Meeting Update

Tonight's meeting went very well! There was a united front by all Talegans. I have to admit I thought Seaside was going to be thrown under the bus. I would estimate 300-350 people were at the meeting, it was amazing. Standing room only. People were even standing outside. There were some emotional speeches and some very eloquent well thought out and presented presentations. The evening started off with one of our old neighbors, John Stephens - he was fantastic. It was made clear that we were unhappy with the process, unhappy with being kept in the dark, and unhappy with the recommendation. It was also clear that we were unhappy with the way the funds have been managed and the thought process of the school district. My turn to speak came around 8:30 and I left around 9:00. The meeting was still going strong.

I ended up toning down the speech and have included it for your review. A big Thank You has to go to Scott Reilly for his advice and guidance. I want to again Thank everyone that has sent me emails, helped edit the speech, and came to the meetings both last night at my house and tonight at the school district. I think our message was well received by both the Boundaries Committee as well as our neighbors in other parts of Talega. Great job everyone.

=======

Good evening my name is Ken Nelson, I am the delegate for Seaside to the Talega Homeowners Association. I currently have two children attending schools at CUSD, a freshman at San Clemente High School and a 6th grader at Vista del Mar Middle School. In addition I have a one year old who will graduate high school in 2025 and yes he was planned. As an eight year resident of Seaside, I have been chosen to speak on behalf of the residents of Seaside. You can see by the show of hands that we understand the importance of this issue. We would like to thank the committee for their efforts and for their recommendation. We realize tough decisions had to be made and any recommendation would be difficult to make.

We sympathize with our new neighbors in the recommendation’s effected areas. We sympathize because we walked in their shoes. For the first three years of living in Seaside both my daughters went to Ole Hanson Elementary School, this is now known as the upper campus or freshman campus of San Clemente High School. My neighbors had kids going to Lobo, Truman, Concordia, and schools outside of San Clemente and outside of CapoUSD.

When Vista Del Mar opened we were among many in the community to embrace the new school. We helped start the PTA, found and support the Mako Education Foundation, and volunteer countless hours of parent classroom time. Our investment in Vista Del Mar extends beyond the financial, we have memories created over the years of service and participation in our children’s education. One can realize our commitment by simply looking at the tile wall in the multi-purpose room and reading the names on the tiles, many of those people are here tonight.

We do have an objection regarding the grandfather clause. We feel that it is not acceptable to force a family to split up unnecessarily. Additionally it is important to understand the benefit that a sibling has when attending the same school as older brothers and sisters. There is a certain comfort for the child as well as the parent in having familiarity and experience with the staff, the teachers, and the other families one has already had the opportunity to work with in the past. Furthermore the current grandfather clause has set a precedence that the new clause would completely negate.

MORE IF NEEDED DEPENDING ON OTHER SPEAKERS
It is not our desire to see the Talega family split apart. If there is a way to accommodate all Talega children at Vista del Mar and maintain the same quality of education, we would support the recommendation. The fact of the matter is the school is simply not big enough. Something has to be done for the good of the community, the school district, and most importantly for the good of all of our children’s educations.

CONCLUSION
It has been my privilege to speak here tonight. Thank you for your time.