School Board Recap: Budget Cuts and Contracts

The Poway Unified School District board held a regularly scheduled meeting on Monday.

Here are some of the highlights:

• Budget cuts: The district could lose another $9.6 million through mid-year cuts if state revenue falls short of projections by December, said Malliga Tholandi, associate superintendent of business support services. Revenue was already below predictions in July. The funding cuts would come through an additional $260 cut per student in attendance funding ($8.6 million) and a loss of state funding for home-to-school and special education transportation ($1 million). The district could weather the funding cuts without further budget cuts due to $10.9 million that had been set aside for anticipated cuts that did not materialize. However, in 2012-13 the district would have to make $11.3 million in cuts.

• Redistricting and the district: Superintendent John Collins said a number of parents have called, wondering how the San Diego City Council redistricting will affect school boundaries. Current boundary proposals would split Rancho Peñasquitos between multiple districts. "That has nothing to do with the boundaries of the Poway Unified School District," Collins said. A  related message is posted on the district website.

• Time to build a new school?: The district is exploring the "strong, strong possibility" of building a new school on the northwest side due to overcrowding, Collins said. The board approved a contract with BakerNowicki Design Studio for architectural design services for up to $2 million and a pre-construction agreement with Echo Pacific Construction for $500,000. The firms will use virtual modeling to see potential flaws in the design. More information on a potential new school should be available next month, Collins said.

• New contract for classified employees: The board ratified a new contract with the Poway School Employees Association, the union representing classified employees such as office workers. The new one-year contract, which was given temporary approval in June, cuts member pay by 4 percent in conjunction with eight "rollback" days. The contract is expected to save the district $1.1 million this fiscal year. Union members ratified the contract in July with 98 percent approval.

The board is scheduled to hold a special meeting at 5 p.m. Wednesday to do a superintendent's evaluation in closed session.

The next regularly scheduled board meeting is Sep. 12 at 6 p.m.