The Board of Education passed a resolution on September 4, 2012, establishing the San Diego Unified School District Charter School Facility Committee for the purpose of providing recommendations concerning acquisition, construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, or replacement of charter school facilities, including the furnishing and equipping of charter school facilities. The Committee is to be comprised of seven members, including five charter school board members or employees, and two individuals with expertise, knowledge or background related to charter school operations/facilities. Read more.| Mary Bixby, CEO/Founder/President | The Charter School of San Diego | 1 yr |
| Leslie Dahab, CEO | Darnall Charter School | 2 yrs |
| Miles Durfee, S.D. Regional Director | California Charter School Association | 2 yrs |
| Kay McElrath, CFO | High Tech Village of Schools | 1 yr |
| Jenny Parsons, CBO | Gompers Preparatory Academy Charter | 2 yrs |
| Eric Premack, Exec. Director/Founder | Charter School Development Center | 1 yr |
| David Sciarretta, Principal | Einstein Academy Charter Middle School | 2 yrs |
San Diego Unified received $530 million on April 30 after selling a portion of its $2.8 billion in General Obligation (GO) Bonds for Prop. Z, the bond measure approved by nearly 62 percent of the San Diego voters on Nov. 6, 2012. The bond funds will be used to continue repairing, renovating and revitalizing neighborhood schools. Bond projects include classroom technology, new/renovated facilities for College, Career and Technical Education, air conditioning, safety and security upgrades, turf fields, and other capital improvements at traditional and charter schools throughout the district. By law, the funds cannot be used for teacher or school administrator salaries.
The school district took advantage of low taxable interest rates and tax-exempt financing to pay for classroom technology. The recent bond sales were structured so that the useful life of assets matched the maturity of bonds. Technology projects have shorter term bonds, while construction projects have longer term bonds.
"The school district used an innovative multiple maturity structure that allowed it to match the useful life of assets to specific needs, and get a very low cost of borrowing,” according to Stan Dobbs, chief financial officer for San Diego Unified. “At 1.78 the school district's debt repayment ratio is very low, which gets the taxpayer more for their money. In fact, this was the lowest interest cost of any of the GO bond sales since the inception of the district’s Prop. MM, the bond measure approved by San Diego voters in 1998.”
Before the sale, credit ratings were requested from Moody’s Investor’s Service (Moody’s) and Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P) for the bonds. San Diego Unified’s finance team diligently pursued ratings from the rating agencies, and made its case that factors that secure the bonds are stable. As a result of Moody’s and S&P’s review, the bonds were assigned a rating of Aa3 (stable outlook) by Moody’s and AA- by S&P.
“Achieving such solid investment grade ratings from the rating agencies helped to generate confidence from a variety of buyers, which ultimately led to a lower cost of borrowing for the school district,” said Dobbs. "The school district also used several innovative strategies to achieve the lowest cost of borrowing, which included aggressive pricing of its bonds, conservative debt structure and maintaining high credit ratings."
The district does not receive all of the $2.8 billion Prop. Z bond funds at once. It receives them incrementally based on the frequency of bond sales. Additional bond sales will be conducted during the life of the facilities bond program. The next one is slated for 2015.
At its May 14 meeting, the Board of Education will review the Prop. Z project plan that will utilize the bond proceeds.
For more information, contact Supervisor Cynthia Reed-Porter, facilities bond program communications, at 619-546-3378 or creed-porter@sandi.net.
Guests were wowed by Point Loma High School students who demonstrated what they can do with their new state-of-the-art Motion Pictures Industries facility and equipment. Demonstrations and tours were part the activities held May 11 to celebrate the dedication of the facility. Before the ceremonial red ribbon was cut, Principal Barbara Samilson welcomed guests and invited them to tour the facility when the ceremony concluded. Board of Education Trustee Richard Barrera represented Trustee Scott Barnett and the other board members who were not able to attend the dedication ceremony. Jade Martz and Robert Tharp, both seniors in the Motion Pictures Industries Program, told guests they were excited to have this new facility, and that it offered them opportunities to build skills they can use to attain their career goals. 
Construction on the new College, Career and Technical Education (CCTE) facility began Jan. 2011. Completed in Nov. 2012, it includes a screening room, video editing rooms, audio suite, studio, audio-video hub, and an instructor’s office. This $3.6 million project involved remodeling a 4,804 square-foot portion of Building 900 into a Motion Pictures Industries Program facility. The CCTE facility was funded by Proposition S and a California Proposition 1D matching-fund grant. 
Board Trustee Richard Barrera and Vice Principal Andy Trakas joined the Hoover High School varsity and junior varsity softball teams to dedicate the school's first softball field. Before the ceremonial red ribbon was cut, Diane Cozy, varsity softball team captain; and Dion Moore, varsity softball coach; told guests how | Photo by Thom Vollenweider |
The construction of the new softball field was part of a larger $12 million-project that also rebuilt the stadium and baseball field. Besides providing new accessible sports facilities, access to the sports facilities via the paseo has greatly improved traffic; and the new adjacent athletics services building has significantly improved concessions, storage and restroom facilities. Construction on the sports facilities project started in April 2011 and was completed in August 2012. The project partners were Soltek Pacific construction and Mesquita & Associates architectural firm. Both are San Diego companies.
