Council civility covers political divide

For Carlsbadistan.com
A week after Carlsbad’s City Council voted unanimously to amend a policy governing grants to agencies for special events of citywide interest, Oceanside’s council wrangled over what to do about rent control. Carlsbad’s council meeting was, as usual, polite. Quite a contrast to the shouting match that erupted on the dais in Oceanside, where one council member, after being repeatedly interrupted by another, demanded of the mayor, presiding over the verbal slugfest, “Will you shut her up?” A recess allowed the city leaders to retreat to their opposite corners.

The difference between the behaviors of the two groups reflects more than just the gravity of the issue being discussed. Yes, deciding how to spend $50,000 of earned interest on a $1 million savings account for city enrichment activities is a bit less contentious than deciding whether to end rent control for nearly 2,600 low-income residents of mobile-home parks. But a closer look at the civil discussion among Carlsbad’s council members offers clues about how more contentious issues may be debated in future meetings and what the talking points of new and incumbent city council candidates will be in the next election.


The council quickly agreed to limit the annual amount for special events to $50,000, no more than $10,000 for a single grant. At issue was whether to require a recipient organization to have “some skin in the game,” as Mayor Matt Hall put it. Options for matching the city’s contribution ranged from dollar for dollar up to 20 percent of the event’s budget. Although current policy does not require matching funds, as a general practice city staff has asked organizations to do so.

In an unusual move, but perhaps forgivable for a rookie mayor, Matt Hall spoke first, expressing his concern that if matching isn’t required, “we’re liable to get a lot of requests.”

Other council members weighed in with their own preferences. Anne Kulchin suggested “fluidity,” pointing out some organizations had more money than others to match city funding. Farrah Douglas agreed, reminding everyone that the grants have always been intended to help startup organizations on limited budgets. After Keith Blackurn was assured that it would not be a hardship for staff to handle grant requests fairly without specific matching amount requirements, he supported Kulchin’s position.

Mark Packard, preferred a 4 to 1 matching requirement, but his rationale bordered on the bizarre. He reminded the council they were dealing with taxpayer money. Do they ever deal with anyone else’s? He pointed out that in these hard times cities are cutting spending and that this would be an increase in charitable giving. That brought a chorus of “no’s” from his council colleagues, since the money has already been set aside for this purpose.

But Packard’s strangest comment was comparing the city council’s Policy 51, the one under discussion, with Area 51, the highly secretive Nevada military base that’s famous for spawning UFO conspiracy theories, calling the city’s policy “weird,” with no particular explanation.

Despite Packard’s misgivings, he voted with the others to pass unanimously Kulchin’s recommendation to deal with matching funds on a case-by-case basis.

Hall’s goal to guard the fund from more grant requests and Packard’s characterization of the fund as a charity, rather than promoting “enrichment programs to Carlsbad residents and visitors” as Policy 51 reads, makes you wonder how the vote would have gone had Bud Lewis been mayor, forming the same Lewis, Hall and Packard majority that blocked funding for the Alga Norte Park project.

Charter schools fail to measure up

For San Diego's North County Times

In the 1993 film "Groundhog Day," Bill Murray plays a jaded TV weatherman, condemned to relive the day of the rodent each day until he has a change of heart. I feel like that hapless misanthrope each day that California's school test scores are released.

Like the daily replay of the Sonny and Cher song awakening Murray's character each morning, the news of test scores is as predictable: a slight improvement over last year and no change in the achievement gap separating students by ethnicity and family income.

Schools are ranked by comparing their test scores with all other schools in the state and with those enrolling students with similar characteristics. A couple of weeks ago, we learned that more than half of North County's schools rank above average of similar schools, the same as last year. That says nothing more than that we're keeping up with the Joneses, implying the Joneses are to be envied.

I was struck by how schools with the highest statewide rankings often have unusually low similar-school rankings and that charter schools do no better than other public schools.

Take, for example, Torrey Pines, San Dieguito Academy, Carlsbad and LaCosta Canyon high schools. Ranking from the top 10 percent to the 80th percentile statewide, they drop to the 50th percentile down to the bottom 10 percent of similar schools.

