School board talks budget, aquatic complex
Trustee Chris Arend moves to reject bids on pool. “We’re $5 million short.”
–Paso Robles School District Board of Trustees held their first full meeting of the calendar year Tuesday night.
The board honored students in grades 6-12 who performed well in academic testing.
Teachers Union representative Jim Linnett praised Los Angeles teachers for successfully ending their strike. They received a 6-percent pay increase and the district agreed to provide a nurse for every school in the LA District. Linnett said the teachers proved their value to their school district. He said, “Paso Robles school teachers will not accept staff or compensation cuts.” The Paso Robles School District is trying to reduce its spending by $800,000 in each of the next two years.
Academic excellence personified.
County Superintendent of Schools James Brescia told trustees he will begin advertising for a new superintendent January 23. The district plans to hire a permanent replacement for interim Superintendent Julian Crocker in July.
The board rejected two bids for construction of the proposed Aquatic Complex. The two construction companies which submitted bids, Wysong and Klassen, were in the $11-13 million range. That’s greater than $5 million over budget.
Paso Robles High School swimmers and water polo players pleaded for a new pool, saying the municipal pool is inadequate.
Citizens were more concerned about cost; some were bitter. Berkeley Baker criticized the previous board for allocating $5.7 million of Measure M for a new pool. Then, the superintendent and board designed and planned for a $9 million Aquatic Complex without money to pay for it. Baker called it fraud. “The school board also went through a $7.5 million surplus.”
Paso Robles High School swimmers and water polo players pleaded for a new pool, saying the municipal pool is inadequate.
Several other speakers agreed with him.
Michael Rivera told the school board, “This Aquatic Complex is a disaster.” Another said, “People voted for a new pool, and you can’t deliver.”
The trustees rejected the two bids because they were $5 million over budget. The board agreed to revisit the pool issue in the next few weeks.
Comments
