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Today in S.C.V. History December 22
1905 - County buys property to build Newhall Jail (now next to city's Old Town Newhall Library) [story]
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Lack of enforcement provisions in the current law enables charter schools to skirt it and disregard the limited reasons and procedures for locating outside of their authorizing district.
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1905 - County buys property to build Newhall Jail (now next to city's Old Town Newhall Library) [story]
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The city of Santa Clarita is seeking enthusiastic individuals with a passion for swimming, exceptional customer service and community engagement to join the lifeguard team.
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California State Parks is calling all outdoor enthusiasts to step into the new year with a breath of fresh air. On Wednesday, Jan. 1, State Parks will host its highly anticipated First Day Hikes, offering over 90 guided hikes at more than 70 of California’s most iconic and breathtaking parks.
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The South Coast Air Quality Management District has issued a residential No Burn Day Alert on Saturday, Dec. 21, for all those living in the South Coast Air Basin, which includes the Santa Clarita Valley.
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The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is urging residents to avoid consuming or feeding to their pets raw milk due to the ongoing spread of H5 bird flu in dairy cows.
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The Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival is hosting a call for vendors for its return April 12 and 13, 2025.
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The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is reminding residents to remain vigilant as the holidays approach and to use the preventive tools available to protect the county’s most vulnerable populations from COVID-19.
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The Zonta Club of Santa Clarita Valley will host a free Lifeforward workshop "All About Communication" on Saturday, Jan. 18, 9:30 a.m.-12 p.m. at the Valencia United Methodist Church, 25718 McBean Parkway. Valencia, CA 91355.
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Start the new year off with a InfluenceHER Building Transformative Mutual Mentorship meeting Tuesday, Jan. 14 at Kindred Spirits, 24510 Town Center Drive Valencia, CA 91355.
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The Sundance Institute has unveiled the eagerly anticipated program for the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, the country’s premier stage for independent cinema.
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Every year at my Foster Youth Holiday Party, it seems like the presents and kids’ smiles get bigger and bigger!
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Annett Davis, the head coach of both the women's volleyball team and the beach volleyball team at The Masters University, has decided to step down as the head coach of the women's indoor volleyball team.
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The William S. Hart Union High School District has announced Naomi Kim, a senior at West Ranch High School, has earned the Congressional Award’s highest award: The Gold Medal.
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As families prepare to celebrate the holidays, the California Highway Patrol reminds everyone to prioritize safety on the road. To keep travelers safe throughout the busy holiday season, the CHP is initiating the first of two statewide Maximum Enforcement Periods this month to reduce traffic incidents by targeting unsafe driving behaviors and assisting motorists.
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The city of Santa Clarita has announced that renovations are coming to the Santa Clarita Public Library Valencia Branch. The Valencia Branch will be temporarily closed from Dec. 21 through Jan. 1, for a flooring renovation project.
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Matias Castro a graduate of Golden Valley High School, three-time participant in the William S. Hart Union High School District Honor Band and current first-year student at University of Southern California, Thornton School of Music has been named a 2025 YoungArts winner with distinction in Jazz Alto Saxophone, the highest honor of the organization.
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There was no gold, frankincense or the anointing oil myrrh, but the hot sausage, pancakes and special gifts offered at the recent “Breakfast with Santa” held in Valencia were treats for dozens of children and their parents. It was a reminder of the meaning of this special holiday season.
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1892 - Benjamin Harrison establishes 555,520-acre San Gabriel Timberland Reserve (Angeles National Forest). First forest reserve in California, second in U.S. [story]
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Yes I Can Unity Through Music & Education, a nonprofit organization that provides career-skills training and employment services to adults with disabilities, presented certificates of recognition to Remo Inc. and Migrate Sound for the commitment to creating career opportunities for neurodiverse talent.
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The MAIN and Outpost Media has announced the premiere of The Wolves, 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 17, thru Sunday, Jan. 26, at the MAIN located at 24266 Main St., Santa Clarita, CA 91321.
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The Santa Clarita Community College District Board of Trustees, which oversees College of the Canyons, swore in recently elected board members, named its new officers, received recognitions for service and set its 2025 meeting schedule at the board’s business and organizational meeting held on Wednesday, Dec. 18.
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Reflecting on this past year, there are so many things to be thankful for. Whether it is our health, happiness or the ability to live in a community as special as ours, I believe many of our residents would agree that Santa Clarita is a place where wonderful memories have been made and a unique place to call home.
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21 Comments
On the flip side, why would a governing Board Allow a charter school in their jurisdiction? Seems like the Board has no incentive to allow a school that will siphon of students and funding from them. So, there has to be balance. The fox can’t watch the hen-house. I think there needs to be an appeals process to the Board of Education or other neutral body if a charter is denied within a jurisdiction’s boundaries. Otherwise, there is a conflict of interest.
The charter was denied because it didn’t meet “minimum legal standards.” That’s rich. Please feel free to enlighten us on those specific standards not met. Try not to spin it.
It looks like he did say what those specific standards are. He said: “The law allows a charter school to operate outside the boundaries of its authorizing district if the school is undergoing construction, or if space is unavailable within the boundaries of the authorizing district.”
I was referring to the original charter petition being denied over and over which had nothing to do with location
Don’t remember, but you should find the answers in the news stories on our SCVNews.com website, when it was current news. (Seem to recall deficiencies with respect to special-needs students, but it might have been more than that. Anyway it would be in the news stories.)
It’s interesting to me that in some of this opinion piece he talks about charger schools as a whole, and in some he specifically targets aea. All while saying it benefits charters and districts but never mentioning aea by name. When we all know, right or wrong, aes is the target. Maybe we need to worry less about where they are located and more about why families by the hundreds are leaving local districts to go there.
