The Coast News INLAND EDITION
ESCONDIDO, SAN MARCOS, VISTA
VOL. 5, N0. 4
By Kirk Mattu
By Steve Puterski
TURN TO VUSD ON 11
FEB. 21, 2020
CSUSM fires dean, wife for misusing school funds
VUSD to grow dual language opportunities VISTA — During Vista Unified School District’s board of trustees meeting on Feb. 13, the board approved the second reading of the new dual language policy. The policy outlines high-level goals and roadmaps for the increasingly popular program, said trustee Cipriano Vargas. Board President Rosemary Smithfield said this program is a “full-on” dual language immersion program, not like the one the district used to conduct years ago. VUSD rolled out the program last year for kindergartners at Grapevine Elementary School with 50 students. The success has been overwhelmingly positive as the number of students participating has tripled, according to Principal Rafael Olavide. He said there are 75 first-graders and 75 kindergartners. “We got to do it right,” Vargas said. “We want community support and build it up. We don’t want to force it.” Olavide has also been spearheading the district’s dual language committee, conducting outreach at various schools across the district to gauge interest, he said. Olavide said the district has received another 150 interest forms from parents, and data used from those and other metrics to determine the next school to begin the program. Vargas, a former dual language kindergarten teacher in San Antonio, added other data points such as school capacity and sites with declining enrollment will also be part of the discussions. Smithfield said the goal is to roll out the program at Alamosa Elementary School starting next school year. Eventually, the program will be phased in throughout the district, the three said. The plan at Grapevine started with kindergartners
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JACOB NAMED TOP AMATEUR
Senior women’s golfer Jaime Jacob on Feb. 12 became the first Cal State San Marcos student-athlete to earn the San Diego Sports Association Amateur Star of the Year. Jacob was crowned the 2019 NCAA Division II Individual National Champion last May after carding an even-par 219 over three days in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Jacob was also named the California Collegiate Athletic Association Athlete of the Year and was selected to the Women’s Golf Coaches Association All-America first team. Photo courtesy Cal State San Marcos Athletics
SAN MARCOS — On the eve of California State University, San Marcos’ audit on executive officials misappropriating university funds, the university severed ties with two officials in spotlight of review. CSUSM and the California State University Chancellor’s Office each released their independent internal reviews on Feb. 13 of business spending of Michael Schroder, the former dean of extended learning and associate vice president for international programs. According to an investigation last year by the San Diego Union Tribune, Schroder exceeded university spending caps when staying at Ritz-Carlton hotels, upgraded airfare to business or first class, and bought $50 steak dinners at Vigilucci’s Seafood Steakhouse in Carlsbad. “We substantiated all of the allegations,” the chancellor’s 28-page independent report stated. “We also found that the dean sought and received reimbursement for expenses that were personal in nature under the guise of university business.” The university announced that Michael Schroder and his wife Beth Schro-
der, the senior director of philanthropy, were no longer employed as of Feb. 12. CSUSM President Ellen Neufeldt stated on the release of the university’s independent report that, “the independent investigation by the Chancellor’s Office revealed that a member of our community took advantage of their position and influence to fraudulently use university resources to their personal benefit. “Upon reading the report, I was in disbelief that someone would violate the sacred trust placed upon leaders of this university to such a degree,” she continued. Neufeldt received the complaint of Schroder’s spending during her first month at the university last summer where she began an internal investigation and requested an independent investigation from the Audit and Advisory Services of the Chancellor’s Office. In the university’s eightpage comprehensive review of travel expenditures, 27 of the reviewed 253 transactions were found to be in violation of university policy. These policy violations were found in lodging costs, TURN TO CSUSM ON 3
Escondido Country Club site renamed State of the City: San Marcos ‘Canopy Grove’ as construction nears adding 500 jobs, mayor says By Will Fritz
ESCONDIDO — Construction is expected to get underway soon on new homes that are planned to be built on the site of the old Escondido Country Club golf course. Grading is already underway and work will start within the next three months on model homes in the first of three “villages” to be built on top of the former 18-hole golf course, according to Alex Plishner, a vice president at Lennar Homes’ San Diego office. “We’re expecting to start our model homes in late April or early May in Village 1 and start home construction in that village, too, and we’re moving toward grading on the other two villages,” Plishner said.
The project has a new name, too — all three villages included in the development will be known as Canopy Grove, Plishner said. Mike Strong, assistant director of planning for the city of Escondido, said the only barriers to construction starting are things like landscaping plans and building permit plans, which he expects the city will sign off on soon for Village 1. The largest of the three, Village 1 will include 148 homes in an area between Golden Circle Drive, David Drive and Country Club Lane on the westernmost end of the project. Plishner said the other two villages are a few months behind TURN TO CANOPY GROVE ON 2
By Kirk Mattu
SAN MARCOS — Mayor Rebecca Jones announced the addition of more than 500 jobs in the city at the sixth annual State of the City Address on Feb. 18 at California State University, San Marcos, coinciding with the San Marcos Chamber of Commerce’s Excellence in Business Awards. Jones presented SAN MARCOS current developments Mayor Rebecca and hurdles the city is Jones delivers currently addressing the State of the City address Feb. in her speech, includ18. Courtesy photo ing the announcement
of two new medical facilities in the city from Kaiser Permanente and Scripps Health. Kaiser Permanente's new hospital will look to address the needs of the community and its 180,000 North County network members. The hospital will break ground in late 2020 and plans to open in 2023. The new medical facility in the region will bring in 500 jobs and host 206 beds as well as the following TURN TO JOBS ON 13