JANUARY
•After 37 years of service to the Grossmont Union High School District, Superintendent Mary Beth Kastan announced she will resign at the end of the 2023-24 school year.
FEBRUARY
•Grossmont College marked the opening of their 61,390-square-foot Veterans Center. “This is a state-of-the-art facility that our veterans and STEM students deserve,” said Grossmont College President Denise Whisenhunt.
• La Mesa’s Collier Park reopened after a $4.5 million makeover. The park and the ac-companying Spring House are a designated historical landmark.
MARCH
• A coalition of community groups and individuals, led by the Spring Valley Community Alliance at Spring Valley Com-munity Church, came together to distribute donations of clothing and other essential items to victims of January’s torren¬tial floods that left some people temporarily unhoused.
“Many Spring Valley residents were left with the clothes on their backs and the items they could grab as they attempted to escape the rising waters,” said Chris Pierce, vice president of the Spring Valley Community Alliance.
•Cuyamaca College expanded partnership with the Mountain Empire Unified School District to offer English language and child development classes to residents of East County’s backcountry.
APRIL
Grossmont High School math teacher Kristen LoPrell was one of the teachers in school district named High School Teacher of the Year. LoPrell would later in the year be recognized as one of the state’s top teachers.
• For the second year in a row, Claudette Clark, a Cuyamaca College student, received the Board of Governors Leadership Award presented by the California Community Colleges Board of Governors.
MAY
• Mike Fowler was chosen to replace retiring Superintendent Mary Beth Kastan as the Grossmont Union High School District Superintendent.
• Brian Wilber was named principal of Santana High School.
• Grossmont College awarded 4,260 degrees and certificates to 1,572 graduates while Cuyamaca College distributed 1,077 degrees and certificates to 585 graduates.
JULY
• East County native Benjamin Howard won Best Original Screenplay and a handful of other awards at the 2024 San Diego Film Awards.
SEPTEMBER
•Christina Terrones was named principal of Mount Miguel High School.
• El Cajon Police Department Chief Michael Moulton announced his retirement at the end of the year.
NOVEMBER
• The County Board of Supervisors approved the replacement of a playground at Cactus County Park in Lakeside.
The project will replace the existing 15-year-old preschool playground with new playground equipment, shade structure and add a new playground for children ages 2-5.
DECEMBER
• El Cajon Police Capt. Jeremiah Larson’s was promoted to Chief of Police
