The Chula Vista Elementary School District has halted efforts to expand to middle school grades through a charter school, for the sake of its sister district, Sweetwater Union High, officials said.
Had the elementary district created middle grades through the charter school, that could have cost Sweetwater enrollment.
Chula Vista Superintendent Francisco Escobedo said at a June 30 board meeting he thinks middle school expansion plans should stop, considering Sweetwater’s other troubles. Sweetwater got news two weeks ago that a state agency found evidence of financial fraud in the district.
“They are pretty much in a crisis situation,” Escobedo said, “and we need to extend our hands of friendship, any assistance we can give them, to really have ... that school district flourish, because our students go to that district, the vast majority of them.”
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The Chula Vista school board voted 4-0 to stop pursuing middle school expansion. Board member Eduardo Reyes recused himself because he is principal of Sweetwater’s San Ysidro High School.
Sweetwater School Board President Nicholas Segura said at the meeting he appreciates the district’s move, and Sweetwater needs help.
“As Dr. Escobedo stated, that’s exactly where we’re at; we are in a crisis, and any help that anybody can give us, we’ll gladly accept and appreciate,” Segura said.
Chula Vista Elementary serves students up to grade six. Most Chula Vista students then move on to Sweetwater Union High for grade seven through high school.
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Under the middle school expansion proposal, Chula Vista Elementary’s Arroyo Vista Charter School — a K-8 school which is technically separate from the district but has close ties to it — would have begun enrolling seventh- and eighth-grade students at district schools as early as this school year.
That proposal was controversial and drew opposition from Sweetwater leaders and the teachers unions of both districts.
The proposal concerned Sweetwater because it had the potential to take away students who otherwise might have gone to Sweetwater middle schools. The fewer students who attend a school district, the less state funding the district gets.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic and audit report arrived, Sweetwater already was facing declining enrollment and financial struggles.
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However, the new state budget, which was signed the day before Chula Vista’s board meeting, nullifies the financial impact of changes to district attendance or enrollment for now .
The budget will continue to fund schools at the same level as last school year. It buffers school districts from losses of student attendance or enrollment that many were anticipating due to the pandemic, but it also prevents school districts or charter schools who do manage to increase student attendance or enrollment from receiving more state funding.
Therefore, even if Arroyo Vista were to expand to middle school grades this school year and enroll hundreds of new students, it would not have received additional state money to pay for those students.
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July 07, 2020 at 08:06PM
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Chula Vista stops pursuing middle school expansion after Sweetwater audit - The San Diego Union-Tribune
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