School Board President Gives Progress Report to City Council Committee
For the first time in recent history, a San Diego Board of Education President presented an update on the city’s schools to the San Diego City Council as Board of Education President Dr. John Lee Evans visited the City Council Rules Committee on Wednesday, April 18.
The panel heard a report from Dr. Evans and Superintendent Bill Kowba about the district’s Vision 2020, community based school reform plan and budget challenges.
“Our goal is to educate council members with a more detailed overview about the progress being made in our schools and the serious budget challenges we are facing,” said Dr. Evans. “We welcome support for public education from all segments of the community including city government.”
Evans and Young have also discussed the possibility of having a full joint meeting of the City Council and Board of Education this fall to explore ways in which the city can be more supportive of the district’s mission to provide a quality education to all San Diego children.
“This is the start of an important discussion between the City Council and Board of Education on ways we can strengthen our ties, further partnerships and work together toward a better educated San Diego,” said San Diego City Council President Tony Young.
Evans will share with the Council Members the district’s academic focus and goals through the Vision 2020 plan. These include efforts to boost student achievement, narrow the achievement gap between ethnic groups, improve attendance, implement University of California A-G classes for all students, and ensure there is a quality school in every neighborhood. The San Diego Unified School District is one of the top large school districts in the nation, with 104 of its 185 schools having API scores above the state target of 800, the second lowest dropout rate and steadily rising test scores, despite five years of severe budget cuts.