Norma Combs Elementary Choir (Photo – Garrett Rowlan)
Hope, challenges, and complexity were all apparent in the first PUSD meeting of the new school year on Thursday, August 29, 2019.
By Garrett Rowlan
There was the introduction of two new school principals at Norma Coombs Elementary (Debra Lucas) and McKinley (Germaine Nesbitt).
There was a wonderful song from the Norma Combs Elementary Choir whose chorus went, “I believe in our hands are reaching/ I believe the leader in me.”
The leaders of PUSD are dealing with a challenging environment, particularly the complexity of the budgetary issues facing the district, including budget subset words like projecting, actuals, variances, actual actuals, unedited and interim budgets, all this talk (which took on the numbing tone of buzzwords) proceeded the unanimous “Approval and Certification of 2018-19 Unaudited Actuals.” In short, there are challenges.
A bond issue to be floated in 2020?
Previous to this, a nearly 90 minute presentation of District Issues (which are numerous: salary, maintenance, technological upgrades, et cetera) pointed the way to a bond issue to be floated in 2020, which possibly passage is likely, since the ballot order will be reversed in 2020, where bond issues and so forth will be at the top of the ballot.
A staff presentation on special education pointed to one consistent problem, the ability to retain staff either losing them to other districts or having to lay them off due to budget issues, a conundrum that suggested a vicious circle.
> Click to watch the full PUSD Board meeting on August 29, 2019.
Leave a Reply