Government Report: City Council to vote on budget

BARSTOW — The Barstow City Council will vote on the budget for the 2008-2009 fiscal year at their meeting on Monday night.
The general fund portion of the budget is balanced, and the city is dipping into reserves to finance upgrades to the wastewater plant and road work projects. The city held a study session on the budget on Thursday. The Redevelopment Agency will also vote on its budget. The RDA is assuming a portion of salaries of city employees.

During a closed session meeting, the city will discuss two lawsuits. In the first, the RDA is suing Barstow Community Developers, LLC and Baron Brothers Nursery, Inc. for selling trees from the Barstow golf course on National Trails Highway in breach of contract. The second suit is over the Wal-Mart distribution center. Build Barstow Smart is suing the city over concerns about its environmental report.

The Council will also vote on the second reading of the proposed sales tax increase to pay for additional police and firefighters. The .75 percent increase will be on the November ballot.

The closed session of the council begins at 3 p.m. The RDA meets at 7 p.m. and the City Council follows. All meetings will be in the Council chambers at City Hall, 220 E. Mountain View. Regularly scheduled meetings are televised live on Time Warner Cable channel 6 and recordings are placed on the city’s Web site, www.barstowca.org.

Silver Valley to discuss beginning of the year goals

The Silver Valley Unified School District will hold a special work session on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. to will discuss district goals for the 2008-2009 school year.

The District will bring in a representative from the California School Board Association to help the district develop comprehensive goals for the year.

“The superintendent will set district goals based on what the board wants to address,” said Silver Valley Unified Administrative Assistant Diane Ast.

The SVUSD will focus on four specific areas including curriculum, technology, student support, and district stability.

The board meets at the district offices, 35320 Daggett Yermo Road.

McKeon supports new law to address college cost

Rep. Howard P. “Buck" McKeon,  R-Santa Clarita, the senior Republican on the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee, stated in a recent press release that he supports the Higher Education Opportunity Act.

Congress approved the bill in July, and it was signed into a law by President George W. Bush. McKeon represents the Barstow area.

The Higher Education Opportunity Act is the first comprehensive renewal of federal higher education in over 10 years, addressing the college costs crisis and updating programs based on the needs of a changing student population.

The bill will hold colleges and universities accountable for cost increases, give more access to information so students can make more informed choices on their higher education choices, make transfer of credit policies public to allow greater college mobility, and simplify the financial aid process by streamlining the application process for lower-income students and families.

“I began this process seven years ago with an effort to cut red tape and update the Higher Education Act to better reflect the challenges and opportunities of the twenty-first century,” McKeon stated in the release. “Today, we have taken important steps to achieve that goal.”