Yorba Linda City Council members list campaign income, donors; updates to previous columns

Twice each year Yorba Linda's City Council members with open campaign committees are required by state law to file financial documents that report income, expenses and loans to their election treasuries.

Usually, in a year without a ballot, these reports have few entries. But for 2017, Mayor Peggy Huang is off to an early start in an expected run for a second council term in November 2018, already collecting close to half of the dollars she spent in her 2014 win.

Huang raised $16,743 in the first six months of this year, according to her July 31 filing. Tom Lindsey, whose second term expires next year, wasn't required to file because he closed his committee in 2015, even though he's eligible for a third term.

Tara Campbell and Beth Haney, who won first terms last year, reported $1,672 and $152 balances, respectively, in their accounts, with outstanding self-made loans of $5,000 and $37,170. Gene Hernandez, elected to a second term last year, reported $7,357 cash and no debt.

Huang reported her cash came from seven contributors with Yorba Linda addresses and 25 with out-of-town addresses. She noted $5,236 in outstanding self-made loans.

The political action committee Yorba Linda Residents for Responsible Representation, active since 2005, closed shop this year, as did Craig Young, who lost his re-election race last year.

Updates to past columns:

--My Aug. 11 column citing Gina Aguilar and Olivia Yaung as the first female principals at Esperanza and Valencia high schools, respectively, noted that previously only El Dorado High School had female principals – Karen Wilkins and Carey Cecil – in the local district.

But last week, a number of El Dorado alumni and staff reminded me trailblazer Joann Ball was the district's first female high school principal, serving as Hawk leader 1991-94.

--My July 28 column noted local school district trustees approved the “intent” to elect board members by voting areas in 2018 rather than the current at-large system, partly to avert an expensive legal challenge possible under the state's 2001 Voting Rights Act.

Last week trustees hired a company to provide technical support to develop a database to be used for map design, as the district draws trustee area boundaries for board and public study.

--My July 14 column on the city's two-year budget cited a general fund subsidy for some local landscape zones as $987,000 in 2018-19, down from $1.2 million last year. The number also includes arterial landscape, lighting and traffic signal zones and landscape transition subsidies.

--My July 7 column outlined several changes to city regulations related to temporary signs in public rights-of-way, including simplifying the procedure for the city to remove illegal signage.

Community Preservation Officers have started working weekends to enforce the new rules, and the council will further review real estate and development signage at a future meeting.

Placentia-Yorba Linda high schools set records for AP, IB testing; individual campus results listed

Several records were set by the hundreds of students at the Placentia-Yorba Linda school district's four comprehensive high schools who took Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate examinations earlier this year.

Scores earned by these students maintained a years-long district tradition of administering more tests to more students with a higher percentage of students earning passing scores at most high school sites.

Students earning passing or better scores on the 38 examinations in the Advanced Placement program can earn university-level credits and often bypass introductory courses, although each individual institution makes its own decisions on credit and placement options.

This year, 4,070 AP tests were administered district-wide over a 14-day period in May, up from last year's 3,890. The district pass rate is 83.4 percent, with passing considered to be a score of “3” or better on a five-point scale on tests taken by 9^th through 12^th grade students.

Here's how the individual high schools fared:

--At El Dorado High School, the number of tests administered jumped from 707 last year to 810 this year, with the Hawk pass rate edging up from 75.67 percent to 76.3 percent.

--At Esperanza High School, the number of tests administered increased from 646 last year to 710 this year, but the Aztec pass rate declined from 80.03 percent to 76.34 percent.

--At Valencia High School, the number of tests administered increased from 1,469 last year to 1,565 this year, with the Tiger pass rate advancing from 85.98 percent to 86.77 percent.

--At Yorba Linda High School, the number of tests administered declined from 1,068 last year to 985 this year, with the Mustang pass rate increasing from 87.36 percent to 89.04 percent.

California's statewide pass rate is about 64 percent, while the global rate hovers at 61 percent.

Many students take more than one test each year, and several students who have taken a dozen or more tests through four years of high school begin college careers with sophomore standing. Each test costs $93, but limited-income households pay $5 per test.

The International Baccalaureate program at Valencia High School also set records, including an all-time high of 530 tests taken in 21 subjects, up from 471 exams in 19 subjects last year. The school's pass rate was 95 percent, with 503 tests earning a “4” or higher on a seven-point scale.

This year, 76 students earned IB's full-diploma, up from 64 last year and 41 the year before. “We expect about 90” for next year, stated Fred Jenkins, program coordinator. The school's pass rate for students who attempt and successfully complete the full-diploma is 91 percent; the global rate is 79.3 percent.

Jenkins said he anticipates 185 freshmen, 149 sophomores, 106 juniors and 95 seniors in the IB program when school opens Aug. 29. Both AP and IB students completed reading, essay and other assignments over the summer.

Higher sewer fees, school administration changes

Higher sewer fees and local schools administrative changes merit attention this week:

--Residential customers of the Yorba Linda Water District will begin paying 8 percent more each month for sewer maintenance fees on bills dating from Aug. 1, increasing from $6.42 to $6.94 for homes with individual meters and up to $6.52 per unit for master-metered residences.

Commercial-industrial and public school accounts will pay $6.94 based on the first 700 cubic feet of water consumption plus $4.40 for each successive use of 1,000 cubic feet of water.

Sewer charges are included on the monthly water bills for customers who buy district water, while clients of other water agencies connected to district sewers pay the fee on the annual property tax billings from the county.

The increase comes in the third year of a five-year sewer rate study completed in late 2015. The district has 23,219 residential water connections in Yorba Linda and parts of three other cities.

--Olivia Yaung is the 17^th person and first woman to be named principal at Valencia High School since doors opened in 1933. She was assistant principal the past five years and succeeds Hector Vasquez, who served one year.

“We believe in setting high expectations for students in a nurturing environment,” she said in a message to parents, adding, “Our focus for the 2017-18 school year is empowerment, with students taking ownership of their learning experience.”

Also at Valencia: Kevin Ferguson replaces retiree Kevin McConnell as athletic director, Assistant Principal Nancy Watkins is now district administrator of secondary curriculum and instruction and Mike Young from Travis Ranch and Chris Herzfeld from Laguna Beach are new assistant principals.

--The first woman principal at Esperanza High School since the campus opened in 1974 is Gina Aguilar, a 20-year Aztec veteran replacing retiree Ken Fox. Returning as assistant principal is Jamie Jauch after a stint at Yorba Linda High School. Scott Mazurier also assumes an assistant principal slot.

“We value parents as our partners in education and look forward to the opportunity to collaborate and engage your students and give them the best high school experience possible,” Aguilar's first message stated.

Previously, only El Dorado High School had women principals: Karen Wilkens and Carey Cecil. This year, Joey Davis returns as principal, as does Yorba Linda High School's founding principal Dave Flynn; his new assistant principal is Richard Dinh. New El Dorado athletic director is Ray Elliott.

--Changes at Yorba Linda elementary schools: Tamie Beeuwsaert from Mabel Paine to Lakeview; Katherine Dailey from Lakeview to Rose Drive; and Linda Adamson from Rose Drive to district administrator of elementary curriculum and instruction. Melanie Carmona will head Mabel Paine.

New Yorba Linda Middle School principal is Tamar Kataroyan from Monrovia, replacing retiree Cameron Malotte.