Vista, Oceanside and El Camino high schools, on the other hand, range from the 80th to the 90th percentile of similar schools and from the 50th to 70th percentile statewide.

San Marcos and Mission Hills high schools have the most impressive rankings. With larger shares of low-income, nonwhite, and English-learner students than districts in wealthier communities, they rank in the top 10 percent of similar schools and at the 90th percentile statewide.

North County has 17 charter schools. They rank from the 90th percentile to the bottom 10 percent statewide and from the top 10 percent to the bottom 10 percent of similar schools. The two outliers are Escondido's Heritage, a site-based charter, which ranks in the top 10 percent of similar schools and at the 90th percentile statewide, and Vista's Mountain Peak, a home-school charter ranking in the bottom 10 percent in both statewide and similar school rankings.

The majority of local charters rely on home schooling. None of them rank in the top 10 percent of schools statewide.

With few exceptions, test scores show North County charters fall short of their mandate for measurable results for improved learning, especially for underserved populations. Most of them enroll children of relatively well-to-do families, dissatisfied with traditional public schools for reasons that go beyond academics.

And that won't lead to better public schools.

Echoes of Irrational Fear

For San Diego's North County Times

You'd think banning discrimination in school instruction would be a no-brainer. Respect for others who don't look, talk or act like you has always been an important value to pass on to our children.

But SB 48, prohibiting discriminatory content in school instruction, awaits action in the California Assembly, revealing a divide between those who think including a minority group in the curriculum will indoctrinate young children and those who believe exclusion breeds isolation, fear and contempt.

A song in the 1949 musical, "South Pacific," contained the lyrics, "You've got to be taught to be afraid of those whose eyes are oddly made and people whose skin is a different shade." Some claimed the song, by justifying interracial marriage, represented a Communist threat to the American way of life.

Echoes of that irrational fear can be heard in the organized resistance to SB 48. Headlines have unfortunately declared that the proposed bill would require "gay history" to be taught in public schools. That's misleading, since it implies a far more extensive change in the curriculum than is proposed.

You won't find the words "gay history" anywhere in the bill. What you will find is a requirement to choose instructional materials that "accurately portray the cultural and racial diversity of our society." It would add the contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans to the current list, which includes ethnic groups, men, women, and persons with disabilities.

Driven by fear it will turn their kids gay, opponents of SB 38 are trumpeting a fictionalized account of what the new law would require.

FICTION: Teachers will be forced to promote gay "lifestyles."

FACT: Either promoting, or adversely reflecting upon, sexual orientation is prohibited.

FICTION: Kindergartners will be indoctrinated to admire homosexuality.

FACT: Schools will continue to decide what's taught and at what grade level.

FICTION: Schools will be forced to spend millions on new textbooks.

FACT: Current textbooks don't have to be tossed out; new ones must be more inclusive.

Those of us of a certain age know that textbooks evolve. Women and persons of color were largely absent in the white male history we studied in our social studies and literature classes.

North County's LGBT Coalition is currently seeking donations to create a Resource Center in Oceanside. Police and city officials have been cooperative. They recognize the city's obligation to serve all the people, just as schools must recognize their obligation to serve all students.

That's why passing SB 48 is important ---- not just to teach gay history, but to include the contributions of all who played a role in building our state and nation.

Remembering Mrs. Hilde

For San Diego's North County Times
In a time of budget deficits and nasty politics, it's been a welcome relief to read about teachers of the year selected by our local school districts. It brings back memories of Mrs. Myrtle Hilde, my favorite high school teacher. Together with her ample girth and sense of humor, Mrs. Hilde filled her classroom with infectious enthusiasm for what she taught.

History had always been my least favorite subject. Memorizing dates and names of events and famous people struck me as a meaningless exercise compared with the important business of impressing girls between classes and coaches in the gym after school.

Mrs. Hilde brought American history alive with gossipy asides, like Tom Jefferson's illicit love affair with Sally Hemmings, one of his Monticello slaves. She used the first names of historical figures as if they were members of her family. I began to see them not as pigeon-splattered statues, but as real people with real problems. She helped us see connections between their distant world and our hormone-driven young lives.

