Posted: Friday, January 14, 2011 8:15 am |Updated: 10:26 am, Fri Jan 14, 2011.
By Emily Alpert
Marilyn Tilos burst into crying in the middle of the meeting. She wasn't sure later exactly what triggered the tears. But even trying to talk about it made the elementary school teacher crumple again.
"Every teacher grows up thinking they're going to do a lot for their kids. Oh no," Tilos said. Sobs punctuated her thoughts. "That we weren't. Going to let anything. Stop them from getting the best education. And here I am. Where I want to be. And I can't do any more than I'm doing."
I'm following Juarez Elementary, a tiny school in Serra Mesa, as it tries to slash its budget. It's a new power, and burden, for schools as San Diego Unified decentralizes its budget decisions. This is my second stop at the school as I try to think small on the
