Morning Report: Best High School in San Diego?
EM - News Moderator 
Imagine a public high school where students of all ethnic and economic backgrounds love coming to school, score way above average on state tests and graduate with college courses already on their transcript.
The school you’re picturing is Helix High School, a charter school in La Mesa, and winner of this year’s Voice of San Diego Acorn Award for best performing high school.
Our Acorn Awards recognize schools that punch above their weight by achieving strong academic gains for lower income students.
By that measure, Helix is in a class by itself. Lower income students — as well as multiple other demographic groups — outperform peers county and statewide.
Our education reporter, Jakob McWhinney, dives into Helix’s recipe for success: high expectations, abundant student support and a willingness to innovate.
One Helix administrator put it a bit more bluntly: “We’re not going to waste our time on frivolous bullshit.”
Teachers Union Election Getting Tense
San Diego Unified teachers union elections are heating up, reports McWhinney in his newsletter the Learning Curve.
Part of the ruckus has to do with infighting between the classified employees union and the teachers union.
District officials are set layoff dozens of classified employees and some teachers think it never should have come to that.
A dissident slate of candidates is challenging current teachers union president Kyle Weinberg in upcoming leadership elections.
Extra, extra: The Acorn Awards are here!
This year, Voice is recognizing schools that help low-income students achieve big academic gains. Check out the list of winners and read stories about what enables them to succeed.
Read the full Learning Curve newsletter here.
Balboa Park Parking for Dummies
If you’re confused by the new Balboa Park parking rules, fear not! You’re about to get a lot more confused.
The city published a 2-and-a-half minute video explaining which lots are free for residents with permits, which lots are discounted with a permit and which ones are free without a permit but only for a limited time period. If you don’t have a permit then you’ll have to pay the non-resident rate, which also varies by lot. Residents can apply for a $5 permit here.
Easy peasy!
Don’t worry: Park visitors who live outside the city got their own explainer video. Non-residents and residents without permits can expect to pay anywhere from $10 to $16 in most lots — with the exception of Lower Inspiration Point which is free for the first three hours. After that, it’s $10 for the day.
Still confused? You can also visit the city’s website for more information. The 1,264 words you’ll find there are sure to clarify once and for all.
Happy parking!
San Ysidro Leaders: We Didn’t See Budget Warning
Last month, Voice reported that San Ysidro School District approved a new pay package for employees shortly after receiving a warning from county education officials the package could compromise district finances.
The district now is in the midst of cutting millions from its budget to avoid insolvency.
After the story published, the district’s chief business officer Marilyn Adrianzen sent an email explaining why district trustees approved the pay package despite the county’s emailed warning.
Short answer: No one at the district had opened the email.
Adrianzen said the county’s email landed in district leaders’ inboxes 22 minutes before the 5 p.m. start of the board meeting.
Leaders “did not open [the email] until the next business day due to their active participation in the governing board meeting,” Adrianzen wrote.
Adrianzen also said district leaders already had identified $4.8 million in budget cuts prior to voting on the pay package. “The district had already taken proactive steps to restore fiscal solvency,” she wrote.
We updated the story accordingly. Read it here.
In Other News
- The city and the San Diego Zoo have negotiated a new 52-year lease extension that includes annual $3 million payments to the city and a split of parking revenue. The agreement is scheduled for a Monday City Council vote. (Union-Tribune)
- The San Diego Association of Governments last week approved outsourcing billing on two toll roads it operates to two agencies that manage toll roads in Orange County. SANDAG’s toll lanes on state Route 125 and Interstate 15 have been plagued by billing problems and millions in legal costs. (Union-Tribune)
- There are deepening money woes in San Diego County school districts, especially in South County, where districts are laying off staff, trimming programs and closing schools amid multi-million-dollar shortfalls. (inewsource)
- Did you know among Balboa Park’s many treasures is a “hospital” for art? Reporter Julia Dixon Evans goes inside the Balboa Art Conservation Center, which restores damaged artworks from near and far. (KPBS)
- The County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday authorized county lawyers to sue Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem after a privately-run immigration detention center in Otay Mesa denied entrance to two county supervisors during a public health inspection of the facility. The law will seek to ensure federal agencies “honor our clear legal authority to protect the health and safety of everyone within San Diego County’s borders and jurisdiction,” officials wrote in a statement.
The Morning Report was written by Jim Hinch and Bella Ross. It was edited by Will Huntsberry.
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