Our local teaching stars show the same energy and dedication to their work as the teacher who awakened in me a love of history that endures to this day.

Here's a sample of what they told this newspaper's Stacy Brandt:
"I absolutely love what I do. ... I wake up every single morning, so excited to spend the day with my students."
"I just feel strongly that all children can learn. Every child has the potential to be anything that they want."
"The students are the ones that deserve the award, because they're the reason that I got it. They inspire me to be a better teacher."
"I like running a very energetic class. We use a lot of technology. We move a lot. We put lessons to songs. Every person is brilliant in his or her own way."

All the talk about school reform boils down to the question of how to attract and retain teachers like these. Abandoning public schools isn't the answer, nor is eliminating teacher unions. California's nonunion charter schools, as a group, have been no more successful in producing measurable results in student learning than other public schools.

The current debate in California is whether to balance the budget by cutting school funding or by maintaining current tax levels.

As we consider what's best for our children's future, we need to worry at least as much about burdening them with an inadequate education as burdening them with government debt.

City can't find needy homeowners

For the North County Times and Carlsbadistan.com.

Carlsbad city officials can't understand why more low-income homeowners haven't applied for federal funds earmarked for minor home repairs, from clearing clogged drains to installing assistive devices for seniors and disabled persons.

The city pays $8,500 each year to Community HousingWorks, a San Diego nonprofit, to administer the program. In the past three years, only four households have received funding.

At the City Council's March 22 meeting, Councilwoman Farrah Douglas asked Debbie Fountain, director of housing and neighborhood services, to explain how the program has been marketed. Fountain told of postings on the city and HousingWorks websites, direct mailers to the barrio neighborhood, and articles and advertisements in community publications. She singled out word-of-mouth as "pretty successful." Maybe that explains how the two homeowners receiving help last year learned of the program.

After failing to find it on the HousingWorks website, I found the home repair program buried deep within the city's website, but only after plowing through "city services," "list of city departments," "neighborhood services" and "programs." And I had the advantage of knowing what I was looking for.

What I found was the "minor home repair program manual" featuring a complex loan application. You can borrow up to $5,000 in an interest-free loan ---- depending on your willingness to provide a copy of the deed to your property, a credit report and IRS tax forms ---- and agree to hire and pay a licensed contractor to do the work for later reimbursement.

Would anyone who needs help fixing a leaky faucet, replacing a broken light switch, installing a smoke alarm or upgrading a faulty toilet take the trouble to apply for this program? You be the judge.

According to San Diego Association of Governments, 1 in 4 Carlsbad households, nearly 10,000 homes, have incomes of less than $30,000 a year. You'd think the city could find more than four who qualify for government assistance for home repairs.

Compare Carlsbad's approach to Escondido's Neighborhood Enhancement, Attractiveness and Training (NEAT) Project. During the past 11 months, Project NEAT completed 262 projects in low- to moderate-income neighborhoods. There's no application required and no income limits.

Program administrator Dan Hippert drives through low- and moderate-income neighborhoods on the lookout for homes needing exterior repairs and other evidence of property maintenance needs. Low-income homeowners are offered either financial assistance or the help of volunteers recruited by the city for household repairs or to spruce up their property.

Carlsbad outsources its program to a loan agency, making it available only to those who can find it. Escondido seeks out those in need.

Our Village by the Sea could learn something about public service from its North County neighbor.

The trouble with charter schools

California's 1992 Charter Schools Act, according to legislative intent, was supposed to improve learning, especially for students underserved by public schools; encourage innovative teaching methods; expand parental choice; and hold schools accountable for measurable pupil outcomes.

Unfortunately, the law has had little effect on public education. More than 900 charter schools now operate in California. Despite their growing numbers, there's been only glacial yearly improvement in statewide student test scores. The achievement gap separating students of color or low-income from white or wealthier classmates remains virtually unchanged.

