THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2009
San Diego Community Newspaper Group
www.SDNEWS.com Volume 14, Number 26
Board scraps plan to share principals BY ADRIANE TILLMAN | VILLAGE NEWS
SETTING THE PACE La Jolla Half Marathon men’s and overall winner Nazario Romero (right) congratulates second-place runner Matt Stohl of San Diego, who finished with a time of 1:13:06 to Romero’s 1:10:24. The 28th annual event was held April 26, finishing at Scripps Park. This is Romero’s sixth win — his last was in 2005, before a heel ailment curtailed his running. VILLAGE NEWS | DON BALCH Stohl won in 2004. See more photos on page 18.
Sharing one principal between Pacific Beach Elementary and Bird Rock Elementary is a poor idea that will erode the support structure for teachers, dampen morale and open the school district to lawsuits, argued parents and PTO leaders at a special school board meeting held Monday, April 27 at Bird Rock Elementary. One day later, the Board of Education voted unanimously to scrap its principal-sharing idea and restore magnet transportation that buses children between communities. The board did not discuss how it would replace that money in the budget, according to board member John de Beck. “I don’t think the board changed its mind because of the community’s attitude,” said de Beck, who represents the coastal schools. “I think it realized that there were flaws in the idea. It was not because they were trying to be accountable but because they realized their mistakes were severe… They didn’t consider all the consequences.”
Superintendent Terry Grier and de Beck made a special visit to listen to hundreds of parents, teachers, principals and student leaders, many dressed in yellow T-shirts depicting a principal split in half, discuss their concerns about the district’s $154 million in budget cuts. Sharing principals among schools was projected to save the district $1.4 million. “Pacific Beach Elementary has made extraordinary efforts to prove to our neighborhood families that our school offers quality, diverse and enriched educational opportunities,” said Dawna Deatrick, president of the PTO at PB Elementary. “A part-time principal will ensure that the positive results of those efforts will be lost.” Many parents questioned the effectiveness of the Off-Campus Integrated Learning Experiences, known as OCILE, program where students spend one week at Balboa Park, Old Town or Camp Palomar, which costs the school district $6.5 million. “Funny, in this age of accountSEE PLAN, Page 4
Country Day scores 32 runs in pair of wins LJ High Vikings look for offense BY DAVE THOMAS | VILLAGE NEWS
With local scholastic baseball teams heading down the home stretch of their league season, La Jolla High moved its record to 89 overall (1-4 Western League) last week. In a 2-1 loss to Coronado, Dustin Ouellette threw a complete game on the mound and was a tough-luck loser for La Jolla, as the Vikings simply couldn’t muster any offense against Coronado’s Brian Crabb. Kyle Zimmer drove in the only run of the game for La Jolla with a single to left field in the third inning. La Jolla bounced back to defeat Coronado 2-1 in 10 innings the following day. Patrick Christensen threw seven innings, allowing only one run and striking out six. Sam Salom came on in relief and held the Islanders scoreless for
Unfortunately, our entire team has gone into a batting slump at the same time. GARY FRANK LJHS COACH
three innings, while Yoshi Rothman drove in the winning run with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 10th. La Jolla fell to Point Loma in the third and final game of the week, 9-0. The Pointers pounded out 10 hits as the Vikings could only manage half that total. Christensen had two hits in the loss. “We’re struggling at the plate right now,” La Jolla High head coach Gary Frank commented. “Unfortunately, our entire team has gone into a batting slump at
the same time. We’ve only scored seven runs in the last six games. It’s tough to win a lot of high school games when you’re averaging one run a game. We’re working hard, and hopefully we can turn things around next (this) week.” Elsewhere, The Bishop’s School (8-5, 2-0) continued its hot play last week with a 13-2 win over High Tech High. The Knights were led by Chris Ludwig (three hits, four runs, home run, two RBIs) and Joey Moreno (two hits, three RBIs). Winning pitcher Peter Fraga went five innings and struck out four. Meantime, La Jolla Country Day (LJCD) School appears to have turned a corner by winning two of three games last week. In action last Wednesday, LJCD (3-14, 1-2) dropped an 8-7 decision to Horizon, as junior Keith Gordon pitched a brilliant game through five innings. Gordon scattered five hits and SEE WINS, Page 5
Mayday weekend brings cellist, violinist for concerts BY CHARLENE BALDRIDGE | VILLAGE NEWS
American pianist Simone Dinnerstein began her April 17 Sherwood Auditorium recital in what seemed rather idiosyncratic fashion, with two pieces by Anton Webern from his Variations for Piano, Opus 27. The intellectual and emotional remove of the music set the tone for an icy, remote evening. Not that the young pianist did not have the requisite facility for the works of Robert Schumann, Franz Schubert and Johann Sebastian Bach that composed the rest of the program, it’s just that she seemed downright unhappy during her playing. Even Schumann’s “Kreis-
Cellist Maiya Beiser will perform as guest artist with La Jolla Symphony & Chorus May 2-3 at UCSD’s MandevSEE CONCERTS, Page 2 ille Auditorium.