Sweetwater school board questions funds for investigators

SEA will ensure that the policy does not impact our members' contractual rights, and our teachers ability to perform their jobs effectively. Internal communication will be sent out to unit members when we have answers.
— September 26, 2013 2:02 p.m.

Sweetwater school board questions funds for investigators

ACTION ALERT: This Saturday, 9/28, members of Sweetwater Education Association will be at BonitaFest collecting signatures for two petitions: one to establish term limits for our board, the other to establish representation boundaries. Please look for us by the Eastlake-Bonita Democrats' table, and spread the word to your friends and neighbors, too!
— September 25, 2013 2:24 p.m.

National City Planning Commission prodded to decide on making space for Alliant Int'l University

Coaches are paid their regular salary and a stipend. The stipends range from about $2500 to $4500, depending on the sport and grade level. Any coach will confirm that the stipend does not come close to full compensation for the time and effort put into team management; our coaches do it for the benefit of the kids, not the money. Too bad our district office can't say the same.
— August 19, 2013 9:38 p.m.

National City Planning Commission prodded to decide on making space for Alliant Int'l University

I am hearing that coaches at a westside high school (who will remain anonymous at this time due to concerns of retaliation) have been told by the AP of Activities that the school's teams will have to pay for the use of facilities during the off-season. For example, a baseball team that wants to use the field for conditioning during the fall or winter will have to pay the district office to do so. According to my sources, this will be the new district policy for all schools; however, I have not confirmed whether or not this has been approved by the Board. On a related note, the district's transportation department has upped their fees by several hundred percent. Schools that once paid a few thousand dollars for bus fees are now being billed tens of thousands of dollars (formerly under 10k now up to 30k). All programs, whether academic or sports, that use district transportation will see an enormous increase in bussing costs. This is putting highly successful programs at risk because the schools simply don't have the budgets to accommodate the price increases. My understanding is that this is happening because the district slashed the transportation department's funding and they are now being forced to raise prices in an effort to remain functional. One possible way around the team issue may be for the ASBs of each site, or the SSCs, to grant teams a fee waiver for using the facilities. I'm not sure what can be done about the bus costs. In true SUHSD management fashion, the district office appears to be putting the needs of the of students last. If Brand truly valued the students of this district, he would spend his time finding ways to protect and grow the programs and activities that have already been proven to increase student achievement and build positive school and community culture. Instead, he seems to finagle schemes that will benefit his cronies and himself.
— August 18, 2013 8:36 a.m.

Week in review: Sweetwater Union High School District

Unfortunately, Brand did not do his homework regarding financial aid via FAFSA. The new FAFSA guidelines that recently went into effect state: If you enroll in higher education for the first time on or after July 1, 2012, in order to be eligible for federal student aid, you must have either a high school diploma or a recognized equivalent (such as a General Educational Development certificate (GED) or a homeschool education). You no longer have the option of becoming eligible for federal student aid by passing an approved test or completing at least six credit hours or 225 clock hours of postsecondary education. For more information, see the basic eligibility requirements for federal student aid. (http://studentaid.ed.gov/about/announcements/rece…) If Brand and his crew would have bothered to ask the teachers and counselors who work closely with the seniors, they could have advised him of these changes. Yet, as usual, District leadership devalues those who are truly the experts and instead seeks input from people who have a self-serving agenda. To break it down, juniors and seniors who wish to be concurrently enrolled in Alliant classes will not be eligible for financial aid such as Pell grants or government sponsored loans. These students will pay the full cost of Alliant classes (per the MOU). How does this serve the 56% of Sweetwater students who are Title 1? Or any of the families who don't have a huge discretionary budget? It is important to note that there is no fee for students who are concurrently enrolled in Southwestern Community College. Let's hope Brand's scheming doesn't undermine that partnership, as it truly does serve the students and the community.
— June 29, 2013 7:26 p.m.