West San Jose Resident

News

Moreland receives Discovery report

By Tiffany Carney

Just a few weeks into the new year, the process of finding a new location for Discovery Charter School in West San Jose continues.

At the Moreland School District board of trustees meeting Jan. 22, a subcommittee composed of Community Board Advisory Committee members presented a 36-page report addressing Discovery's location issues.

Discovery, which shares the Anderson Village Elementary School campus, applied for a new location to be provided by the district.

The report outlines contains the advantages and disadvantages of each campus being considered--Phelan, Coventry, Easterbrook, Latimer and Anderson.

"We tried to gather [information] fairly. We didn't feel pressured either way," said CBAC member Erin McLaughlin, who added that the committee was making a recommendation.

"We did get a lot of useful information from the community meetings," McLaughlin said of the research.

"I am confident the subcommittee took their work seriously," said Robert Varich, president of the board of trustees.

Upon review, the district will make a preliminary offer of facilities by March 1.

In other reports, Moreland superintendent Glen Ishiwata explained how 23 Moreland students and 34 parents would attend a Latino summit on Feb. 9 at San Jose State University.

Santa Clara County superintendents, along with Don Kassing, president of San Jose State University, will host the program, created for under-represented students, said Ishiwata.

"We wanted to make sure that our Latino students especially make college a goal," Ishiwata said

The program will include keynote speakers, discussion panels and breakout sessions.

Dana Taylor, assistant superintendent of business services, also reported on next year's budget. According to Taylor, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger plans to solve state's budget problem by adjusting expenditures.

The governor must submit a plan to address the budget imbalance, and the Legislature will adopt a plan by March 15.

"There would need to be reductions for next year based on his proposal," Taylor said.

To be exact, $360 million in mid-year budget cuts will be made from the education program according to the proposal, she said after the meeting.

"We are looking at what it is that we need to do to continue to be fiscally solvent," Taylor said.

The information did not come as a surprise, but she said district officials did not know to what magnitude they would be affected.