Grossmont Union High School District (GUHSD) is a public school district based in eastern San Diego County, California. It serves high school, adult school, and Regional Occupational Program (ROP) students in the cities of El Cajon, Lemon Grove, and Santee; the unincorporated communities of Alpine, Casa de Oro, Crest, Dehesa, Dulzura, Jamul, Lakeside, Mount Helix, Rancho San Diego, and Spring Valley; most of La Mesa, and parts of San Diego.
Formed in June 1920, the union high school district is overseen by a five-member governing board and operates 13 high schools (nine regular, three charter, and one continuation); a regional occupational program (ROP); and special education and adult education services. The day-to-day operations are managed by the superintendent, who is appointed by the board.
Grossmont Union High School District utilizes a strategic plan that includes a mission statement, district guidelines, core values, and annual goals and objectives. The district's schools are accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).
Four of the district's high schools—Helix, Mount Miguel, Santana, and Valhalla (twice)—have been recognized as California Distinguished School by the California Department of Education.
In March 2001, the district and two of its high schools—Santana and Granite Hills—made nationwide headlines in the US when, in a span of seventeen days, a total of two students were killed and twenty students and two teachers were wounded when two students, in separate incidents, opened fire at their schools.
In February 2025, the district made news as the first high school district in San Diego County to eliminate all school librarians. The decision, approved by GUHSD Trustees Scott Eckert, Gary C. Woods, Jim Kelly, and Rob Shield, was opposed by many East County parents, teachers, and students.
History Grossmont Union High School District was formed in 1920 and its first high school, Grossmont High School, built in 1922, served the cities of La Mesa and El Cajon. At the time of its construction, this region of eastern San Diego County was much more rural and isolated from the city of San Diego. La Mesa and El Cajon were, in fact, only newly incorporated cities, as of 1912. Grossmont remained the region's only high school for 30 years. In 1939, Grossmont High School was rebuilt. Beginning in 1952, the school district underwent an expensive, rapid period of development to accommodate for the suburbanization and consequent growth in population of the area. Six more schools were established in a period of ten years. A further four schools were subsequently built. Most recently, the district opened Steele Canyon High School in Spring Valley in 2000.
CARD There are many military families present in the school district. Marine Corps Air Station Miramar and Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego are both nearby. North of San Diego is Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.
In October 1982, the San Diego Committee Against Registration and the Draft (CARD), later renamed the Committee Opposed to Militarism and the Draft, sought to purchase advertising space from five student newspapers published by high schools within the district. CARD, a non-profit organization, provides counseling services to young men and women on alternatives to military service. Members include both students and non-students. The advertisement was intended to provide information to students on such alternatives.
Depicting a ghost-like figure, stating "Don't Let the Draft Blow You Away!" the advertisement contained the following statements:
Know Your Rights Know Your Choices!
If the draft starts tomorrow, you could be in boot camp 11 days later.
Call or Write Committee Against Registration and the Draft
In November 1982, Acting Assistant Superintendent Bob King issued a directive instructing that all principals reject CARD's requests. In January 1983, CARD filed an administrative claim with the governing board so as to reverse the Superintendent's decision. The board rejected the claim in February and on March 16, 1983, CARD filed a lawsuit against the board, alleging that the board's actions and policies had deprived CARD of its rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution.
In June 1986, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals stated that the question of voluntary and compulsory military service is a controversial political issue, ruling that if a school establishes a forum for one side to prevent its views, it must provide equal access to opponents. CARD v. GUHSD has since become a major legal precedent with regards to military recruitment. In the nine Western states within the boundaries of the Ninth Circuit, the ruling can be cited by counter-militarism activists in order to demand the opportunity to address students in public schools, an opportunity previously granted solely to recruiters and the Selective Service System. In addition, the Court's ruling clarifies the legal definition of school newspapers, mainly as "limited public forums." The governing board had argued that the newspapers were "non-public" and therefore completely under its control.
March 2001 school shootings
On March 5, 2001, Charles "Andy" Williams, 15, shot and killed two students and wounded 13 others at Santana High School in Santee. On August 15, 2002, Williams was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison for the shootings. His defense attorneys had filed a 200-page report arguing for more lenient sentencing. The report included excerpts from Williams' interview with University of California, Davis psychiatrist Dr. Charles Scott. Williams told Scott that taunting and bullying by his peers had depressed him and led him to consider suicide. He also told Scott that he thought someone would stop him from bringing his father's .22 calibre gun to school.
