CIVIC | NOTES for Monday, Feb. 3

IN THIS BULLETIN – Phelan Pinon Hills CSD to interview for open seat | Newberry Springs CSD members unite under new general manager | Understanding the Local Control Funding Formula for schools | Lancaster calls for equitable funding from LA homeless agency | Former Starwood employees take part in Rapid Response workshops | Palmdale’s recreation department recruiting for summer jobs | Detective tells real story behind adult store burglary | Rising Realty acquisition to spur local economic renewal

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| PHELAN PINON HILLS CSD SPECIAL MEETING |

The Board of Directors for the Phelan Pinon Hills Community Services District will interview candidates for a vacant seat on the board at a special meeting 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday. A seat on the CSD board became vacant after the resignation of Director Joe Fahrlender on Jan. 15.

Following the special meeting will be the CSD’s regular board meeting at 7 p.m., which will include “discussion and possible selection of a candidate to fill the vacant board position, should the board wish to do so at this time,” according to the agenda. The deadline for candidates to submit a letter of interest was Friday, Jan. 31.

The Feb. 5 agenda for Wednesday’s CSD board meeting is available online at pphcsd.org/calendars. Wednesday’s board meetings will be held at Phelan Community Center, 4128 Warbler Road in Phelan, Ca. 92371.

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| NEWBERRY SPRINGS POSITIVE CHANGE|

Newberry Springs Community Alliance reported on Sunday that the Newberry CSD Board is making some positive changes by uniting behind its new General Manager. “A new spirit of cooperation between the Newberry CSD board members appeared to radiate at the CSD’s monthly general board meeting held January 28, 2014,” the site stated.

The Alliance attributed this sudden dose of camaraderie to the board’s newly appointed CSD General Manager, Le Hayes, who has 22 years of prior CSD experience. “Finally, with the appointment of the new General Manager, the chronic cycle may have been broken,” the Alliance wrote. “The rotating line of Bozo acts may be over.”

Read more at newberryspringsinfo.com.

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| LOCAL SCHOOL FUNDING |

Mike Bodine of the Daily Independent explains how Gov. Jerry Brown’s brainchild, the Local Control Funding Formula, is the new way that schools and districts in the state will receive money. And this should not be confused with more money – but a different way of “doling it out,” Bodine says.

“LCFF, is a complete revamping of the old way schools were allocated funding,” he writes. “The formula does away with 40 categorical program payments, or from restricted to unrestricted funds, and instead districts will receive a lump sum that can be spent on programs of a local school’s choice – that’s the ‘local control’ part.”

But according to Bodine, the lump sum comes with strings attached. Districts and schools must account for where money is spent and must comply with LCFF rules and goals or run the risk of losing funding, according to his article. Learn more at ridgecrestca.com.

EdSource.org reports that there is widespread support for Local Control Funding Formula. According to EdSource, one year into the financing system for K-12 schools, a strong majority of Californians polled say they approve of the Local Control Funding Formula and most believe that local districts, given more control over spending decisions, will use the money wisely.

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| HIGH DESERT HOMELESS |

After returning from closed session at its Jan. 28 council meeting, the Lancaster City Council directed the City Attorney to look into ways of compelling the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) to provide the Antelope Valley region of L.A. County with an equitable share of funding, according to a news release.

“A full 13 percent of Los Angeles County’s homeless population is here in the Antelope Valley, yet our homeless service organizations receive only 2.1 percent of LAHSA’s total funding. This compares to downtown Los Angeles, which has 19 percent of the homeless population, yet receives 50 percent of the funding,” said Vice Mayor Marvin Crist.

Read more at cityoflancasterca.org.

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| RECOVERING JOBS |

The City of Lancaster, in partnership with the County of Los Angeles Rapid Response Team, hosted two free Rapid Response Orientations on Wednesday for all employees who were recently laid off from Starwood’s Antelope Valley call center. More than 120 participants attended the orientation sessions.

The purpose of the Rapid Response workshops was to ease the transition for these attendees. If you are a former Starwood employee and would like to receive further information on such upcoming opportunities, the city asks that you contact Araxie Kahramanian at 661-723-6078. More information is available at cityoflancasterca.org.

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| SUMMER TIME RECRUITING |

The City of Palmdale’s recreation and culture department is accepting applications for summer jobs throughout February 2014. Recruitment will begin on Feb. 3 for the positions of program leader, program aide, senior lifeguard, head lifeguard and stage assistant. Recruitment for lifeguard I will begin Feb. 18.

Some of the positions will include working in special events, DryTown Water Park, and other divisions within the recreation and culture department. A limited number of positions are available, so interested individuals are encouraged to apply early. Details and applications are available at cityofpalmdale.org.

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| TRUE DETECTIVE |

Lt. Cory Kennedy of the Palmdale Sheriff’s Detective Bureau contacted the Bee to set the record straight on a recent burglary case his department solved. The burglar who broke into Naughty By Night Adult Toys and Smokeshop twice in December 2013 was caught through the detective work of Palmdale Sheriff’s deputies – and not through a store employee’s efforts to push forensic experts to collect evidence at the scene, as reported earlier.

Lt. Kennedy said that deputies on early morning patrol on Dec. 27, “literally caught the guy climbing out the window” of AV Sierra Dental Center on 20th Street East. Read the full story at civicbee.com.

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| RISING REALTY RENEWAL |

The City of Lancaster announced that Rising Realty Partners’ recent purchase of the former Bank of America call center campus will spur economic renewal in the Antelope Valley.

With the dawning of the New Year, renewal is on its way for the former Bank of America call center campus located in the Lancaster Business Park, the news release stated. To overcome the impact of Bank of America’s recent layoffs, the City of Lancaster has been busily working with key partners to ensure the local buildings previously occupied by the bank’s employees return to full productivity and future job creation. Read more at civicbee.com.

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CIVIC | NOTES is a bulletin featuring summary news and issues of public interest for the High Desert communities | Contact the Civic Bee editor to submit High Desert news or announcements for publication in the Bee’s CIVIC | NOTES