School lauded for academic gains

Schwarzenegger has called for spending reductions of 10 percent, including a cut of $4 billion from the state education budget, to close a deficit that's projected at $14.5 billion over the next 18 months.

The governor acknowledged that he had intended to introduce a series of education reforms this year but had to pull back because of the budget crisis.

Schwarzenegger, too, said other schools would do well to follow Otay's example.

"They didn't get any extra money," Schwarzenegger said. "It was just because of the will and the passion of the principal and the teachers."

In 2004, 16 percent of Otay's second-through sixth-graders passed the state English test. Last year, 43 percent did. Over the same period, the school's math pass rate rose from 32 percent to 58 percent. More>>