The coast news, june 24, 2016

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THE COAST NEWS

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VOL. 30, N0. 26

JUNE 24, 2016

SAN MARCOS -NEWS

Ties between EUSD yoga program, foundation and school raise concerns

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By Aaron Burgin

Parents and students in the Encinitas Union School District protest on Tuesday over a budget proposal to use $800,000 to keep yoga in the schools. Photo by Tony Cagala

Yoga to continue at Encinitas schools Board compromises, will spend $416,000 to keep yoga program in district By Aaron Burgin

ENCINITAS — Yoga will continue at the nine Encinitas Union School District campuses for at least one day per week, after the school board voted on a compromise measure to spend $416,000 on the district’s health and wellness program. The board voted 4-1 on the budget, which also includes $384,000 to help pay for enrichment teachers at the schools, which currently are paid for through donations and fundraising by parent groups. The district aimed to strike a compromise with parents after they loudly criticized an initial budget proposal to pay $800,000 to keep the district’s yoga program alive. The Sonima Foundation had previ-

ously paid for the first four years of the district’s yoga program, awarding the district more than $4 million in grant funds over that time before telling district officials this year that it would no longer fund the program. Under the school board’s budget plan, each school will have an enrichment teacher twice a week, and at least one of those days must be dedicated to the yoga program. The board’s vote will allow each school site to decide what the second enrichment program will be. After nearly a month of criticism by a group of parents who criticized the district of misplacing its priorities in the budget discussion, the June 21 meeting took on a more civil tone, as parents and students on both sides stated their reasons for supporting or opposing the yoga program. Unlike previous meetings, where the overwhelming number of speakers opposed the program, more parents spoke in favor of it during the comment period.

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“There are lot of people out there that do believe in this budget, we’ve looked over it and because we believe it, we don’t feel they have to come to the meetings to protest or even to say thank you,” said Audra Moore, a parent from Carlsbad. Critics argue that the district, with its original proposal, placed yoga over other pressing needs, such as enrichment teachers who teach other forms of physical education, science and math. Some of those parents following the meeting said they were still not convinced that the district would follow through on its pledge. “At this point, it is a lot of hearsay, and we have been disappointed with a lot of the information or lack thereof coming from the district, so we get the feeling that this was just for show,” said Nancy Willis, a parent at El Camino Creek Elementary School. “We would like to believe that this is a step in the right direction, but until we see the details and how it all plays out, we’re skeptical.”

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ENCINITAS — Encinitas Union School District officials have long touted its yoga program and its benefits to students, and they have pointed to a study by the University of San Diego to bolster its claims. The yoga program has recently become the center of a controversy after the school district tentatively agreed in April to use $800,000 of taxpayer dollars to keep it going after the foundation that has given the district millions in grant dollars to start it and maintain it, the Sonima Foundation, announced it would no longer provide the funding. The district has since scaled back the amount to just over $400,000. In the defense to parents who have questioned whether the district should use the funds to maintain the program, school Superintendent Tim Baird again touted the USD report. “Research conducted by USD and the District shows there is a correlation with the program and increased attendance, decreased behavior issues, and improved physical health and skills,” School Superintendent Tim Baird wrote in a recent document answering questions about the yoga program. “This program has been popular with students, parents, and staff. In focus group data gathering and surveys, approximately 2/3 of all respondents or more have expressed that they value the program.”

But an investigation by The Coast News into the financial records of the THE Sonima Foundation reveal, VISTA among other things, a complex web of payments from NEWS the Sonima Foundation to the director of the USD center that conducted the survey, raising conflict of interest concerns among parents and experts. The Coast News also found that the very report the district has used to advance the yoga program RANCHO calls into question its effectiveness, but that Baird,SFNEWS USD and the Sonima Foundation — which is primarily funded by several billionaire hedge fund investors — have highlighted only the positive aspects of the report. In addition, Baird’s own daughter appears to have been employed by the Sonima Foundation at the height of the partnership, raising further concerns about the relationship between Baird and the foundation. Baird and Scott Himelstein, the director of the University of San Diego Center for Education Policy and Law, the school at the center of the controversy, both defended their roles in relationship and denied any allegations of conflict of interest, calling any such allegations “a red herring.” “There is definitely a legitimate and healthy discussion that should be happening, and is happening, dealing with what our budget priorities should be,”

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