The 17 charters in Escondido, San Marcos, Oceanside and Vista enroll 6,000 students, 9 percent of the area's public school enrollment. Half are enrolled at the three Classical Academies or at Guajome Park Academy.

Seventy-four percent of Classical Academy students and 40 percent of Guajome Park students are white, compared with 26 percent of the total enrollment in regular public schools in the four cities.

While 60 percent of the area's traditional public school students are economically disadvantaged, 13 to 21 percent of Classical Academies students are from low-income families, 42 percent of students attending Guajome Park.

The Charter Schools Act allows parents a choice of public schools at no extra cost. So why don't more low-income families choose charters?

Maybe it's because of the home schooling requirement of most North County charters. Low-income families are more likely to be single-parent homes or dependent on both parents working full time. Many parents also may lack the formal education or English language fluency required to home school their children.

Do North County's charter schools provide a measurably better education? Not when it comes to mathematics, particularly in algebra, the gateway course for preparing students for college and jobs that pay well.

The number of eighth-graders testing proficient in Algebra I on 2010 California Standards Tests ranges from 15 to 31 percent in the Classical Academies. It's just 27 percent at Guajome Park.

By comparison, in the San Marcos Unified School District it's 68 percent. In Vista, Escondido and Oceanside it's 60 percent, 52 percent and 41 percent respectively.

Only Escondido's Heritage Charter, at 75 percent, and Charter High School, at 55 percent, have higher algebra proficiency rates than the area's other public schools. Neither requires home schooling.

A 2009 Stanford University study found that reading and math gains of California charter school students were either mixed or no different from their peers in traditional public schools.

Which North County schools live up to the lofty goals of the Charter Schools Act? You’ll find the answer by comparing their student test scores by family income and ethnicity with those of similar students attending your local district’s other public schools.

A Tale of Two Cities

For San Diego's North County Times

Carlsbad City Council members nearly broke their arms patting themselves on the back after hearing a report on the results of the city's annual public opinion survey at its Feb. 8 meeting. The only council member to give credit where it was due ---- to city employees ---- was Ann Kulchin, who gushed, "This is your report card. As a parent I feel like I'd like to take you all out for an ice cream cone."

Councilman Packard confessed to having been one of the 1,000 residents whose opinions were sampled by telephone. After assuring the council he had identified himself to the caller, he crowed, "I did my very best to skew the numbers as high as I could."

The only slight sprinkle on the evening's parade of self-congratulations came from resident Diane Nygaard, representing the Preserve Calavera group, who reminded the council of the vote on Proposition C nine years ago to use city funds to acquire more open space. No additional natural lands have been acquired since the measure was passed.

Freshman council member Farrah Douglas made open-space acquisition a key part of her successful campaign last year. So it was disappointing to hear her only comment on the public opinion survey. She said it proved Carlsbad was another Lake Wobegon, an imaginary city where all the men are strong, all the women good looking and all the children above average.

Mayor Matt Hall promised to use the survey results to help Carlsbad continue to improve. It's hard to see room for improvement when 92 percent of those surveyed say they're already satisfied.

But if the council is serious about using survey results for city planning, it must look beyond the impressive overall approval rate. Survey responses by ZIP code reveal a tale of two cities, rather than a North County Lake Wobegon.

The lowest median household income of city residents, $59,000, as well as half the city's Latino population, can be found in the 92008 northwest quadrant. The highest median income, $84,000, and only 20 percent of Latinos, live in the 92009 southeast quadrant.

Why are fewer 92008 residents of the Village/downtown (83%) satisfied with city services than those in Calavera/Calavera Hills, Aviara and La Costa/La Costa Canyon/La Costa Oaks (93 to 97 percent)?

Why do residents living in both 92008 and 92009 lead the other ZIP codes in giving the city's "sense of community" a "low" rating (92008: 13 percent; 92009: 16 percent; 92010: 6 percent; 92011: 9 percent)?

Carlsbad can take pride in its remarkable public satisfaction rate overall. But only when the approval rate and sense of community are more equally shared across all neighborhoods, regardless of income and ethnicity, will city officials really have something to crow about.