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A2 RANCHO SANTA FE NEWS OCT. 19, 2012 School board race heats up By Patty McCormac Stakes are high in the Rancho Santa Fe School Board race. Five people are running for three spots. This is the first time in several years that voters can have their say, because over the years, a number of the spots on the board were appointed when an elected member left mid-term. The major issue, of course, is how to maintain programs with ever-shrinking school funding. Things are bad and could get worse. In light of the loss of school funding, some of the candidates say the school’s budget needs a closer look at how money is being spent. Test scores loom as another issue. School officials say the scores are better than fine, but some of the candidates feel students could do better. Below meet the candidates for the school board: Candidate puts focus on school finances Continuing to turn out well-rounded graduates from R. Roger Rowe School should be the first responsibility of the school board, said candidate Todd Buchner. He said test scores are important, but not the most important thing. “Too much of a good thing is not a good thing,” he said. It is important for children to get involved with other activities such as sports, or drama or robotics. “These are all terrific opportunities for our children to have at the school and they are really out of this world,” he said. Besides, he said, there is “a huge financial crisis looming” and that needs to be addressed as well. “We are blessed with a great facility,” he said. “We have terrific vision and a value Experience Extraordinary. Assisted Living with Gourmet Dining. At The Meridian at Lake San Marcos, youÕ ll feel like youÕ re gourmet choices and a well-trained wait staff. The Meridian Assisted Living lifestyle includes: Three Gourmet Meals Daily Engaging Programs and Entertainment Caring Staff Available 24/7 Exceptional, Personalized Support Concierge Services Spacious Apartments with Walk-In Closets Memory Care on Campus TODD BUCHER Models Now Open. Schedule Your Appointment Today. Welcome Center set that has been put together. I would focus on the financial side of the equation. I want to make sure we are getting a good return on our investment.” New to Rancho Santa Fe from Colorado, he views serving as a way to way to give to the community, plus he has four children. He and his family moved to Rancho Santa Fe in 2010. “I have four young kids and there is a huge benefit of living in such a special community,” he said. “Since we have moved here we have been struck by the quality of people and the importance of the school to the community and it is exciting.” He said he thinks he can bring something special to the board. “At this point in my career, TURN TO BUCHAR ON A14 1030 La Bonita Drive, San Marcos 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. | 7 days per week 888.501.1752 | www.meridianlakesanmarcos.com License pending. Burdge hopes to return as senior member Richard Burdge is running for his third term on the Rancho Santa Fe School Board. He wants to offer four more years of history and experience, having served on the board during the battleground years of the polarizing issue of a new school for the district and the current challenge of the drastic cuts in school funding. “I have been on the board for eight years and have a good background about where we are coming from and where we are,” he said. “I want to continue as the senior member on the board to give guidance for the next four years, which will be my last.” RICHARD BURDGE Lorraine Brovick-Kent is running for Rancho Santa Fe School Board not because she is all about test scores, but also because she wants more transparency between the administration and parents. Another reason is that she wants to make sure the money allotted to the school is spent wisely, but test scores are also very important to her. She said that the Academic Performance Index, or API, is an important way to compare the progress of students in similar schools, but a more realistic way to see a student’s progress is the results of the California A person who grew up in Rancho Santa Fe and who attended R. Roger Rowe all the way through eighth grade would certainly have a unique perspective on the community and the school. Tyler Seltzer believes he does and that is one of the reasons he is running for school board. “When I was 1 year old my family moved to Rancho Santa Fe,” he said. “I went to the Village Preschool, so did my wife Liz (McElhinney). We both went all the way K through eight at Rancho Burdge said he believes state funding will be “a big and continuous challenge,” during the next four years. He said school officials are waiting to see how voting goes in November on a couple of propositions that could aid school funding. “If that does not pass, there will be further cuts in dollars in Rancho Santa Fe in substantial amounts of money in the hundreds of thousands of dollars,” he said. “There is about to be potential major financial impacts going for- ward.” He said the decrease in funding for schools in recent years has already had a major Standard Testing, or CST. “It reflects how a secondgrader is doing in Rancho Santa Fe,” she said.