A Chula Vista City Councilmember has presented an idea that would change the way school districts in the city look.
Students in Chula Vista go to schools in the Chula Vista Elementary School District for grades K through 8, then high schools in the Sweetwater Union High School District.
CouncilmemberMary Salas wants to unify elementary schools and those Sweetwater high schools located in the city of Chula Vista under one district.
“A lot of parents have expressed extreme satisfaction with the elementary school district. Yet by the time they get to middle school, then they start shopping around for different options,” Salas said.
“The continuing of education is the number one priority,” she said.
The idea of merging the school districts has come up before, but has taken on renewed importance in light of a corruption scandal brewing in the Sweetwater Union High School District.
National City Mayor Ron Morrison says the shuffling would impact schools in surrounding areas.
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“That’s going to be my biggest concern, how the finances are going to work out on this,” Morrison said.
On Tuesday, Salas told the council that details of a potential merger would be worked out by the San Diego County Office of Education. But she says the process must begin, especially given the ongoing scandal in the Sweetwater Union High School District.
“I don’t think it should be looked at as a complete answer, but certainly if the high school district has been mired in conflict and dysfunction for years and years, it does affect a lot of things,” she said.
Sweetwater board member John McCann supports this idea.
The Chula Vista Elementary School District says this is a complicated process and more research is needed.
If the proposal does move forward, Salas says she thinks it could be done in a year.