Morse High School officially dedicated its new College, Career and Technical Education (CCTE) Child Development Center (CDC) on Thursday, Feb. 28. The dedication ceremony began with Principal Harry Shelton welcoming guests and telling them what an asset this program and facility was to his school. Then the Morse High's Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps presented the colors, and led the Pledge of Allegiance. Morse High student Chideya Delancy sang "America the Beautiful;" and a fellow student, Alondra Gonzalez, was the first guest speaker of the morning, telling guests how much this Child Development Program has impacted her and her career choice. Other speakers included Marne Foster, board trustee; Shirley Wilson, Area One superintendent; Lee Dulgeroff, Facilities Planning & Construction (Prop. S & Z) executive director; Shawn Loescher, College, Career & Technical Education director; and Mary Doan, the former Child Development Center director who was the guiding force behind the design of the new facility. Mary recently retired. The event culminated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house. Guests were treated to refreshments prepared by the students in the Madison High School Culinary Arts Program.
Mira Mesa High School is getting a double dose of upgrades for its College, Career & Technical Education (CCTE) Programs. Both the Broadcast Journalism Program and the Screen Printing and Computerized Graphic Design Program are getting extreme makeovers thanks San Diego Unified School District's Prop. S and a California Prop. 1D matching-fund grant.
The $2.6 million renovation to the Broadcast Journalism Program included the remodeling of the existing television studio into a new, state-of-the-art broadcast facility with a studio and classroom. Existing areas were remodeled to generate proper audio visual, server and storage rooms. A new vestibule was also constructed. The classroom, conference room, and control rooms were reconfigured and upgraded as well. New broadcast/television equipment was installed; and the electrical system, building systems (heat/air, fire, data), lighting and acoustical properties were all upgraded. Fiber optic cables were also added to the theater to allow for live broadcasts.
The Screen Printing & Computerized Graphic Design Program facility included an $900,000 renovation of the existing, outdated graphic arts classroom into a new in-screen printing/graphics classroom with an adjoining computer graphics lab/classroom. The existing graphics arts classroom was remodeled and upgraded into screen printing classroom with an upgraded ventilation system. In the computer lab/graphic design classroom, technology infrastructure was installed and upgraded to accommodate current computer needs; and a visual and physical link to the main classroom was provided.
Construction phase on these two facilities is 99 percent complete. The next phase includes installing equipment and furniture, as well as integrating the technology. An official dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony is planned for May. For more details on CCTE and its programs, visit www.sandi.net/CCTE or call 858-503-1758. For additional information on Prop. S visit www.sandi.net/PropS, e-mail SDUSDFacilitiesInfo@sandi.net or call 619-725-7252
Marne Foster, newly elected San Diego Unified School District Board of Education Trustee; Cecil H. Steppe, President/CEO of the San Diego Urban League and Chairman of the Gompers Preparatory Academy Board of Directors; and Shirley Wilson, Area Three Superintendent; joined district leaders, students, parents, community members and staff at the official dedication of the newly installed athletic field shared by Gompers Preparatory Academy (charter school) and Millennial Tech Middle School in Chollas View. 
After the ceremonial ribbon-cutting, some of the Gompers and Millennial Tech students demonstrated how the new shared-use field is used. The nearly $2.2 million athletic facility is on approximately 3.5 acres adjacent to Gompers and Millennial Tech. The synthetic turf play field was completed in Nov. 2012. It includes a full football/soccer field, a full baseball facility, and enough open area for multipurpose use. The new facility is part of the master plans for both schools, and is only one of several capital improvement projects planned for both sites. The second phase of the athletic field will be a softball complex, which will be completed sometime in 2015. 
San Diego Unified School District Board Member Richard Barrera, San Diego Council President Todd Gloria, and ALBA Community Day School Principal Vernon Moore joined students, school staff, city and school district leaders, as well as community members on Dec. 6 for the official dedication and ceremonial ribbon cutting for the newly upgraded joint-use facilities adjacent to San Diego Unified School District’s ALBA Community Day School. Improvements included a new basketball court, new 30-foot light poles at joint-use playing field, new matting around the horizontal bars, a resurfaced 
joint-use play field, newly repaired concrete sidewalk areas, new signage and new fencing around joint-use play field.
Board Trustee Kevin Beiser joined Principal Ann Menna, district and community leaders, as well as SRHS students, staff and parents in dedicating the new Sustainable Technologies facility at Scripps Ranch High School on Nov. 29.
A new performing arts center is being constructed on the east side of the Creative, Performing & Media Arts (CPMA) Middle School campus (former Kroc MS). The new 20,600-square-feet facility will feature the following amenities:The construction of this building began in June. The project is being done in conjunction with the school's whole-site modernization,which includes remodeling the food service facilities to include a new serving area and kiosk, remodeling the auditorium, renovating shower/locker areas, installing a new security fence and improving landscaping along the street in front of the school, and making improvements needed to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act and current building codes. There will also be heating/air conditioning/ventilation upgrades, lighting improvements, technology upgrades. Construction is expected to be completed in spring 2014.
These improvements are being funded by Prop. S, the bond measure passed by voters in 2008 to repair, renovate and revitalize district schools. For more details on bond projects at CPMA, visit https://fpcprojects.sandi.net/Pages. For information on Prop. S, visit www.sandi.net/PropS, e-mail SDUSDFacilitiesInfo@sandi.net or call 619-725-7252. Media inquiries should be directed to Cynthia Reed-Porter, facilities communications supervisor, at 619-725-5579.
