The Weekly Newspaper of El Segundo
Herald Publications - El Segundo, Hawthorne, Lawndale & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 107, No. 50 - December 13, 2018
Inside
This Issue
Certified & Licensed
Professionals.....................14
Classifieds............................4
School Spotlight..................5
Crossword/Sudoku.............4
Entertainment......................6
Holiday Photos..................15
Legals............................ 13,14
Obituaries.............................3
Real Estate................8-12,16
Sports.............................. 5,14
Weekend
Forecast
A Very Memorable Parade Ride
Dick Croxall, the 2018 Citizen of the Year, with the staff at El Segundo Brewing Company. For more parade photos as well as tree lighting highlights, please see page 15. Photo by Michael Earley Photography.
Watkins Reflects Back on Over
50 Years in Local Education
By Brian Simon
This time, he means it. Well, for the most
part. But when Dr. William (Bill) Watkins
decided not to seek a fourth term on the El
Segundo School Board, it marked the end of
a remarkable run in local education. Sort of.
Though he said that his retirement from public
service is “for sure now,” he admitted that
he will remain involved with the El Segundo
Education Foundation and the Kiwanis Club.
But none of that other stuff. Seriously. After
all, he is now 79 and has some other items
on his agenda, including plenty of sailing (he
just returned from a trip to Puerto Vallarta
helping a friend drop off a boat there) and
golfing galore.
Retirement isn’t new to Watkins. Before
his first election to the School Board in
November 2005, he had enjoyed four years
of it and focused on the aforementioned recreational
activities as well as spending time
with family. But love of community involvement
and a desire to offer his experience to
foster education in El Segundo brought him
back to the fray.
A Los Angeles native who moved to the
South Bay as a youngster and graduated
from Dana Middle School and Hawthorne
High School, Watkins attended El Camino
College for two years before heading to Pepperdine
University where he earned a degree
in English and then a teaching credential. “It
was through Bob Kingston that I applied for
a job at El Segundo High School,” he said.
Kingston was a beloved long-time educator
and administrator for El Segundo Unified
District who passed away in 2010. In a
number of ways, Watkins’ career mirrored
that of his mentor. Both taught at the high
school for many years, served as assistant
principal there, coached (tennis for Watkins)
and oversaw athletics. Kingston was also a
Kiwanian. But Watkins continued to add to
his resume. He served as principal at the high
school for 10 years before moving to the
district offices in 2004 to head instructional
services. He became interim superintendent in
1997 and then took on the role permanently,
spending four years leading El Segundo Unified
before announcing his retirement from
public education in 2001.
Looking back at what he felt was the chief
accomplishment in his tenure as superintendent,
Watkins noted the passage of the Measure C
bond that allowed El Segundo Middle School
and Richmond Street Elementary School to
modernize and undergo complete rebuilds –
as well as jumpstart work on the high school
main building.
Over the past 13 years on the School Board,
Watkins pointed to several key highlights,
including the middle school’s recognition
as an International Baccalaureate campus,
the sale of the Imperial Street School site
and El Segundo High’s development of an
advanced placement pathway (as well as others
in engineering, biomedical science, business,
and visual and performing arts). “Selling the
Imperial Street land allowed us to secure $16
million to gain $500,000-plus in interest each
year to maintain our facilities,” Watkins said.
He added that he was also particularly proud
of his service on the board of the Southern
California Regional Occupational Center.
During the “hiatus” after retiring, Watkins
remained heavily involved in local education
as a staunch supporter for the next bond
that local voters passed – November 2001’s
Measure E. He was also a member of the
bond’s citizens’ financial oversight committee.
He became a board member of the Ed
Foundation in 2001, chairing its Community
Giving Committee, including the Superintendent’s
Roundtable, until his election to
the School Board. In addition to his degree
from Pepperdine, Watkins went on to garner a
Master of Arts from California State University
See Watkins, page 13
Friday
Mostly
Cloudy
66˚/53˚
Saturday
Sunny
65˚/53˚
Sunday
Mostly
Sunny
67˚/55˚
Chevron Fuel Your
School Program Update
This year, Chevron donated $466,635
to help fund 529 classroom projects,
including 262 focused on science, technology,
engineering and math (STEM),
to help connect real world experiences to
classroom learning for 41,797 students at
176 public schools in select cities in and
around the South Bay. In 2018, Fuel Your
School was available to 17 U.S. markets
and, in total, generated $5,736,681 to help
fund 7,038 eligible classroom projects,
benefitting 790,693 students.
Beginning Sept. 30, through Oct. 31, 2018,
public school teachers from Los Angeles
County were invited to post classroom
projects at www.DonorsChoose.org.
From Oct. 1 through Oct. 31, 2018,
when consumers filled up with eight or
more gallons at a participating Chevron
or Texaco station, $1 was donated, totaling
$466,635, to help fund eligible
classroom projects for public schools in
Los Angeles County.
Since 2013, the program has generated
$2,944,809 for schools in Los Angeles
County.
– Provided by Evan Mimms
(Edelman on Behalf of Chevron)