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No suspects ID’d in homicide By MITCHELL WHITE NEWS-PRESS ASSOCIATE EDITOR
RAFAEL MALDONADO/NEWS-PRESS
Teachers from San Marcos High School called into the Santa Barbara Unified board meeting Tuesday to issue concerns about a proposed grading policy.
SB Unified discusses changes to grading policy Administrators seek extra opportunity for students By ANNELISE HANSHAW NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Santa Barbara Unified School District’s board met Tuesday evening for a special meeting planned as a COVID-19 update. But a proposed grading policy prompted the most discussion. Although the details are yet to be drafted, the proposed plan is to issue students “incomplete” and “no credit” marks on their report cards instead of tarnishing their transcript with a D or F. Students will get extra time to learn and bring their grade to a C level. In elementary schools, teachers would be encouraged to contact
parents and work with the students to cater a learning plan to them. While the plan would be implemented next semester for primary students, secondary students would see the plan by the end of the month. Teachers chimed in to express concern for implementing a new grading policy just days before the semester ends. “One big question that has been asked is ‘Why now?’ ‘Why the urgency this moment?’ First and foremost, you do the best you can until you know better. Now, we know better,” said Ana Escobedo, assistant superintendent of elementary education.
“Now our data has told us that we need to do better by our students,” she added. “And so having said that, we have been presented with the opportunity through COVID to launch into the 21st century something I believe we will thank COVID for one day.” Administrators were concerned about the disproportionately high number of low marks in Latinx students, students with disabilities, socio-economically disadvantaged students, and Emergent Multilingual Learners. Ms. Escobedo also noted that the elementary school report cards are not formatted to show the progression of English
RAFAEL MALDONADO/NEWS-PRESS
learners. While public comments affirmed the intentions of administrators, they questioned the practicality of the plan. “It’s missing that piece where we need to look at what is behind a child who is getting a D or an F and what are we going to do about it besides just giving them more time,” Caroline Harrah said. “What if any interventions will be offered to students to assist them in completing work and learning the material that they missed?” Comments alluded that teachers wrote to board members Please see grades on A8
KENNETH SONG/NEWS-PRESS
At left, Santa Barbara High School students may see a change as semester grades are finalized. District administration proposed to add “incomplete” and “no credit” marks to the grading system. At right, if the policy is enacted by the board, teachers may have additional responsibilities.
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Please see homicide on A8
Healthcare workers prep for surge By ANNELISE HANSHAW NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Just 10.7% of Santa Barbara County Intensive Care Unit beds are available, according to the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department’s COVID-19 dashboard. The adjusted percentage, which considers the portion of ICU patients with COVID19, is 0%. This means that the intensive care units in the county do not have room for any more COVID-19 patients without sacrificing their ability to take on other emergencies. An earlier version of the News-Press noted that patients were transferring from areas with 0% ICU capacity to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital. While this is true, it should be added that the hospital routinely accepts transfers from patients in other counties. Now, there are less transfers than usual. Cottage Health has even created a review board to look at every request for transfer. “The transfers from outside areas have been severely restricted, so each individual request for transfer is being reviewed by a high level group within the hospital and taken in a very limited fashion,” said Dr.
David Fisk, medical director for Cottage Health’s infection control program and infectious disease physician at Sansum Clinic, to the News-Press Monday. “We are working hard to make sure we can care for the direct community members,” he said. He said there is potential for the state to mandate transfers to areas with capacity, but that is speculation at the moment. The regional approach taken by the state could suggest the possibility. “The point of a regional approach is to make sure that we take care of as many Californians with those regional assets as possible,” California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said in an update Dec. 29. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Wednesday COVID-19 update was canceled “out of an abundance of caution to the Governor’s Office staff due to the events transpiring at the U.S. Capitol,” read a tweet from his office. The California Department of Public Health revised vaccine distribution guidelines Monday, delivering all three Please see surge on A8
L O T T E RY RESU LTS
ins ide Classified.............. A6 Life.................... A 3-4 Obituaries............. A8
The Santa Barbara Police Department had not identified any suspect or suspects as of Wednesday afternoon in connection with Sunday’s double homicide, which had ties to criminal street gang activity, police said. The shooting occurred at approximately 5:40 p.m. Sunday in the 1200 block of Liberty Street on the city’s Eastside. Two people were fatally wounded, one identified as 18-year-old Omar Montiel-Hernandez and the other a minor whose identity was withheld, according to authorities. Two others were injured and transported to a local hospital after suffering nonlife threatening injuries, said Anthony Wagner, police spokesman. Mr. Wagner indicated on Wednesday that there were no updates on the investigation and that no warrants had been served. The shooting had “ties with or ties to a criminal street gang or gangs,” Mr. Wagner added. A GoFundMe campaign was launched earlier this week by Amy “Drea” Martinez, a Goleta resident and community organizer, seeking assistance for the funeral expenses of 17year-old Angel Castillo, whom the organizer identified as the second deceased victim. “When dealing with such unexpected and senseless loss, the last thing a mother — family members — want to think about
is how to pay for a funeral,” Ms. Martinez wrote. “The cost of funeral services increases each year, and many families struggle to pay for a service to honor the life of their loved one. “Given that we are still amidst a global pandemic that has exacerbated the financial stability of thousands across the country, finding assistance that covers the entire cost of funeral expenses has added a new layer of challenge, especially for Angel’s family. Thus, I am reaching out to all friends, family, extended family, and community for financial support in helping me fundraise on behalf of the Castillo family. “All proceeds will go towards covering Angel’s funeral expenses.” As of Wednesday afternoon, the campaign had raised more than $8,000 courtesy of 140 donors. Moms Demand Action, a volunteer group that is part of Everytown for Gun Safety, issued a response to the fatal shooting on Wednesday, while also making mention of a Monday shooting that left no one injured. “It is unacceptable that we have lost two of our teens to senseless gun violence,” Kendall Pata, local group co-leader of the Santa Barbara chapter of Moms Demand Action, said in a statement. “Our hearts are with the families of Angel, Omar, and the other survivors of the shooting. It’s time to prioritize funding for violence intervention
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