PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID ENCINITAS, CA 92025 PERMIT NO. 94
THE COAST NEWS
.com VOL. #, 28,N0. N0.# 43
MAKING WAVES IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
OCT. 24, 2014
SAN MARCOS -NEWS
.com THE VISTA The Carlsbad High School choir ended the State of NEWS the District event by singing Pharell Williams’ “Happy” a capella. Photo by Ellen Wright
com
. State of the District highlights progress in Carlsbad schools By Ellen Wright
The Encinitas City Council votes 3-2 in favor of authorizing the sale of $13 million in bonds to consummate the purchase of the vacant school site and to fund the renovation of the city’s dilapidated Moonlight Beach lifeguard tower. File photo
For final time, Pacific View purchase OK’d By Aaron Burgin
ENCINITAS — For one last time, a divided council voted on an item involving the impending purchase of the Pacific View Elementary School site. The City Council voted 3-2 to authorize the sale of $13 million in bonds to consummate the purchase of the vacant school site and to fund the renovation of the city’s dilapidated Moonlight Beach lifeguard tower. The council’s vote came after finance staff advised that the bond repayment could be even higher than the $815,000 previously anticipated, but that the city’s unofficial budget showed an even larger surplus than anticipated, offsetting the increase. Deputy Mayor Tony Kranz and councilwomen Teresa Barth and Lisa Shaffer voted in favor of the action, with Kranz calling it a “historic step in the journey of keeping Pacific View public.” Mayor Kristin Gaspar and Councilman Mark Muir voted
against the action, citing their longheld philosophical disagreement with the property’s $10 million price tag. Both council members, however, said it would be the last
We can afford this, it is a great investment in our community...” Lisa Shaffer Councilwoman, Encinitas
time they would vote against an item involving Pacific View. “I think it’s important to see that moving forward that team player in terms of defining (the property’s) future use and visioning with the community,” Gaspar said. “The purchase price of the property was too high and also at the same time, it did...have sacrifices made and
choices made, and those choices were not in line with community’s priorities of making sure roads are fully paved and putting enough resources in maintaining city’s infrastructure. “But moving forward with visioning with the community, I am right there with you,” Gaspar said. The council’s vote sets in motion the final stage of the purchase of Pacific View, which should probably close escrow by December, city finance staff estimated. When the council first voted to move forward with the financing plan, the city originally estimated that it would require debt service payments of about $733,000 a year. That figure rose to about $815,000 when the city in the 11th hour said that the purchase would require the use of taxable bonds as opposed to tax-exempt bonds. Finance officials told the council Wednesday that volatility TURN TO PACIFIC VIEW ON A18
C A R L S B A D —T he Carlsbad Unified School District hosted the annual State of the District Tuesday to update community leaders, business owners and parents on the school district’s progress. Superintendent Suzette Lovely said Carlsbad High School was ranked within the top five percent of American public schools among 19,400 schools by the U.S. News. She said Sage Creek High School wasn’t considered because there was no senior class. Sage Creek opened its doors to students in fall 2013 and was constructed for $2 million less than planned. Lovely highlighted the district’s high graduation rate with 94.9 percent of students graduating. About two percent more students graduated in June 2013 then the previous year. The dropout rate decreased from 3.4 percent to 3.2 percent. The district’s Academic Performance Level is also the third highest in the county with 876 out of 1,000. Lovely said Pacific
Rim Elementary School was rated an impressive 972. As far as the district’s goals,RANCHO class size reduction SFNEWS is among a top priority according to Lovely. “Every time you hire a new teacher to lower class size, that’s about $80,000. It’s not an inexpensive proposition while we recognize, though, it’s important,” Lovely said. “We’re one of the highest performing school districts in the county and even the state, and one of the lowest funded so that’s always a challenge.” The district hired 23 new teachers over the last year. Jerry Brown has set a funding formula to decrease Kindergarten through third grade class sizes to 24 students per teacher by 2020, Lovely said. Another accomplishment Lovely shared was board approval of refinancing the $198 million bond measure, which was approved as Proposition P in 2006. CUSD Deputy Superintendent Suzanne O’Connell proposed the
.com
TURN TO SCHOOLS ON A18