Hawthorne Press Tribune
Herald Publications - Hawthorne, Inglewood, Lawndale & El Segundo Community Newspapers Since 1911 - Circulation 30,000 - Readership 60,000 (310) 322-1830 - September 20, 2018
Inside
This Issue
Calendar of Events.............3
Certified & Licensed
Professionals.......................3
Classifieds............................3
Entertainment......................2
Food.......................................5
Hawthorne Happenings....3
Lawndale..............................4
Legals............................. 4,6,7
Pets........................................8
Weekend
Forecast
City Remembers September 11
The City of Hawthorne 9/11 Remembrance (with Police Chief Robert Fager shown here during the Pledge of Allegiance) was held in front of City Hall on Tuesday Sept. 11, 2018 honoring the fallen heroes
of 9/11. A special thanks was given to all of our civil servant heroes that serve our community. Photo: City of Hawthorne.
Wiseburn Board Hears Concerns,
Discusses Funding Challenges
By Duane Plank
With no special presentations on the
agenda, the Wiseburn) School Board meeting
last Thursday evening was expected to be
relatively brief. It didn’t turn out that way,
though. Three concerned citizens addressed
the Board during the “from the public” portion
of the meeting, raising questions and eliciting
member comments and answers for nearly 30
minutes. The public comment portion of the
meeting typically occurs after the members
return from an initial closed session.
The Board later in the meeting decided
-- after back-and-forth discussion with administrators
-- pull multiple spending items
from the agenda, as it continues to consider
how to allocate funds in the wake of the
defeat of the June 5 school bond Measure W.
Comments during the public hearings
included citizens giving their opinions on
the increase of school facilities developer
fees, the Aviation Boulevard interim site of
the Success Learning Center, and Wiseburn
Unified School District’s before-and-afterschool
program.
Members of the public also expressed that
they hoped to see the District increase its
social media presence and communication
about hot-button issues, although there are
parameters that preclude the Board from
posting certain information online.Board
members responded that they are working
on increasing communication avenues to
concerned parties and attempting to make
all District actions as transparent as possible.
During his comments, Superintendent Dr.
Blake Silvers commemorated the service
and passing of long-time District employee
custodian John Grady, who served for more
than 30 years and retired in October 2014.
Grady, who died on Aug. 22, worked at Juan
de Anza Elementary and at the District’s
Alan B. Shepard School. Silvers, prior to the
meeting, noted that Grady’s memorial service
was well-attended by Wiseburn employees
and called it “a nice tribute.”
Also before the meeting, Silvers talked
about his first couple of weeks on the job
since school restarted in late August for the
District’s elementary and middle schools.
Silvers made his inaugural State of the
District address, captained the employee
start-of-school barbecue in late August, and
announced the 2017/18 classified and credentialed
Employees of the Year.
Marcos Chavez received the honors as
the Classified Employee of the Year. He
has worked for Wiseburn for more than a
quarter of a century, mainly at Dana Middle
School. He originally joined the District in
October 1991, assigned to the maintenance
and operations department as a custodian.
Director of Educational Services Dr. Aileen
Harbeck said about Chavez that he “helps
make Dana tick. He is such an important
ingredient to the logistics and support that
makes Dana Middle School a great place.”
Silvers added, “I, as this individual’s supervisor,
have shared that [Chavez] has such
a tough job. He always answers with a
positive attitude and shows up to support
the situation.”
The Certificated Employee of the Year
is Cabrillo Elementary’s Jennifer Williams.
Silvers, in his reveal of the employees of
the year, called first grade teacher Williams
a “cheerleader for collaboration with a passion
for great instruction.”
During reports, Board member Dr. Neil
Goldman talked about attending what he
termed “inspiring” District back-to-school
nights, and how Wiseburn is trying to be as
proactive and transparent as possible in communications
with members of the community.
Board President JoAnne Kaneda noted the
“dedication of the teachers,” and espoused
“the Wiseburn community of learning.” She
commented on how the recent open houses
were “packed.”
Deputy Superintendent Dr. Chris Jones
updated the comings and goings at the Da
Vinci Schools, including the upcoming
California Shake-Out drill that will take
place in October; as well as the exploits of
the Wiseburn High sports programs and the
always challenging traffic issues with student
drop-off and pick-up at the new campus.
Harbeck touted the diligence of Wiseburn
teachers and the way that they have taken
advantage of myriad professional development
opportunities.
See Wiseburn, page 2
Friday
Partly
Cloudy
73˚/64˚
Saturday
Sunny
72˚/64˚
Sunday
Sunny
75˚/63˚
The Weekly Newspaper of Hawthorne