Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Brutal John

During a December 9 meeting at the Mission Bay High School auditorium, Bill Kowba, interim superintendent for the SD Unified School District, addressed 2009/2010 budget cuts: “$183 million has been cut in the last two budget years. Eighty million to $100 million in cuts is needed to balance next year’s budget. By March, by code, we have to make decisions about layoffs.”

Teachers squirmed in their seats. District C board member John de Beck asked the audience, “How many of you came with an idea of a cut we should make?” About 20 people raised their hands. Next he asked, “How many have an idea that would negatively affect your children?” No one raised their hand. De Beck then said, “Everything we are going to do is going to hurt children.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

As if De Beck wasn’t unpopular enough by this point, he added, “I’m known for being brutally honest, so I have to tell you, I want to hear what you have to say...but by the time we are making a decision at a board meeting, it doesn’t matter what you are going to say because we already have our decisions made. Your input doesn’t mean it’s a referendum on my decision. When I go down there to push the button I’m considering what everyone says, but I can’t vote for cutting all these programs. I consider that cannibalism.... I have to do something where everyone takes the hit. I’d have to do pay cuts.”

Members of the audience yelled, “No!”

“My philosophy is to cut across the board. If I have to choose between cutting your kid’s favorite program, give vouchers, or cut salaries. I will make cuts across the board.”

For more information visit: sandi.net/Budget

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

March is typically windy, Sage scents in the foothills

Butterflies may cross the county

During a December 9 meeting at the Mission Bay High School auditorium, Bill Kowba, interim superintendent for the SD Unified School District, addressed 2009/2010 budget cuts: “$183 million has been cut in the last two budget years. Eighty million to $100 million in cuts is needed to balance next year’s budget. By March, by code, we have to make decisions about layoffs.”

Teachers squirmed in their seats. District C board member John de Beck asked the audience, “How many of you came with an idea of a cut we should make?” About 20 people raised their hands. Next he asked, “How many have an idea that would negatively affect your children?” No one raised their hand. De Beck then said, “Everything we are going to do is going to hurt children.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

As if De Beck wasn’t unpopular enough by this point, he added, “I’m known for being brutally honest, so I have to tell you, I want to hear what you have to say...but by the time we are making a decision at a board meeting, it doesn’t matter what you are going to say because we already have our decisions made. Your input doesn’t mean it’s a referendum on my decision. When I go down there to push the button I’m considering what everyone says, but I can’t vote for cutting all these programs. I consider that cannibalism.... I have to do something where everyone takes the hit. I’d have to do pay cuts.”

Members of the audience yelled, “No!”

“My philosophy is to cut across the board. If I have to choose between cutting your kid’s favorite program, give vouchers, or cut salaries. I will make cuts across the board.”

For more information visit: sandi.net/Budget

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Nation’s sexy soldiers stage protest at Pendleton in wake of change in Marine uniform policy

Semper WHY?
Next Article

Melissa Etheridge, The Imaginary Amazon

Events April 1-April 3, 2024
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.