Letter: Site Clearing Under Way for High School in Alpine, 12th in District

Letter to the editor:

2011 has been another year of challenges and continued successes for the Grossmont Union High School District’s Proposition H and consolidated Prop. U programs. As outlined in the attached report, Prop. H project work has been completed except for disability-access upgrades to the district building [at Grossmont High School].

Prop. U is in full swing with construction under way on most high school campuses. The long-awaited deferred maintenance plan was reviewed by the Citizens Bond Oversight Committee and adopted by the school board in September—see inside for more details.

Site clearing construction work is under way for the 12th high school in Alpine—see inside for more information on this and other projects. A status summary of financial projects also is included in this report.

The CBOC subcommittees have been hard at work. The Construction Oversight Subcommittee, which has visited five schools this year, periodically meets at school sites to visit ongoing projects. The Audit and Finance subcommittee was tasked with reviewing a conversion of the reporting systems used to track Prop. H and Prop. U budgets, commitments, forecasting and expenditures.

This reporting tool is now a module within the district’s financial system rather than a stand-alone report provided by consultants.

The Steering and Planning subcommittee, working in conjunction with the Construction subcommittee, helped review the deferred maintenance plan, monitored site work on the 12th high school and evaluated the impact of the new designs that were made in response to changes in the education program.

I would like to thank all the CBOC members for their hard work and dedication in overseeing the Prop. H and Prop. U building program. A special thanks to our departing members Elana Levens-Craig, Fred Lear, Jim Panknin, Sharon Smith and Mendy Brant for their important service and assistance in educating new members on important issues.

I am sure that they feel as I do that it is a privilege to serve this community and help ensure that tax dollars are being spent wisely.

I would encourage you to visit the CBOC website to review committee activities and public information including agendas, meeting minutes, presentation documents, and links to project status information. Visitors are always welcome at any CBOC meeting. We invite you to attend and welcome your input.

Sincerely,

Nancy Herbst
Chair, Citizens Bond Oversight Committee

Herbst lives in San Diego and serves in the capacity of community member at large.