LATEST OUSD NEWS AND NOTES....

Scroll down to read more on the following OUSD news items.

 Superintendent's Newsletter, click here February 5, 2010

Budget Workshop and Board Meeting, Feb. 9

President's Week Holiday Feb. 15-19

Del Rio Campus Ready for Move

School of Choice Applications Available March 1

McAuliffe Fun Run

Football Scholarships for Six Pirates

Salary Reductions for OUSD Administrators

Swine Flu Prevention Tips

Facing a $19 million budget deficit, the Oceanside Unified School District Board of Education will hold a special budget workshop on Tuesday, Feb. 9 at Chavez Middle School. The workshop will run from 4 to 6 p.m. prior to the regularly scheduled school board meeting, which will also be held at Chavez MS beginning at 6 p.m.   

During the workshop, Superintendent Perondi will present to trustees an itemized cost analysis that will detail how and where the district spends its money and what can possibly be saved by cutting back in these areas.   No recommendations for budget cuts will be made during this meeting.

Both sessions are open to the public and will provide an opportunity for public comment. Chavez Middle School is located at 202 Oleander Drive in Oceanside.

All OUSD school sites will be closed during the President’s Week holiday, Monday, Feb. 15 through Friday, Feb. 19. Schools will re-open at their regular times on Monday, Feb. 22.

District offices will be closed only on Monday, Feb. 15 and Friday, Feb. 19. Central offices will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 16, through Thursday, Feb. 18. For questions about the holiday week schedule, please call the district Communications Office at 760-966-4010.

The Oceanside Unified School District wishes you and your family a safe holiday week.

With the modernization process virtually complete, students and staff of Del Rio Elementary School will soon be relocating to their original campus. During the President’s Week holiday, Del Rio staff will permanently move into the renovated school.

Monday, Feb. 22 will be the first official day of class at the modernized Del Rio campus. Bell times will remain the same, with the first bell set for 8:55 a.m.

The new address for the school is 5200 N. River Road, Oceanside, 92057. The school’s phone number will remain the same – 760-901-7300.

Renovation of the school was made possible by bond funds from voter-approved Propositions G and H. The school will hold a re-opening ceremony on Wednesday, Feb. 24 at 10:30 a.m.

The Oceanside Unified School District Board of Education maintains its commitment to provide educational choices to families to meet the diverse needs of all students. The district’s School of Choice (SOC) Open Enrollment Policy (5116.1) is regulated by space availability.

The first SOC window begins March 1 and runs through March 19 with a 3 p.m. deadline on the day of closing.    Please note that due to enrollment capacity, not all campuses are accepting SOC applicants. 

Beginning March 1, 2010, School of Choice (SOC) applications for the 2010-11 school year will be available at school sites and the Educational Support Services office. 

Deadline to apply for first window: Friday, March 19, 3 p.m.  NO e-mails or faxes will be accepted.

El Camino High School and King Middle Schoolare closed due to capacity, except for siblings of existing SOC students.

• Two forms of address verification must be attached to the SOC application.
• Parents will be notified by May 1, 2010 through U.S. mail that their application has been approved, denied or placed on a waiting list.
• Transportation is not provided for any student approved for SOC.
• Review the SOC application for priority and revocation criteria.

More than 100 students, staff, parents and community members took part in the 6th annual McAuliffe Mile Fun Run. The event took place on Saturday, Jan. 30 at Mira Costa College.

The Fun Run promotes fitness, fun and family and is sponsored by the McAuliffe PTA. In years past, runners have helped generate as much as $2,000 for the school. Sponsors of the event included the Running Center, Oceanside Abbey Carpet, The Heller Real Estate Group and real estate broker Jami Besecker.

Twice the Oceanside High School football program has had four players in one year sign Division I letters of intent to play college football. Wednesday, OHS produced six college-bound players, the most ever in one class for longtime Pirates Coach John Carroll.

Five of the seniors, Jerry Whittaker, Jake Fely, Kenny Galea’i, Rene Siluano and King Holder will be suiting up locally next season, all committing to Coach Brady Hoke and the Aztecs of San Diego State. Lineman Thomas Molesi will be making the move to the Pac-10 as a member of the Oregon State Beavers.  

“This is a big day for Oceanside,” said Carroll. “It validates what we do in high school education and high school coaching. I am proud of and very happy for this group of kids.”

All six inked their deals as part of National Letter-of-Intent Signing Day, the first Wednesday in February allowing high school seniors to officially commit to four-year colleges. The signing period runs through April 11. KUSI TV, a huge supporter of high school athletics, covered the event live.

Pictured left to right: Jerry Whitaker, Jake Fely, Kenny Galea’I, King Holder, Rene Siluano and Thomas Molesi.

In an effort to help reduce a $19 million budget shortfall, all administrators and confidential employees of the Oceanside Unified School District have collectively and voluntarily agreed to salary rollbacks and a reduced work year, effective July 1, 2010. OUSD Superintendent Larry Perondi announced the savings plan today in a message to all district employees.

The reductions include a five percent salary rollback across the board, a five-day reduction in the work year (furlough), and a cap on district-paid medical and dental benefits. Overall, the concessions for the 62 administrators and five confidential employees will produce a combined savings of approximately $700,000.

“These are extraordinarily difficult economic times, and our administrators, like all our employees, are deeply concerned with doing what is in the best interest of the children we serve,” said Perondi. 

State cuts to education funding the past three years have devastated public school districts statewide. During the past two school years, OUSD has reduced $32 million from its operating budget. Cutbacks have included layoffs, larger class sizes, school closures and reductions in transportation, programs and services.

Superintendent Perondi will discuss the budget process at the district’s next regularly scheduled Board of Education meeting, Tuesday, Feb. 9. The meeting will be held at Chavez Middle School, 202 Oleander Drive, Oceanside beginning at 6 p.m.

In order to provide children with the high quality education they deserve, schools need to remain open. Because influenza, or “flu,” can be spread easily from one person to another, please emphasize to your child the importance of helping to reduce the spread of flu in our schools. 

Here’s what you can do to help stop the spread of flu this school year and help keep schools operating and functioning in a normal manner during this flu season:

• Teach your children to practice good hygiene. 
• Wash hands frequently with soap and hot water. 
• Use alcohol-based hand sanitizer when soap and hot water is not available.
• Set a good example for your children by doing this too.
• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze.
• If you don’t have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your elbow, not in your hands.
• Stay home from school and work when ill.
• Do not return for at least 24-hours after there is no longer a fever (without the use of fever-reducing medicine).
• Clean items and surfaces that are frequently touched or handled by a number of persons.
• Get your family vaccinated for seasonal flu and the H1N1 Swine Flu.

For more information, call the San Diego County Office of Public Health Services at 619-692-8661.