Coronado Unified School District (CUSD) Superintendent Karl Mueller said on Feb. 15 that with California facing a $68 billion deficit, the schools’ budgets will have to be tightened in the coming year.
CUSD anticipates its cost-of-living adjustment (CoLA) to decrease from four percent to 0.76%, representing an over-one-million-dollar shortfall to what the district budgeted for.
“We have to make plans, we have to anticipate, how do we tighten our belt without sacrificing the resources, the programs that we have worked so hard to build for our students,” Mueller said.
During the Association of Coronado Teachers (ACT) Report, ACT President Jennifer Landry, who attended Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 2024-25 budget presentation, said she recalled hearing that “the CoLA will go up,” the “education budget does not include referrals or cuts” and that there are ways that the state can help districts recapture average daily attendance (ADA).
Landry also said that the state budget deficit has raised concern among educators about their employment in the fall.
“I’m hoping we can communicate as a district very frankly, very transparently … because we are trying to keep those cuts as far from classrooms as possible,” Landry said.
The school district has 2,878 students, currently operates on a $44 million budget and has assessment scores that rank near the top within unified school districts in San Diego County.
Deputy Superintendent Donnie Salamanca said the budget study committee will provide an update on the district’s budget on March 6.
2023-24 State of the District report
Mueller presented the 2023-24 State of the District report, providing an overview of the current status, achievements, challenges and future plans of the school district.
“We are very proud of who we are and our output and our performance,” Mueller said, “with an understanding that we can always improve and always get better.”
In the State-of-the-District report, Mueller referenced the Coronado Middle School Robotics Club and Coronado High School (CHS) First Tech Challenge Robotics Team as efforts to broaden the district’s TK-12 pathways available to students.
“When we’re introducing an initiative, it doesn’t stand alone,” Mueller said. “We look at the lens through transitional kindergarten through twelfth grade; how will this impact our students along their journey throughout CUSD?”
Mueller said the district has championed a host of federal plans and programs to promote national defense, local accountability, school safety and student academic success.
“All of the things that we are doing are done so with purpose,” Mueller said, “and they’re all in alignment with one another, with the end objective of how are we best supporting our students and how are we achieving … our mission statement.”
Governing board responds to Jan. 22 rainfall
With 4.25 inches of rainfall on Jan. 22, Coronado witnessed its wettest recorded day. Landry said that the water in some of the Village Elementary School classrooms reached over four inches. She thanked staff members for moving students to safer places, helping families and taking measures to mitigate the site flooding.
“We [the ACT] hope that as time passes, there will be a final debrief of the situation and a safety committee formed that will welcome one of our members as a participant,” Landry said.
Salamanca provided updates on the flood damage and repairs.
All wet drywall and wet insulation were removed within days of the Jan. 22 flooding and all drywall and insulation replacement is expected to be completed by Monday, Feb. 19. Air quality in flooded areas was tested and deemed safe by Executive Environmental, an environmental consulting company.
Salamanca said that to repaint walls and replace carpeting and flooring, the governing board will have to award bids. He expects those projects to be completed by this summer.
Board President Alexia Palacios-Peters thanked the parents who came out to support Village Elementary School teachers after the rainfall.
“We have such a great community and I was happy to see us all come together under those circumstances,” Palacios-Peters said.
Community members advocate for environmental action
During the public comment, Carolyn Rogerson, a permanent Coronado resident since 2011, suggested that the governing board write a letter to state and federal officials about the sewage crisis. Rogerson spoke in support of a CHS student in attendance, who requested for the Board to support the high school’s Stop the Sewage Club.
“I think a letter to our state representatives would be very helpful, sending to our representatives in Washington, letting them know as a school system, we are very concerned about the health of our children, and support any efforts … toward cleaning up the sewage system,” Rogerson said.
Mueller said in his eight years as CUSD superintendent, the governing board has not participated in resolutions that are more community-based than relevant to public education.
He said district trustees might ask for feedback from student groups that are focused on environmental issues, and a report could be drawn up, but he recommended against any formal action by the board.
Public comment regarding a 2024-25 calendar change
Two CHS students asked the board to consider starting the school year one week earlier. They said such a change would improve students’ academics, mental health and alignment with neighboring schools.
The first day of classes is currently set for Aug. 24, and the last for June 13, on CUSD’s 2024-25 instructional calendar. This meets the California Education Code and CUSD Board policy requirements for the school district to offer 180 days of instruction.
Wyatt Riebe, the student board representative, said moving the calendar would also move term one’s finals before winter break, and could help students academically. Board member Scot Youngblood added that there is a benefit to aligning the calendar more with advanced placement classes.
In other matters:
- The board and Association of Coronado Teachers (ACT) presented their respective proposal for the 2023-2026 successor contract regarding hours and adjunct duties, leaves, health and welfare, class size and the instructional calendar.
- Also at the meeting, community members and parents gathered to watch fourth graders from the Village Elementary School and Silver Strand Elementary School choirs perform a medley of “Stand by Me” and “Don’t Stop Believing.”
The district has scheduled a Community Partners Workshop during a special board meeting on March 26.
The next regular board meeting is set for 4 p.m. on Thursday, March 14 at the district office.
