by Richard J. Riehl on March 22, 2012
Carlsbad school officials are getting lots of advice lately about how to save money without hurting students. But it amounts mostly to blaming the victims of a budget crisis they didn’t create: the teachers union for selfishness and protecting bad teachers from layoffs, administrators for wasting money on frills.
Those who think unions are “wicked,” the word used by one community columnist, often praise teachers for their good work as individuals. But when they organize to improve their profession, they’re accused of putting their own interests ahead of kids. Using that logic, you might say the same about parents who follow flight attendant instructions to put on their own oxygen masks before helping their kids with theirs.
Teachers face obstacles to their effectiveness when they work in overcrowded classrooms, have to buy their own teaching materials, and are given little time to collaborate on lesson plans. Union efforts to reduce those obstacles are truly in the best interests of students.
Common sense might suggest a “keep the best and fire the rest” layoff policy. But in this case common sense doesn’t make good sense.
Here’s why. The best and worst teachers often stand out. But it’s much harder to rank those who fall in between. Evaluating teachers on test scores alone ignores learning that can’t be measured by multiple choice. Congeniality and budget savings could become the primary criteria if administrators alone make the call. Most would agree that popularity isn’t the best measure of teaching excellence. [click to continue…]
by Richard J. Riehl on March 8, 2012
It took a federal court ruling and a $28 billion budget deficit for California to finally do something about its obsolete prison system. San Diego County’s Chief Probation Officer, Mack Jenkins, told the Carlsbad City Council last month that implementing AB 109, the Public Safety Realignment Act will be “the most significant change in California’s correctional system in at least 30 years.”
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last May that conditions caused by crowding 167,000 inmates into buildings built for 90,000 were in violation of the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Now it’s a question of how to reduce the prison population while protecting the public and reducing the deficit. San Diego County’s community corrections plan is on track to do all three.
Contrary to a wealth of misinformation, no state prison inmates are being transferred to local jails. Those who’ve served their sentences, are at low risk for re-offending, and are eligible for parole are being assigned to local probation officers who will engage in far more proactive follow up than the state parole system. Jenkins said it will include both announced and unannounced visits and more careful tracking.
Only four of the 1,000 parolees shifted to San Diego County to this date reside in Carlsbad. Vista has 61, Escondido 55, and Oceanside 41. Carlsbad Police Chief Gary Morrison reported there’s been no increase in the city’s crime rate. [click to continue…]
by Richard J. Riehl on February 9, 2012
Wouldn’t it be nice if grocery stores and gas stations would sign pledges to stop taxing us with higher prices until they cut their business expenses an equal amount? They could protect their profits by eliminating waste, fraud and abuse in their operations. We customers could help them find the waste to prove they don’t have a revenue problem, they have a spending problem.
Sound familiar? That’s the thinking behind a local political activist group that’s asking state office holders and candidates to sign its Promise to California Taxpayers pledge. Signers must promise to vote against all tax increases, amendments to Proposition 13 and increased taxpayer contributions to public employee pension plans.
I was disappointed to learn that Carlsbad City Council member and candidate for the 76th District seat in the California Assembly, Farrah Douglas, was one of the first five signers.
Follow the jump for the rest. [click to continue…]
by Richard J. Riehl on January 12, 2012
As they plan for next year’s budget cuts, Carlsbad school officials are confronted with options reminiscent of Hobson’s and Sophie’s choices. Thomas Hobson was the 16th Century English livery stable owner who advertised the availability of 40 horses but restricted choice to the one nearest the stable door—a take it or leave it option. Sophie Zawistowski was the mother in William Styron’s novel who is forced to choose which of her two children to save from being put to death by the Nazis.
Closing schools because of budget cuts embodies the same kind of no-win solutions.
Preparing for an expected $8 million budget shortfall next year, school officials are considering the closure of two schools that are substantially more costly to operate per pupil than other district schools because of their low enrollments. Abandoning Buena Vista Elementary and Carlsbad Village Academy would save the district an estimated $1 million. [click to continue…]
by Richard J. Riehl on October 24, 2011
On Saturday I had an attack of déjà vu in downtown San Diego that made we wonder if Occupy Wall Street could ever come to our sleepy little Village By The Sea. Let me explain.
My wife and I had to wade through an Occupy San Diego encampment in front of the Civic Theatre, where we were headed to see the revival of the 60’s rock musical, HAIR. Karen was more excited about seeing the show than I was. Although we both have vivid memories of those psychedelic days, hers are more pleasant than mine.
She found her inner flower child in the late 60’s, leaving a stuck-in-the-50’s husband who preferred the kind of obedient wife we see today only in the popular retro TV series Mad Men. I was a high school English teacher affecting a Bono look, no not that Bono, the Sonny one who harmonized with Cher. Sporting fashionably long hair and a slightly droopy mustache, I wore paisley ties, a macramé belt and waffle-stomper boots. But my polyester sport coats gave me away. The only risk I took in the 60’s was standing too close to an open flame in that attire. I was a hippie wannabe. [click to continue…]
by Richard J. Riehl on August 25, 2011
The August edition of Carlsbad Currents, the city’s bi-monthly publication mailed to city residents, carries the headline, “Carlsbad maintains good financial health.” The story boasts of a budget balanced by reducing the size of the city’s workforce and operating more efficiently. The city’s 2011-12 budget report explains the workforce was cut back by eliminating 10 currently vacant positions, including a fire marshal, a graphic artist, a building inspector and two custodians.
