School Board Recap: New K-8, Synthetic Drugs

The Poway Unified School District held its monthly meeting on Monday.

Here are some of the highlights:

• New K-8 School: Rooftop gardens. Learning walls. Colored glass. Maybe solar panels. Board members unanimously approved an initial design plan for school No. 39, to be built north of Del Norte High School to accommodate a projected 1,000 elementary and 500 middle school students in the fall of 2014. The design, by BakerNowicki Design Studio, includes three levels of buildings, with kindergarteners on the lowest level and separated from older students. Students will be organized into villages, with labs and common space for learning. The plan also calls for widespread integration of indoor and outdoor space through the use of doors that can be rolled upward. The design studio is working with Echo Pacific Construction, Inc., using a 3D modeling program, on the project.

• Synthetic Drugs: "Too many of our kids are dying or killing others," Superintendent John Collins said in discussing the district's decision to ban the possession or use of synthetic drugs on campus. Synthetics, such as k2 and spice (fake marijuana), and bath salts, have been growing in popularity and can be dangerous. Under a change to district procedure, students can be suspended or expelled for having the synthetic drugs starting in January.

• 2011-12 First Interim Budget Report: The district won't have to make any cuts this year, even if a worst case scenario in midyear state funding cuts happens, district officials said. The report, which updates fiscal projections from the budget adopted in June, reveals a $202,000 net drop in revenue and a $2.7 million increase in expenditures, bringing the deficit to a little more than $18 million. Officials expect to lose about $8.6 million in state revenue through midyear "trigger" cuts, prompted by a less state revenue than projected. The reduced funding has been countered by reduced expenses in some areas, such as employee benefits, surprise grants for mental health, increased attendance and about $3 million in donations. Officials, however, project $6 million in cuts for 2012-13 and $17.5 million in cuts for 2013-14. The district also expects to need to borrow $10 million from the county in April due to projected cashflow problems in June because the state is deferring millions of dollars in payments, said Malliga Tholandi, associate superintendent of business support services.

• New Officers: The board unanimously elected new officers to one-year terms: Linda Vanderveen (president); Andy Patapow (vice president); Marc Davis (clerk). Penny Ranftle, Vanderveen and Patapow had served as president, vice president and clerk, respectively, for the past year. Davis, the newest member of the board, was elected to the board in Nov. 2010.

Other Notes:

• Del Sur Elementary School students showed a video of their monthly newscast, with student anchors, photos and information about fun events.
• Collins recognized Los Peñasquitos Elementary School for its 2011 National Blue Ribbon School award which is given to schools for strong academic performance. It was the only public school in San Diego County to win the award this year. () The elementary school also has received a 2011 Golden Bell Award from the California School Boards Association for its Los Peñasquitos Academy, an after-school program that provides additional instruction for students.
• Student Deaths: The board offered condolences to the families of two students who died in  November: Luke Lipscomb, a junior at Poway High School who died on Nov. 14; and Jayden Perez, a sixth-grader at Bernardo Heights Middle School who died on Nov. 25. Lipscomb was Nov. 4 while at a home with other teens believed to be using hallucinogenic drugs. "Luke was an outstanding student who worked hard to maintain a balance between academics and athletics. ...His big smile would light up a room," board member Penny Ranftle said, adding that Luke had a 3.9 GPA and volunteered as a tutor. Jayden, the middle school student, had gone on a family vacation in New York, Ranftle said. "[Jayden] was a friendly and caring young man that went out of his way to make others feel good," she said.