Ocean Beach has a new librarian, but not enough staff to open its library.

Police officers assigned to specialized units have been asked to help answer radio calls because too many cops on the beat are in isolation or quarantine due to COVID protocols.

Ocean Beach Elementary is currently able to place an educator in every classroom, but officials worry about the possibility of placing teacherless students in a study hall setting or farming them out to other classrooms in case staff shortages worsen.

It seems the COVID pandemic in Ocean Beach, as well as everywhere else, is far from over. And citizens who went online Jan. 26 for the monthly meeting of the Ocean Beach Town Council got an earful of concrete examples underscoring the point.

The OBTC holds annual elections this time of year, and a candidate forum is usually January’s headliner event. But each monthly meeting also includes standing invitations to political representatives and community leaders to share news, and pandemic updates can upstage other agenda items.

Furthermore, this year’s election has proved to be a bit of a yawner, attracting only seven candidates to run for the seven openings on the 15-member board.

More than 100 on COVID leave at SDPD

David Surwilo, community services officer for the San Diego Police Department’s Western Division, said more than 100 members of the police force remain on COVID leave – but at least that’s down two-thirds from its recent high.

“You can imagine that type of staffing impact would be quite dramatic,” Surwilo said. “We are working to supplement some of our staffing issues out in the field by pulling units in specialized units to assist even more with patrol radio calls.”

The future of police staffing is further clouded by the hundreds of employees that have requested vaccination waivers. The status of those applications has yet to be adjudicated, Surwilo said, in response to a request from the chat room for more information about the COVID situation.

City employees who do not receive vaccinations or a waiver will be subject to termination, per an ordinance passed last year by the City Council.

Surwilo, who shared he is vaccinated and boosted and sees “the value in it,” said he is also aware of officers putting in applications to other law-enforcement agencies that do not require vaccinations.

Enrollment could dip below 400 at OBE

Ocean Beach Elementary Principal Marco Drapeau said he’s been “very fortunate” because, so far in 2022, no students have been sent to study hall or a different classroom due to a lack of teachers.

“Since we’ve got back from winter break, we’ve had a credentialed staff member teacher in every classroom,” Drapeau said. “It’s a lot different at the middle schools and high school – we’re counting our blessings.”

But a recent enrollment estimate from the school district’s demographer has added to his concerns. Only 396 students are expected to enroll in the 2022-23 school year, Drapeau said.

“We’ve never been projected that low in the eight years I’ve been here,” he said.

What effect that could have on staffing is unclear. An enrollment that low could mandate a reduction in the number of teachers employed at the school, currently 18. However, the cuts may not materialize if there is flexibility in light of the pandemic, Drapeau said.

Open library in the spring?

At the beginning of the pandemic, all 36 city libraries were shut down. After a few months, the city began contact-free pickup services, which eventually extended to more than half of all branches. In-person services resumed at some branches in October 2020 and now include most libraries, according to the city’s website. Today only three branches remain completely closed, and Ocean Beach is one of them. It’s still not scheduled to open in the immediate future, said new librarian Christy Rickey Meister, who took over this year.

“We just don’t have the staffing,” Rickey Meister said.

In the meantime, Rickey Meister said she is getting up to speed on the library’s expansion plans, among other things. Though the OB branch is closed to in-person services, the book drop is open and assistance is available by phone, according to the city’s website.

Hiring is underway, but it’s going to take at least “another couple of months before we can think about opening,” she said.

It won’t be a moment too soon for Rickey Meister.  “We’re really eager to get back to serving the community,” she said.

In other news:

• As noted above, there was no suspense in this year’s election for OBTC directors, as the seven openings drew only seven candidates – most of whom, if not all, were incumbents. Nevertheless, all seven – Anna Firicano, Gregory Winter, Kimberly Harrell, Cameron Reid, Tony Cohen, Connor Harrington, and Stephanie Logan – were in attendance to give their election pitch. Online voting, which is restricted to OBTC members, ran from Jan. 28 to Feb. 4.
• Four candidates for the San Diego Council District 2 position introduced themselves: Daniel Smiechowski, Mandy Havlik, Linda Lukacs, and Joel Day. The primary election for the office, currently occupied by Dr. Jennifer Campbell, is scheduled for June 7.
• The City Council will adjourn an upcoming meeting in memory of Willie Washington, longtime owner of Willie’s Shoe Shine at 4905 Newport Ave., said Campbell aide Teddy Martinez. Washington, an Ocean Beach businessman for nearly five decades, died on Jan. 22.
• The next meeting is scheduled for Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. It’s unknown whether the meeting will take place in person, OBTC President Corey Bruins said. Online meetings have been archived at facebook.com/obtowncouncil.