Carson wrote on Mar 18, 2008 10:56 PM:If the Revolutionaries in the government would have respected the will of, "We the People" and enacted California’s Proposition 187 instead of deceitfully overturning it we may have avoided these problems.

Not only is this affecting the school budget, we have been lied to, cheated, and stolen from in regards to illegal immigration for so long many of us no longer believe a word they say.

Great wrote on Mar 19, 2008 6:24 AM:Let's pass this bond so that illegals can attend new pretty schools. Maybe we can throw some more money into the EL program.

Bad Timing wrote on Mar 19, 2008 6:50 AM:I'm not saying these improvements aren't needed - my daughter attends SMHS and parts of the school are, make that HAVE, fallen apart- but could the District have chosen to approach the voters years ago regarding a bond issue for this work? The costs would have been much less and the drag of the current economy would not have been an issue. District honchos you have a tough fight on your hands with getting this passed, but I'm hoping you succeed.

San Marcos Citizen wrote on Mar 19, 2008 7:59 AM:You mean we need to build bigger sand boxes at Alvin Dunn, so the fathers can defacate with more ease????? NO! NO! NO! My sister teaches at Mission Hills High School, she has never seen such a new campus treated with such disrespect. Let's see if this gets on the blog, since the NCT doesn't believe in freedom of speech.

Kirsty wrote on Mar 19, 2008 8:24 AM:Oh, so the schools want more money. Will it ever end? They want to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to Superintendents and other administrators and they want to jam the classrooms with as many illegals as they can. When housing prices, fall so their tax revenue goes down, they want to find another vein to bleed us dry.

vcguy wrote on Mar 19, 2008 8:24 AM:I lived in San Marcos 20 years ago and my kids attended Woodland Park Elementary School which was a fairly new school at the time.

Looks like it was torn down and replaced with Woodland Park Middle School.

San Marcos tax dollars at work.

The elementary school I attended in San Diego (Kit Carson Elementary) was built during WWII and is still used today and is in great shape.

Don't waste more tax dollars.

Sharon Jenkins..thx wrote on Mar 19, 2008 9:01 AM:Thank you for your courage and not wasting district money (that we don't have) The district should hire a local citizen and they would tell them "No" to more taxes. How about teachers union taking a pay cut and helping our children?

NOT A CHANCE! wrote on Mar 19, 2008 9:21 AM:$80,000 for a "consultant" phone survey of the residents? Doesn't that violate the Federal DO NOT CALL registry regulations? I think Blogger #1 has hit the nail on the head...that they can fire 40 staff for next year while spending nearly a MILLION DOLLARS on this effort and the severance pay given to the former Superintendant squeezed out for political reasons is a freakin' joke. Not only "NO" but "HELL NO"!

No Money, No Bond! wrote on Mar 19, 2008 9:56 AM:These school board trustees are really out of touch. Both San Marcos and Escondido school boards think they can get a bond passed in this economy. Are you crazy? There are record bank owned properties and foreclosures, companies are laying people off, the price of gas, food and electricity are outrageous and most American tax paying families are struggling just to get by. We look at the bond measures that we are already paying on our property taxes and those will have to suffice. You are facing budget cuts, we already have our stretched to the limit. Wake up people, we are in a recession!

Old timer wrote on Mar 19, 2008 10:52 AM:Remember when they use to build High Schools and you had a booster club to help raise the money for lights on the football field? Forget a swimming pool!
Now the kids don't have to wait or work for anything, just bill the taxpayers. I would NEVER ok a bond for San Marcos for ANY school. I have not forgotten the militant marches of the ignorant few who were fighting for rights for ILLEGAL Immigrants. GET RID OF THE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS, TEACH ONLY in ENGLISH and then ask me for money.

Ignorance isn't Bliss wrote on Mar 19, 2008 12:10 PM:The reason for these teachers, librarians, nusres, school clerks, and so on loosing their jobs is because the so called "Governator" is on a power trip! Since we voted no on Proposition 98, his proposition, he is trying to get his way anyway through this $4.4 billion school budget cuts. THis isn't anybody's fault but his. I am going to do my part and write letters to each of the legislators to not pass this ridiculous bill that citizens have already rejected. I am so sick of Arnold's mindset; he definitely does not have our best interests at hand. Lastly, as a former athlete I have been to and seen San Marcos HS up close, and it definitely needs a face lift!

Randy wrote on Mar 19, 2008 12:17 PM:Formula for a school bond that is guaranteed to fail: (1) Lay off teachers; and (2) Float the bond smack dab in the middle of a recession.