Seems to me that it is massaging the facts to say that AADUSD violated the law. It acted within the law as it is written. And it is further disingenuous to say SB1263 did not target AEA given the specific retroactive date. Interesting too that the author completely ignores the financial impact on his district while pointing to the financial incentive of AADUSD. Yet nothing whatsoever suggesting AEA is being mismanaged or violating its charter, which is what he professes to be so concerned about.
They’re saying AEA and AAUSD did not “act within the law as it is written.” That’s what the whole lawsuit is about. It’s in court tomorrow. Hopefully it will be over then, or at least soon thereafter.
Is this SCVTV responding? or the author of the opinion piece, a member of the governing board of Newhall School District?
Not to mention that the local district here is intentionally trying to keep a good charter out- they don’t like the competition because it makes them look bad.
Not to mention that the local district here is intentionally trying to keep a good charter out- they don’t like the competition because it makes them look bad.
Not to mention that the local district here is intentionally trying to keep a good charter out- they don’t like the competition because it makes them look bad.
I find it interesting that the person writing this article has also fought strongly against some of those charter schools. I say, “What’s the threat?” If your district meets those ‘minimum standards’ then allowing a charter school to operate within your border should be no problem. Why the opposition? Are you afraid of the ‘competition’ the charter may create to improve your schools? The comparisons to quality? If you feel your schools are up to the test then why oppose? This isn’t about legality of a charter….this is about forcing a district to ‘cut the fat’ and operate under a new standard that puts the students’ needs first!
I was interested to see this article was written by a traditional public school board president, which gave helpful perspective as I was reading. I work for a large charter school that serves many families as an alternative to the traditional classroom. If the bill had passed, one of our Resource Centers would have been shut down (we would have had to choose who doesn’t get tutoring anymore), and the other one only could have stayed open with the permission of the local district (which is not the sponsoring district), and that wasn’t likely to happen. The truth is that the bill would have taken away parental choice, and funneled money back into the traditional school districts, or at least attempted to. The families I work with would have gone to a private ISP or filed their own R-4 to stay out of traditional school. I felt the need to present the facts here of what legally would have happened to the charter I work for, which is not included in the above opinion piece.
“The small and fiscally distressed Acton-Agua Dulce district, for example, has authorized 21 charter schools in recent years.” 21?!
This charter school is scrambling so much that the kids are the ones left suffering. They have ONE school counselor for THREE schools that traveled around. My 4 year old child was struggling and even though they knew it and agreed that she may have not been ready for full kindergarten, they also admitted that they were unable to do anything until she was assessed by the counselor. I was told: “We only have our school psychologist on a part time basis, usually one day per week. Legally, we must assess and service those kids where the law mandates us to do so first. After those kids are legally serviced, then we move in with others to get an initial assessment.” I have the emails to back it up!!! My poor kid had horrible self esteem issues last year due to her inability to keep up because this school was too busy spending money trying to get one over on the other district to focus on the MOST IMPORTANT thing – the children. We were given the run around for MONTHS over it. I knew within a month of school starting that something wasn’t right and brought my concerns to the teacher and then the principal. I was told over and over again that nothing could be done for her until she was assessed and that I wasn’t allowed to pull her until it was done.
THE ONLY THING THEY HAD TO SAY TO ME WHEN I PULLED HER FROM SCHOOL was “I do apologize, and am sorry that you feel very disappointed.”
Really?!?!
Pull your kids before they get hosed too.
While each side is bound to put their own spin on the story, Mr. Walters seems pretty spot on with his interpretation of the issues. Over here in Acton, the spin from the AADUSD Superintendent is quite different. Superintendent Woodard is seen on video announcing that AB1263 was “killed” and that his own school board could expect not to see any action on the bill for “a year”. He paints a picture that his lobbying efforts with Senate members who will craft verbiage that will help AADUSD and his upcoming personal meeting with the Governor will sway the tide. No reference to legal matters. Towards the end of the meeting, the board announced that the Superintendent’s performance review had been completed. Watch for yourself (discussion of FCMAT report on AADUSD fiscal condition begins at 5 minute mark, discussion on SB1263 starts at 7 minute mark, Superintendent performance review at 31:30 minute mark ): https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=UUB2WpO3l8ZjJuuB4OVS4WRA&feature=player_detailpage&v=AkuN0_Kc7fw
An editorial on my take on the SB1263 issue is here:
Lower left of page reference to Governor’s veto:
http://joycemediainc.net/aad20140929/11._Comments,_Politics.html
Finish on page 13 right column:
http://joycemediainc.net/aad20140929/13._SB%26T,_Veto.html
As its all still up in the air, opening a new school before the final verdict is in is against the interest of the students.
As its all still up in the air, opening a new school before the final verdict is in is against the interest of the students.
Contrary to your opinion, Mr. Walters it appears that the Governor agreed with the numerous parents when he put in his reasons for the veto, that it was indeed, unfair to exclude certain schools from the grandfather clause.
And if your primary concern was to uphold the law, why exempt some schools while others who may have exploited the same loophole, were not.
Certainly seems like an attack to my eyes. Especially considering that the Newhall school district has suffered from AEA taking away their students, (and dollars).
If Newhall felt that their school system is as superior as they would like everyone to believe, then why not let AEA fail on it’s own merits? AEA’s waitlist seems to invalidate that claim. Not to mention the good that the school continues to do for the community. A point that you fail to mention when defending your actions.
Is Brian Walters 14?