CORONADO – Coronado's teachers union has agreed to a contract that sets pay for this school year and next.
The settlement ratified by members of the Association of Coronado Teachers calls for a 6 percent raise to the salary schedule – a table that defines pay according to an employee's years of experience and level of education. The teachers will also get a one-time bonus of 2 percent of their salaries.
The raise is retroactive to July 1.
The teachers also agreed to a formula for calculating next year's raise that depends on how much revenue increases. Teachers voted on the settlement this week and the results were announced Friday.
Teachers, parents and students picketed throughout the fall in favor of a raise as negotiations broke down and a state-appointed mediator was called in.
Before the agreement goes into effect, it must be approved by the County Office of Education, and the Coronado school board must approve it at its Feb. 15 meeting.
The association represents 160 teachers in four schools in the 2,900-student district. The district's annual budget is $25 million.
– CHRIS MORAN
CSU trustees OK study-abroad policy
Trustees from the California State University system have approved a study-abroad policy that allows a controversial program at SDSU to continue.
The university's students pursuing degrees in international conflict resolution spent their summer studying in the Turkish area of the primarily Greek island of Cyprus.
Last fall, a contingent of protesters, including many from the Greek-American community, criticized the CSU for sending students there because of political fallout between the Greeks and Turks.
The issue pitted the ideal of academic freedom against sensitive geopolitical balance: If universities are barred from scholarship because of politics, how will the world's knowledge advance?
Last week none of the passions that dominated the past two debates on the subject surfaced, and both sides said they were pleased.
“Academic freedom won,” said Professor Halil Guven, president of the Eastern Mediterranean University, which hosts the SDSU program in Cyprus. Next summer, he expects Cal State Long Beach to participate also.
– LISA PETRILLO
Waterfront vision will be presented
DOWNTOWN – The California Independent Voter Project will present its vision for San Diego's waterfront at 1 p.m. Tuesday.
Presenters will include County Supervisor Ron Roberts and former state Sen. Steve Peace. The meeting is open to the public.
The presentation will be at the Holiday Inn on the Bay, 1355 N. Harbor Drive. With validation, the parking is $6 per car in the main garage at Pacific Highway and A Street.
The California Independent Voter Project is a nonprofit statewide organization dedicated to the discussion of nonpartisan public policy issues on the federal, state and local levels. For more information, call (619) 823-8758.
– Dani Dodge
Park board to hold special meeting
BALBOA PARK – The San Diego Park and Recreation Board will hold a special meeting Wednesday to discuss proposed Park and Recreation Department changes, which include the transfer of about 600 jobs to other city departments.
The public meeting will be at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Balboa Park Club, 2150 Pan America Rd. W. in Balboa Park.
City officials are considering moving the park department's custodial, landscaping and maintenance jobs to the General Services Department as part of a consolidation of city maintenance positions. Park planners also would move to the planning and engineering departments.
– Jeanette Steele
Charter school is nominee for honors
DOWNTOWN – A San Diego charter school that has been successful in raising the achievement of underprivileged minority children has been chosen as one of two California nominees for a national distinguished school honor.
KIPP Adelante Preparatory Academy, 1475 Sixth Ave., which operates under the oversight of the San Diego Unified School District, is a nominee for the national No Child Left Behind Title I Distinguished Schools Recognition Award.
Jack O'Connell, state superintendent of public instruction, said Friday that KIPP made the most progress in closing the achievement gap among different student groups, such as the poor, disabled, ethnic minorities and English learners.
The award program is sponsored by the National Association of State Title I Directors. Title I schools serve large numbers of disadvantaged children and receive federal funding under Title I legislation to supplement services. There are nearly 5,900 Title I schools in California.
– HELEN GAO
Alzheimer's group gets $1 million gift
San Diego philanthropists Donald and Darlene Shiley have donated $1 million to the San Diego/Imperial County chapter of the Alzheimer's Association. Half of the gift will be spent on research projects; the other half will go to services for families with an Alzheimer's patient, the association announced last week. About 4.5 million Americans have Alzheimer's, a progressive and incurable disease that causes loss of memory and other brain functions.
“We are thrilled to make a significant gift toward these equally important issues,” Darlene Shiley said. “I have already lost three members of my family to Alzheimer's and hope not to lose others in the future.”
She serves as a director of the National Alzheimer's Association. She and her husband, who live in Pauma Valley, have given millions of dollars over the years to various causes, including medical, scientific, arts and entertainment groups.
– CHERYL CLARK