“How a second-grader is doing in San Francisco.How a second-grader is doing everywhere else.” “Every parent should be concerned with test scores,” she said. “School officials have a tendency to tell parents only about the good things that happen, but you need to get a realistic snapshot about where we are.” She said parents can go to cde.ca.gov to read the results for themselves. “What you really need to tell parents is ‘this is what we are good at, this is where we are (Rowe). I still call it Rancho. We then went to Torrey Pines High School.” “I have a unique perspective that no other candidate has,” he said. Now he and his wife have three children — ages 8, 6 and 4 — and have returned to Rancho Santa Fe so that the kids can take away the same fond memories of their elementary school as their parents. “We had great experiences at the school,“he said.“If my kids 20 years from now view their time here as we have, we impact on funding and that it will be a challenge for school officials to continue to offer students the programs currently offered. “I am offering the community continuance in the board’s policy and actions,” he said. Having children in the district is the reason he originally got involved. In 1993, he and his wife moved the family to Rancho Santa Fe and here they have stayed sending their children through the local school district. He now has a second-grader attending R. Roger Rowe. It has not always been easy being a board member, like during the tumultuous years of trying to either build Brovick-Kent seeks to involve parents LORRAINE BROVICK-KENT at and this is where we need to grow,’” she said. Brovick-Kent said the children at R. Roger Rowe School are getting a good education. “But,I think for the money we are spending we should being doing better than the school next door,” she said. “It’s not a contest to be No. 1, but I have to ask myself, why aren’t we?” She has had children continually in the district since 1996. She still has an 11-yearold at the school. If elected, she said, she would also like to take a close look at the budget. “I am reading between the bottom line,” she said. “I look at the budget, at spending, Candidate looks to individualized education TYLER SELTZER Heather Slosar says she has five very good reasons to run for the Rancho Santa Fe School Board — her five children. “I will have children at Roger Rowe until 2025. I have an interest in the long-term success of our school,” she said. If elected, she said she would work toward having the school again being ranked No. 1 in test scores in the county, getting foreign language back into the elementary school curriculum and pumping up the retention of students who leave Rowe when they hit middle school. “I believe our school needs to get a bigger bang for the buck,” she said. She said R. Roger Rowe in the past had been rated the No. 1 school in the county. “Year after year we were No. 1 until 2002. What happened?” she asked. She said Rancho Santa Fe is spending 60 percent more per student than other schools in the county. “I feel we should be in the top 10 for API (Academic Performance Index) scores and we are not,” she said.” She said the school keeps creeping away from the top spot in the county. have done our job.” Seltzer was appointed to the school board last year when Jim Cimino was transferred to Texas with his job. Seltzer said he wants to stay the course of the current board. “I am a proven, productive and effective member of the school board,” he said. “If you ask (the others), they say I am a positive addition to the school board.” “I think the school is doing great,” he said.“I see the test scores are going up and are extremely high. I do think test scores matter, of course they Local mom has vested interest in position HEATHER SLOSAR TURN TO BURDGE ON A14 TURN TO BROVICK-KENT ON A14 TURN TO SELTZER ON A14 “We have some of the best staff and parents and I really feel like perhaps we need to refocus,” she said. She said test scores are important for many reasons. “Our children will be taking tests throughout their academic life,” she said. She does not agree with those who say that test scores are not that important. “It is a great measure of what our children have learned,” she said. Test scores and school ranking are also things people look at when they are considering buying a home in a particular district. She said if elected she would also look at the reten- TURN TO SLOSAR ON A14
OCT. 19, 2012 Association OKs funds for repairs to Osuna By Patty McCormac RANCHO SANTA FE — Anyone who has ever undergone a remodel project on an older house can identify with the Osuna Committee, which is stripping the plaster off the original adobe as part of a restoration process. When the plaster was removed it was revealed that three window headers and two door headers had rotted. “The rotted condition of the headers is a substantial structural risk that could result in failure of the wall above the windows and doors,” Arnold Keene, field operations manager, told the Association at its Oct. 4 meeting. “You can literally stick your finger into that rotted wood,” he said. This latest discovery made it necessary for the Osuna Committee to ask the Association for more money in the amount of $24,720 of Open Space Funds for the structural repairs. Before giving the OK to the funds, director Ann Boon said, “I have two words for you: ‘money pit.’” Director Larry Spitcaufsky asked the Association staff to put together a long-range plan for the completion of the adobe. “I don’t want to give any more money out of the fund without an overall plan,” he said. “I am comforted by that,” Boon said. On the subject of Open Space Funds, the Association gave the final approval