Less than three weeks later, on March 22, 2001, Jason Hoffman, 18, armed with a .22 calibre handgun and a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun, shot and wounded three students and two teachers at Granite Hills High School in nearby El Cajon. The shooting ended in a gun battle with local police near the campus administration building. Before the incident, Hoffman allegedly made references to the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. Hoffman reportedly had a history of mental illness and discipline problems and was ordered to attend an anger management class several years before. The San Diego Union-Tribune also reported that Hoffman had been rejected by the Navy a day before the shooting because he was 25 pounds overweight, had a skin condition and had been convicted of assault. After pleading guilty to one count of premeditated attempted murder and five counts of assault, Hoffman hanged himself in his segregation cell at the county jail on October 29, 2001.
2006 immigration policy protests Students throughout San Diego County joined the nationwide protests over immigration policies in March 2006. Hundreds of students walked out of El Cajon Valley High School and marched in the streets carrying signs and flags. Granite Hills High School went into morning lockdowns to prevent students from coming into contact with marchers from the neighboring school. Student walkouts also occurred at Mount Miguel High School and Monte Vista High School.
GUHSD sent out an automated phone message to parents, urging them to keep their children at school. The bilingual message warned that students who are arrested could face a $250 fine. The district cautioned parents that any students who missed class or left the campus without permission would be marked truant and receive zero grades.
2025 retaliation investigation
In June 2025, the San Diego Union-Tribune released school board trustee text messages and emails (obtained through the Public Records Act) showing that GUHSD Board President Gary C. Woods advocated for eliminating the librarians. In the messages, Woods wrote that the district should "end DEI" and "RIF!" (reduction in force) school staff. The messages also showed that Woods communicated with Chief of Staff Jerry Hobbs and Trustees Jim Kelly and Scott Eckert to advocate for the elimination of all school site librarians as a way to control the purchase of "woke" books.
These messages from Woods were cited by a local parent-led group, East County Voices for Public Education, as evidence that Woods attempted to bypass California Education Code, which requires schools to provide "accurate and inclusive" curriculum.
The private messages include a screenshot showing the name of a district librarian who had donated a small amount of personal funds to a candidate who ran against Scott Eckert in the 2024 election. This librarian's position was eliminated in May 2025, leading East County Voices for Public Education to note that the elimination could be seen as retaliation.
2025 alleged Brown Act violations
GUHSD Trustee text messages and emails, released by the San Diego Union-Tribune in June, 2025, also drew public attention for the fact that some of the private conversations included a majority of GUHSD Trustees. California's Brown Act bans public officials, including school board trustees from gathering as a majority, or "quorum," to discuss business outside of a properly noticed public meeting. This ban extends to text messages and emails that include a quorum.
According to the Union-Tribune: "In private messages obtained by The San Diego Union-Tribune via public records request, a select group of trustees and their advisers arranged for allies to be named to key positions and plotted against administrators they believed disloyal." In response, the Grossmont Education Association (GEA), which represents all teachers in the district, sent a letter to district demanding the trustees reverse their May 2025 decision to eliminate 61 school staff positions, including their vote to eliminate all teacher-librarians in the school district. According to GEA attorney Fern Steiner:
"The communications show no concern for the public having the right to know the business being conducted and no concern for the certificated and all employees of the district."
In a follow-up interview, GUHSD spokesperson Collin McGlashen refuted the evidence that the trustees had violated the Brown Act or targeted district librarians. McGlashen told the Union-Tribune, "It is worth noting that the only specific communication referenced in the letter ('a text exhorting "RIF, RIF, RIF) does not appear to involve a majority of governing board members."
The message McGlashen referred to was on a text thread between GUHSD Trustee Gary Woods, Chief of Staff Jerry Hobbs, and two individuals whose names the district has not disclosed. The full text read: "Goal 4: Deal with Collin. Once and for all. Overarching goal: RIF RIF RIF!!!"
2025 investigations into Trustee Scott Eckert
In July 2025, the San Diego Union-Tribune published an investigation into allegations that Trustee Scott Eckert, who represents the city of La Mesa, as well as the Mt. Helix and Casa de Oro areas, benefitted from a "ghost candidate" that split his opponent's vote in the 2024 election. According to documentation on file with the San Diego County Registrar of Voters, San Diego Attorney John Howard paid at least $1,000 to file a candidate statement for trustee candidate Marsha Christman.
That area of the school district ("Area 2") has historically elected a progressive candidate to the GUHSD school board. In her candidate statement, Christman positioned herself as a progressive candidate and an alternative to progressive frontrunner Jay Steiger. As the Union-Tribune noted, Christman did no campaigning after filing that statement, and she never recorded any campaign donations or expenses with the County.