Top officials at San Diego Unified say the district's financial health isteetering on the edge of a cliff. If the state cuts more funding this year, the district could soon fall over the edge and into insolvency.
As I explained yesterday, insolvency would then spur a radical shift in local control over San Diego's schools for decades to come. The state would take over the district, firing its superintendent and stripping its school board of all authority. Until the district repays a bailout, the state would remain a fixture in the district's financial affairs.
For a glimpse at what could happen to San Diego Unified, I examined what did happen to Oakland Unified in 2003. The district declared insolvency, received a $100 million bailout and then handed over control to the state.
Statement: "We really are the first CSU, the first college in California, the first one on the West Coast and the second in the nation to offer this major," Esther Rothblum, a professor of women's studies at San Diego State University, said in a story the university published Oct. 3 about its new major in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender studies.
Determination: True
Analysis: The news from San Diego State University two weeks ago thrilled Ardel Thomas. Next spring, the college will start offering a bachelor's degree in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender studies.