Volume XVI, Issue 10
www.solanabeachsun.com
March 8, 2012 Published Weekly
High school district closer to repairs, upgrades San Dieguito board OKs two bond issues ■ It’s not too early to make vacation plans for your kids. See special section. Pages B14-B15
■ Voice your opinion on community issues. Visit www. solanabeachvoices. com
BY MARSHA SUTTON Bond issues pertaining to improvements at Torrey Pines High School and at schools district-wide were passed by the San Dieguito Union High School District’s Board of Education on March 1.
With the school board’s approval to issue $2 million in lease revenue bonds for Torrey Pines, three projects will move forward. Two projects will replace heating, ventilation and air conditioning units and provide roof repair at one building for $450,000 and at another for $302,000. The third project is the replacement of the synthetic field at TPHS
SB Little League plays ball
Above, the AAA Gold division Padres take the field during Solana Beach Little League’s opening day ceremonies March 3 at Solana Vista Elementary. Right, Brandon Choi throws the first pitch for the AA division. See page B12. PHOTOS: JON CLARK
for a cost of $1.25 million. The bonds would have an eightyear term with interest-only payments in the first three years, after which level interest and principal payments would be made. Unlike General Obligation bonds which are backed up by special taxes on property owners, “the ultimate backstop for lease revenue bonds is the district’s general fund,” according to
the agenda report. The total principal amount of the bonds would be $2.5 million, with about $2 million available for the projects. After including various funding sources, the estimated cost to the district to issue the bonds is about $200,000. Eric Dill, SDUHSD’s associate
SEE REPAIRS, PAGE 19
College Board’s AP classes in demand College prep is big business
BY MARSHA SUTTON Advanced Placement classes originated decades ago as a way for gifted high school students to take college-level courses in fields for which they had passion and talent. Today, AP classes are open to all students and have gained in popularity, particularly in highachieving districts where students compete for coveted spots in selective colleges that give weight to the number of AP classes taken. A standardized curriculum for AP classes is provided by College Board, a not-for-profit organization that holds exclusive rights to Advanced Placement coursework and the AP examinations, which are tests administered every year in May to assess each AP student’s comprehension of the material. This year, College Board offers 34 AP exams, from Art History to
BY MARSHA SUTTON The College Board, founded in 1900, has become synonymous with college readiness programs for high school students. Composed of more than 5,400 schools, colleges, universities and other educational organizations, each year College Board, according to its mission statement, serves 7 million students and parents, 23,000 high schools and 3,500 colleges. Programs including the PSAT, SAT, SAT II subject tests and Advanced Placement have become fully infused into high school academic culture and are considered predictors of college success. Few ambitious high school students, or their counselors, question the
SEE AP, PAGE 6
SEE BUSINESS, PAGE 6
Del Mar school board to use ‘option areas’ for enrollment issues ■ Rusty helped shape local surf culture with Del Mar shop. Page B1
BY KAREN BILLING The Del Mar Union School District Board of Trustees approved the new “option areas” for the 201213 school year and beyond at its Feb. 29 meeting in a 4-1 vote. The board saw option areas as a way to deal
with the ever-growing enrollment without changing the school boundaries. Families that live within the option areas have the choice between two schools designated for their area. Option areas include: Ocean Air-Sage Canyon; Sage Can-
yon-Ashley Falls; Ocean AirTorrey Hills; Del Mar HillsCarmel Del Mar; and Sycamore Ridge-Ashley Falls. Within the option areas, once a student picks a school they will have resident status at that school. The district will make every
effort to attempt to place the student in the school of their choice and keep families together. If there is no room at either school, a family may select any other school where there is space available. The option areas are all
about choice, said district superintendent Jim Peabody. “We’re not mandating that a child go anywhere,” Peabody said, noting that if it gets to the point where there are too many students
SEE OPTION, PAGE 19
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