San Diego news from inewsource Journalism for the common good
The troubled San Ysidro School District is putting one financial problem behind it while it also searches for its eighth superintendent since 2013. Read More »
Education
San Diego County homeless student count reaches record high. But how real are the numbers?
New data show more than 23,800 students were homeless last year in San Diego County — a record high and a 4.7 percent increase over the previous year. But a county Office of Education official acknowledges the homeless student count could be wrong. It all depends on who does the counting and how they interpret federal guidelines for calculating who ... Read More »
Ex-San Ysidro superintendents received hefty payouts for vacation and leave days
Two former top administrators in the San Ysidro School District cashed out nearly $178,000 in vacation and leave days during the approximately two years they worked there, according to payroll records obtained by inewsource. The amount of vacation days appears to be far more than either could have earned under their contracts. Questions about district payments to Superintendent Julio Fonseca ... Read More »
Why East L.A. educators have been running the troubled San Ysidro School District
When the San Ysidro school board hired Mary Willis as its interim superintendent in November, she became the seventh person to lead the troubled district since 2013. She was also the fourth to have ties to school districts in the East Los Angeles area. Read More »
Budget error means San Ysidro School District owes state $5.1 million
The San Ysidro School District for two years overstated student enrollment and now owes the state an estimated $5.1 million. But inewsource has learned the district’s budget problems don’t end there. New administrators hired last month following the resignations of the superintendent and his deputy have also uncovered an estimated $2.1 million in expenses that were never funded in the ... Read More »
Remedial classes: A community college ‘segregation machine’
Hundreds of thousands of community college students are placed in remedial classes every year, and few get past them, especially black and Latino students. Read More »
San Diego Christian College demands retraction from inewsource partner CBS 8
San Diego Christian College’s lawyer sent CBS 8, a media partner of inewsource, a letter Wednesday demanding an immediate retraction of all of our stories about the college. Tracy Warren, the college’s attorney, did not send the letter to inewsource. However, she sent a similar letter to us last month. In neither letter did Warren specify inaccuracies in our reporting, ... Read More »
San Diego Christian College replaces CFO amid questions about school’s finances
Following an inewsource investigation into the finances of San Diego Christian College, a school official confirmed Monday that Steve Chaney is no longer its chief financial officer. Kelly Buchanan, executive assistant to the college’s president, said Tim Savaloja is the interim chief financial officer. He also is vice chairman of the college’s board of trustees. Buchanan declined to comment on why ... Read More »
‘Extraordinary audit’ of San Ysidro School District moving forward
The state agency that will investigate potential fraud or misuse of funds involving two former top administrators at the San Ysidro School District has signed an agreement to conduct what is called an “extraordinary audit.” Read More »
Still no word from San Diego Christian College; inewsource responds to allegations anyway
San Diego Christian College still has not provided inewsource with documents accounting for $20 million in expenses, which were brought to light in our investigation published Oct. 30. We have asked repeatedly for this information. Rather than sharing documentation of the expenses, however, Robert Jensen, the vice president for advancement and administration for the college, circulated to parents, students and ... Read More »