School Board Recap: Budget, Contracts & Thank Yous

The Poway Unified School District board met on Monday. The meeting, which began at 6 p.m., lasted until after 9 p.m. due to a stream of public comments from Bernardo Point residents concerned about boundary changes. (See related story.)

As for the other agenda items, here are some of the highlights:

• Budget: Superintendent John Collins said officials are expecting some cuts to state education funding in the coming year—though not nearly enough to prompt the the worst case scenario of $33 million in PUSD cuts previously thought—because state revenue has been falling short of projections.
• New contract: The board agreed to extend Collins' contract through June 2015 after a positive performance evaluation. Collins took over in July 2010. His contract calls for a $235,000 annual salary, though he has voluntarily taken a 4.3 percent cut alongside many district employees since coming into office. The employees' salary cut is set to expire at the end of this school year.
• Staff and volunteer recognition: The board honored the district teachers, classified employees and volunteers of the year. Each school site has awardees in each category, but certain individuals were selected as overall district honorees: teachers of the year (Lisa Casey-O'Brien, Poway High; Jo Ann Cooper, Twin Peaks Middle; Julie Harris, Willow Grove Elementary), classified employees of the year (Trish Malimali, Adult Education, now registrar at Del Norte High; Vonnie Warrick, Monterey Ridge Elementary) and district volunteers of the year (Wendy Hummel, Poway High; Kimberly Rohr, Twin Peaks Middle; Charity Stone, Del Sur Elementary).

Also

• Approved: 2010-11 unaudited actual financial report.
• First readings of policies: inter/intradistrict attendance permits; open enrollment; high school graduation.

A special meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 22 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. for strategic planning.