(L-R) PUSD Board President Lawrence Torres, students perform at the 2019 State of Schools on April 4, 2019 (Photos – Garrett Rowlan)
For the 2019 PUSD’s State of Schools event, the chosen location was Sierra Madre Middle School, a pristine-looking campus, nestled up against the namesake hills like a Colorado campus, high in the Rockies.
By Garrett Rowlan
Outside, evening clouds lent a purplish majesty to the hills, though the possibility of rain loomed. Inside the junior-high auditorium, a crowd of one-hundred or so consisted of the school board, their staff, politicos or their dutiful staff, and others. They heard the school’s principal, Garrett Newsom (called “Gavin Newsom” in Superintendent Brian McDonald’s subsequent introduction), introduce a game bevy of pre-teens doing an entertaining take on a musical number involving telephones.
Following this, PUSD board president Lawrence Torres made his report. His was a tale of grim optimism, of an outlook labeled “good” despite, or as a result of, 10 million dollars in cuts over the two previous years. This tempered optimism came from “difficult choices” that allowed the District to now meet the states 3 percent reserve requirement; from a rise in student achievement; from the eventual windfall of Measure J funds; and from the passage of Measure TT, which allowed Torres to attend ribbon-cutting ceremonies at Washington Stem, a new gym at PHS, a new library and athletic facility at Blair; and two new buildings at Norma Coombs.
Torres warned, “We’ll still have tough decision ahead of us.” He pointed to the rise in STRS and PERS payouts that will continue to rise in the next few years, not to mention—which he didn’t—the looming possibility of a strike by PUSD teachers.
He stressed, however, the need to keep education a paramount resource, as a changing employment landscape—including vast numbers of professions that do not exist right now—will require a flexible and prepared workforce.
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