as students who leave school for unknown reasons, leave for another California school but fail to enroll, fail to earn enough credits to graduate, do not pass the California High School Exit Examination, or have been coded as a dropout due to a previous enrollment gap. Daris and his team realized in their investigations
that numerous students were being incorrectly labeled as dropouts in district records. They found that OUSD had dozens of students who were coded as dropouts in the district’s records but were currently attending school. These students had been labeled a dropout after leaving school for an TURN TO DROPOUTS ON A19
Train horns to toot a little longer By Bianca Kaplanek
DEL MAR — Beginning in mid-March, Del Marians may notice the wayside horn at the Coast Boulevard train crossing tooting a little bit longer. The Federal Railroad Administration recently amended the regulations that govern wayside horns to ensure the devices sound for the entire time the lead
The wayside horn at the Coast Boulevard train crossing will sound an extra five seconds beginning in mid-
TURN TO HORNS ON A19 March to comply with new Federal Railroad Administration regulations. Photo by Bianca Kaplanek
Two Sections, 44 pages
Postponed
The USPS delays any decisions on closing Escondido, Leucadia Post Offices. B3
Flu cases decline
But state medical officials are concerned over the number of measles cases. B1
Just 72 votes separated the special election on Fletcher Cove Community Center use. B1
A&E..................... A17 Classifieds.......... B17 Food & Wine....... B10 Legals.................. A21 Opinion................ A4 Sports.................. A16
How to reach us (760) 436-9737
Calendar Calendar@coastnewsgroup.com Community News Community@coastnewsgroup.com Letters Letters@coastnewsgroup.com
City considers RANCHO economic strategies SFNEWS By Jared Whitlock
ENCINITAS — Encinitas has a healthy business community, but it could freshen up its economic development strategy, councilmembers said Wednesday night. The meeting, part of the city’s strategic planning process, was dedicated to promoting economic development. Mayor Teresa Barth likened council’s goals for the topic to putting a new coat of paint on a house. “We’re not looking to tear down the house and build a new one in any way, shape or form, but we might be looking for a little curb appeal here and there,” Barth said. Among the steps taken, council members voted unanimously to take a closer look at joining the North County Regional Economic Development Council in May. The development council promotes North County nationally. It also pinpoints possible partnerships among member cities. Barth said the city should also consider ways to promote urban agriculture. She added the thriving trend would carry on the city’s history. Councilman Tony Kranz said he’d like Encinitas to focus on attracting action sports companies. He noted a host of extreme sports companies like Arnette are already headquartered in the city. To inform its econom-
.com
ic decision-making, council was told the city might want to track the types of companies setting up shop in Encinitas. Michal Meacham, economic development director of Chula Vista, presented an overview of a study that Chula Vista commissioned to identify current business clusters and how to encourage them. The $75,000 study and Chula Vista economic positions guided the city in which kinds of businesses to pursue, such as advanced manufacturing. But Councilwoman Lisa Shaffer and other councilmembers said they don’t see the need for such a study in Encinitas. The city doesn’t have the staff time and the resources, Shaffer said. Plus, Encinitas’ commercial vacancy rate is only 5 percent, compared with Chula Vista’s 30 percent. “We have people who are willing to work on this stuff who don’t cost very much money, if any” she said. She was referring to an ad-hoc committee that’s dedicated to economic development. The committee, made up of mainstreet associations and the Encinitas Chamber of Commerce, began meeting last year. When it comes to economic development, the group identified EncinTURN TO STRATEGIES ON A19