The Coast News INLAND EDITION
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VISTA, SAN MARCOS, ESCONDIDO
VOL. 10, N0. 11
MAY 26, 2023
City mulls budget fix proposal
SMUSD science teacher up for national honor By City News Service
SAN MARCOS — San Marcos Middle School science teacher Samantha Stickley was honored by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond last week as one of California’s finalists for the 2023 Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. “Let me offer my sincere congratulations to these educators, who we honor for their leadership and instructional practices and how they are inspiring a new generation with passion and STICKLEY talent for science, technology, engineering and math,” Thurmond said. “They model excellence in how we prepare California students for the challenges and advancements of the future.” The awards are administered by the National Science Foundation on behalf of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. The PAEMST is the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government specifically for K-12 science, math, engineering and computer science teaching. Stickley has 16 years of teaching experience and currently teaches seventh grade integrated science, as well as developing and leading professional learning for adult learners. For 2022-23, those who teach grades 7-12 were eligiTURN TO TEACHER ON 15
By Samantha Nelson
the regional tournament began with wins against Sonoma State, Cal State Dominguez Hills and Azusa Pacific University, propelling the team to the best-of-three Super Regional against Concordia. CSUSM won the first game, 9-0, on May 18, but found themselves trailing 3-1 in the bottom of the
ESCONDIDO — The city’s finance department is proposing to close the city’s projected $11.3 million budget deficit with one-time funding sources including American Rescue Plan Act dollars and deferred vehicle replacements. At the May 17 City Council meeting, Director of Finance Christina Holmes broke down how expenditures are outpacing revenues for the city along with how each one-time funding solution would help stabilize the budget. The meeting was the first of four budget workshops for the council to consider leading up to its final adoption of the 2023-2024 fiscal year budget in late June. The city has dealt with budget deficits for the last several years. Though revenues have increased, expenditures continue to outpace them. “For many fiscal years, the general fund long-term financial plan has projected annual deficits, creating a structural budget deficit,” Holmes said. To address this, staff has maintained a spending cap while looking for more efficient ways of operating, deferring maintenance and exploring revenue options. Staff proposes using $1.5 million from the Section 115 Trust Fund to cover this year’s increased unfunded pension liability costs; nearly $3 million in general liability fund reserves; $1.15 million in
TURN TO SOFTBALL ON 9
TURN TO BUDGET ON 5
CAL STATE SAN MARCOS softball players Zoe Ballen, left, and Mayca Brown celebrate their NCAA Division II regional championship at their graduation ceremony with university president Ellen Neufeldt on May 20. Courtesy photo
CSUSM softball in D-II World Series By Laura Place
SAN MARCOS — The Cal State San Marcos softball team advanced to the NCAA Division II World Series for the first time in school history after winning the West Super Regional championship on May 19. Despite being seeded sixth in the regional tournament, the Cougars came from behind in the second
game to sweep Concordia University Irvine in a bestof-three series to take home their first regional title. CSUSM (32-19) will vie for the World Series title in Chattanooga, Tennessee, a double-elimination tournament that started May 25 and runs through May 31. The Cougars, seeded eighth of eight teams, played their first game at
MEMORIAL DAY Honor. Celebrate. Remember. Monday, May 29, 2023
Thursday against top seed University of Texas at Tyler (59-4). “It's been their goal all year long to make it to Tennessee. To be here is such a great moment for this team,” head coach Stef Ewing said. “It's been an awesome ride so far, and here we are, we’re facing the No. 1 seed and we’re like, ‘Bring it.’” The path to victory at