Board Vetoes Spanish Immersion At Del Mar School
Issue Divided Community
Monica Dean, NBC 7/39 Reporter
Source: http://nbcsandiego.com/news/16580904/detail.html
POSTED: 9:09 pm PDT June 11, 2008
UPDATED: 1:36 pm PDT June 12, 2008
DEL MAR, Calif. -- The Del Mar School board voted Wednesday night against beginning a Spanish immersion program this fall at Del Mar Heights Elementary School.
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The proposed language program has divided the district, and both sides seemed disappointed with the board's decision.
Opponents have argued that putting a Spanish-language program in Del Mar Heights Elementary School could be costly for neighboring Del Mar Hills Elementary. Parents and teachers at Del Mar Hills, the smaller of the two schools, are concerned that a Spanish language program at Del Mar Heights would attract students away from their school. Some feared this would eventually lead to teacher layoffs and possibly the closure of Del Mar Hills Elementary.
Dozens of parents had already signed up to enroll their children in the immersion program. Eric Vanjoosten was hoping his son would begin learning Spanish when he started kindergarten this fall at Del Mar Heights Elementary. Vanjoosten came to the meeting to hear the board's decision.
"Nobody won. There was only losers tonight," Vanjoosten said.
After a heated two-hour board meeting, board members decided to delay the program.
Beth Westburg is a parent of students at Del Mar Hills.
"We never wanted them not to have the program. We just wanted them to work the program so that it worked for their school and worked for our school," Westburg said.
Kerry Traylor has students at both schools.
"I think the Heights deserves a Spanish program, and I think the Hills deserves the enrollment that it needs to stay viable," Traylor said.
Several proposals were put before the board Wednesday in hopes of reaching a compromise. But in the end, the board voted to postpone the Spanish program
"We need to take a step back and really begin to figure out a way that we can make this program work where everyone feels it's a win-win situation," said Janet Bernard, the Interim Superintendent of the Del Mar Union School District.
Bernard said she is hopeful the district will be able to approve a Spanish language program in at least one of its schools for the 2009-2010 school year.
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