We learn from the newsletter that sales and hotel taxes are expected to grow, while property tax is projected to decrease slightly. Finance Director Chuck McBride assures us that investment in the city created by new hotel, retail and commercial projects puts the city “in a good position to capitalize on opportunities as the economy recovers.” It appears happy times are here again.
Follow the jump for the rest of the story [click to continue…]
by Richard J. Riehl on August 11, 2011
Mark Twain once called the game of golf “a good walk spoiled.” Something similar could be said of Carlsbad’s $68 million public golf course–a splendid setting for weddings, dining and golf, spoiled by tilting fairways, undersized greens, and lost balls.
A struggling economy, the many affordable courses nearby, and its playability have been blamed for the course’s annual deficits. Hopes for a financial turnaround are based mostly on the attractiveness of the venue.
That was a summary of a consultant’s report for the city of Rockville, Maryland on the financial condition of its Redgate Municipal Golf Course. The recommendations? Modify greens and bunkers, build additional facilities for player convenience, and launch a more aggressive marketing campaign.
Sound familiar? The differences between The Crossings and Redgate are foreboding. Rockville’s course is 40 years old. You can play it for half of what you pay for a round at Carlsbad’s Taj Magolf. [click to continue…]
by Richard J. Riehl on June 16, 2011
At the June 7 city council meeting we learned the yearly rent for a plot in the community garden is slated for a 400 percent increase, from $60 to $250. After council member Farrah Douglas questioned the steep hike, Mayor Matt Hall observed it was only a monthly increase from $5 to $20. That reminded me of the life insurance ads on TV that boast of affordable premiums—“less than a dollar a day!”
Hall’s flippancy shows how far removed he is from those relying on social security alone for their monthly income. It also may explain his willingness to cut pay and benefits of city employees least able to afford them.
Carlsbad’s elected officials like to say the city has been able to dodge layoffs and deep cuts in services because of their careful planning and fiscal prudence. But a closer look reveals another side of the story.
The city’s proposed budget for 2011/2012 projects a $600,000 surplus, bringing the accumulated general fund balance up to $54 million, a whopping 47% of the $113 million budget. There’s even room enough for another $1.4 million bailout of the golf course. Previous yearly million dollar subsidies since its opening have been in the form of loans. But now that it’s clear the debt will never be repaid, and with hopes fading the course will ever pay for itself, it will now be a part of the regular operating budget, just like the city’s other recreational facilities.
Follow the jump for the rest of the story. . . [click to continue…]
by Richard J. Riehl on May 25, 2011
A week after Carlsbad’s City Council voted unanimously to amend a policy governing grants to agencies for special events of citywide interest, Oceanside’s council wrangled over what to do about rent control. Carlsbad’s council meeting was, as usual, polite. Quite a contrast to the shouting match that erupted on the dais in Oceanside, where one council member, after being repeatedly interrupted by another, demanded of the mayor, presiding over the verbal slugfest, “Will you shut her up?” A recess allowed the city leaders to retreat to their opposite corners.
The difference between the behaviors of the two groups reflects more than just the gravity of the issue being discussed. Yes, deciding how to spend $50,000 of earned interest on a $1 million savings account for city enrichment activities is a bit less contentious than deciding whether to end rent control for nearly 2,600 low-income residents of mobile-home parks. But a closer look at the civil discussion among Carlsbad’s council members offers clues about how more contentious issues may be debated in future meetings and what the talking points of new and incumbent city council candidates will be in the next election. [click to continue…]
by Richard J. Riehl on April 7, 2011
Carlsbad city officials can’t understand why more low-income homeowners haven’t applied for federal funds earmarked for minor home repairs, from clearing clogged drains to installing assistive devices for seniors and disabled persons.
The city pays $8,500 each year to Community HousingWorks, a San Diego non-profit, to administer the program. In the last three years, only four households have received funding.
At the city council’s March 22 meeting, Councilmember Farrah Douglas asked Debbie Fountain, director of housing and neighborhood services, to explain how the program has been marketed. Fountain told of postings on the city and HousingWorks websites, direct mailers to the barrio neighborhood, and articles and advertisements in community publications. She singled out word-of-mouth as “pretty successful.” Maybe that explains how the two homeowners receiving help last year learned of the program. [click to continue…]
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The Riehl World: Don’t Blame Schools for Cuts
by Richard J. Riehl on March 22, 2012
Those who think unions are “wicked,” the word used by one community columnist, often praise teachers for their good work as individuals. But when they organize to improve their profession, they’re accused of putting their own interests ahead of kids. Using that logic, you might say the same about parents who follow flight attendant instructions to put on their own oxygen masks before helping their kids with theirs.
Teachers face obstacles to their effectiveness when they work in overcrowded classrooms, have to buy their own teaching materials, and are given little time to collaborate on lesson plans. Union efforts to reduce those obstacles are truly in the best interests of students.
Common sense might suggest a “keep the best and fire the rest” layoff policy. But in this case common sense doesn’t make good sense.
Here’s why. The best and worst teachers often stand out. But it’s much harder to rank those who fall in between. Evaluating teachers on test scores alone ignores learning that can’t be measured by multiple choice. Congeniality and budget savings could become the primary criteria if administrators alone make the call. Most would agree that popularity isn’t the best measure of teaching excellence. [click to continue…]
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