Proud to Teach ALL Children wrote on Mar 19, 2008 1:19 PM:Let's stop blaiming our education budget crisis on students who are learning to speak English. Contrary to public opinion not ALL students who are learning English are undocumented. It is NOT the school district's responsibility to tighten up the borders and verify legal status. However, it is our responsibility to educate the students in our classrooms so that they may contribute to our communities one day...and by the "Old Timer"....we DO teach English!

Think before you speak! wrote on Mar 19, 2008 1:23 PM:First of all, my experience at Mission Hills High School is the opposite! I have only witnessed a tremendous amount of respect for property and people there other then trash that doesn't make it into the trash bins. I don't know of any other school at any level that doesn't have that problem. As a parent of 3, I am dismayed and disappointed to see that comment the person made about what her sister thinks. I believe if you are going to make comments and/or criticize, I prefer to here from people speaking for themselves from personal experience and not a "he said, she said" view. Secondly, why does every ask the teacher to take a cut? Have you spent a day in the classroom to see all that they do? Why not demand that the over paid administrators at the district office take a cut? Do you really think a 10% cut in their 6 figure salaries plus benefits is going to change their quality of life? Laying off instructional aides, teachers and other classified staff will have an obvious negative impact in their quality of life when they get laid off and their car repossessed!

Don't be shortsighted! wrote on Mar 19, 2008 2:12 PM:Schools have no choice who they educate. They must teach every child that appears. This is a federal mandate. As much as I agree about being overrun with illegal immigration here in Southern California, school districts are held hostage. And as a homeowner, I hate to have to pay more money when our economy is in recession (and gas is so darn expensive...). But living in a good school district is a plus for housing prices, even in this market. Look at Poway or Carlsbad. My daughter goes to San Marcos High and it is looking pretty bad and definitely needs to be upgraded. Some of our other schools are on the older end, too. I'm just as mad as the next person about all the budget cuts that our stupid governor is making but this is a separate issue. Our kids deserve to attend school in decent surroundings. This may turn out to be the wrong time to approach voters for a bond, but eventually it needs to happen. In the last election, there were several communities who okayed school bonds to upgrade their schools in spite of the state of the economy.

Beth wrote on Mar 19, 2008 7:47 PM:Pleasssse You have got to be kidding

Concerned wrote on Mar 19, 2008 8:41 PM:I'm disgusted with our school board. My childs school library is at risk of being closed down next year. This would be a devastating blow to all kids. What are they doing with all the money? Do people realize that the city of San Marcos charges more that twice the amount of other cities to build in the City of San Marcos? Yet other school districts like Carlsbad don't seem to be having these issues. Hmmm.

to Concerned wrote on Mar 19, 2008 11:44 PM:What are they doing with all of the money? SMUSD is paying for all of the benefits of each staff member that works for the district plus their dependents! If this district would just give the staff person and not their entire family free benefits, it would save millions. Not even our military has it this great.

Archie wrote on Mar 20, 2008 6:24 AM:This bond will never pass. Don't even think about putting it on the ballot. Is Sharon Jenkins the only one with any brains on that school board? Isn't it interesting that the superintendent, the assistant superintendents, the facilities director, and all the principals mentioned in the article DON'T EVEN LIVE IN SAN MARCOS. They expect us to pay for a bond and waste our taxpayer dollars on consultants whom also don't live in San Marcos. I thought the schools were receiving millions less next year?

The bond will pass! wrote on Mar 20, 2008 10:56 AM:The bond will pass! we all know that the economy is slow, we all know the general fund budget has been cut by the state. There really are two issues here, 1) the unions are killing the annual “general fund” budget and leaving nothing for the Schools to operate on and 2) The Schools are old and falling apart. Property values are dramatically affected by the quality of the Schools in the area. San Marcos High and at least 3 other schools in the district are an eye sore and falling apart. The City has plans to improve its appearance and the Schools need to keep up with the pace. I personally am willing to shell out a few hundred more dollars a year to ensure that my and other kids aren’t embarrassed to attend their local schools. And because of that people are willing to pay more for the house my neighbor is selling to attend those nice Schools. The money spent to hire these consultants comes from a budget that cannot be used for anything but facilities. The money is being used for what it was intended.

As for the cuts by the state causing jobs to be lost as well as the loss of busing, libraries, PE programs, etc. A solutions to the problem will require cooperation from the local unions. Did you know the union members (including librarians, bus drivers, teachers, custodians, etc) are all expecting to receive raise next year, this will cost the district almost $2.5 Million in tax payer money? People are losing their jobs and the union is not willing to freeze the raise for one year to avoid the loses. How many jobs can $2.5 million save?