to updating the name and uses for Open Space Funds. It was decided by the Association at its Oct. 4 meeting that it will now be known as the Covenant Enhancement Policy and Fund to better describe for what the funds are being used. The fund was originally established to purchase passive open space to protect the Covenant’s rural ambiance, but has since been used to purchase ball parks, parking lots and the Osuna Adobe. At the meeting resident Mark Holmlund told the Association it should consider using some of the money for fire mitigation, noting that his neighbor has numerous dead and dying eucalyptus trees, which add to the fire danger of his home. Member John Dodds also had an opinion. “I don’t think it is the responsibility of the board to buy real estate for the members,” Dodds said. The fund will have about $4 million after the sale of the single-family home on the Osuna Ranch. After the vote, the money can be used for the purchase of critical parcels for use as open space; for the purchase of parcels, which would allow the removal of existing development; the purchase of buildings, land, easements or development rights to preserve the uniqueness of Rancho Santa Fe; to contribute to partnership acquisition of open space by others such as the county, the Rancho Santa Fe Foundation and the Coastal Conservancy; for recreational needs such as parks, playgrounds and sports fields; and to renovate, enhance or improve Covenant resources or the safety of the community. In other news, the Association voted to set the Association’s Assessment rate at 14 cents per $100 of property valuation with the allocation of 11.5 cents for general services and 2.5 cents for Open Space. Fusion of food and wine benefits charity RANCHO SANTA FE — The Equinox Center is hosting an evening of gourmet food and rare vintage wines from 6 p.m. until the wine is gone Nov. 10 at The Bridges at Rancho Santa Fe, 18378 Calle Stellina. The event is planned to raise awareness and funds for Equinox Center to help maintain and preserve quality of life in the San Diego region. San Diego chefs and sommeliers will prepare food and wine for the guests. The evening will also host live entertainment and a small private auction. Tickets start at $250 and will increase to $300 after Nov. 5. To purchase tickets, visit equinoxcenter.org/donate/eve nt.html or call (760) 230-2960. Equinox Center is an independent, non-partisan, not for profit policy and research center that turns research into action to help the San Diego region achieve a more prosperous economy, healthy environment and outstanding quality of life for all its residents. Led by a distinguished board of directors representing business and community leaders from across the region, Equinox uses policy analysis, communications and convenings to inspire, inform and engage the public and decision makers in crafting bold and intelligent solutions to balance regional growth with finite natural resources. Be our fan on theCoastNews.com and click link RANCHO SANTA FE NEWS Land-use plan available for public review By Bianca Kaplanek Hoping to submit an approved Local Coastal Program Land Use Plan to the California Coastal Commission before the end of the year, the city has released the revised document for a six-week public review. Most recently, at the Sept. 26 meeting, council voted 3-2 to continue work on the plan rather than adopt it as it was presented, reject it or adopt it with changes. The Coastal Commission had made more than 150 recommended changes to a plan council adopted earlier this year. An LCP is the basic planning tool used by cities to guide development in the coastal zone. It is required by the California Coastal Act of 1976 to ensure coastal areas are used and developed according to statewide public objectives. Each LCP contains ground rules for future development and protection of coastal resources. It includes a land-use plan and zoning ordinances to implement that plan. Solana Beach is unique in that the entire city falls within the coastal zone. It is one of a handful of cities statewide — and the only one in San Diego County — without an approved LCP. The city has submitted six drafts to the Coastal Commission since 2001. The most problematic issue in Solana Beach’s efforts to obtain a certified LCP is sea walls. Bluff-top property owners say they should have the right to build the structures to protect their homes. Environmentalists say the shoreline protection devices prevent the natural creation of a beach and will eventually eliminate land that belongs to the public. City Manager David Ott said the revised plan includes a request from blufftop owners that would extend by a year or two the 20-year permit for a sea wall. Under the new plan most bluff-top owners would also have an opportunity to remodel their homes or expand them when outside A3 the geological setback line. The document is available at City Hall, 635. S. Coast Hwy. 101, or on the city website at ci.solanabeach.ca.us. The public comment period will end at 1 p.m. on Nov. 26. Staff will then organize all comments received and present them to the council during a public meeting. Ott said bluff-top owners have made a “strong request” for the current council “to make a decision on this.” “We really want to make this work,” Councilman Mike Nichols said. “We want this to be our plan, the city of Solana Beach’s plan, and not the state of California’s plan.”
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