[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6506554,"mediaKeyId","5617787-0bea16efe77a58bec29e9114ae954a7f","parentId",5617787,"title","Coronado Unified opens year about 87–100 students short; district outlines budget effect and staffing adjustments","audioSeconds",896,"startMs",2751000,"endMs",3647000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5617787-0bea16efe77a58bec29e9114ae954a7f&start=2751&end=3647","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5617787-0bea16efe77a58bec29e9114ae954a7f/thumbnail_2751000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6506554/California/Coronado-Unified-opens-year-about-87100-students-short-district-outlines-budget-effect-and-staffing-adjustments","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6506554-2bbf4e39e77787f06ac7073de388a519/orig.mp4?Expires=1770432540&Signature=iSmMzX02wW0cQ3OUeHqqZrYGXDNQKgOD-pUpVCvDV-~cv0fBycXfvzmf~NwZnpnj1XHic87nTprjicr-uOqmgMX37~1uUxA-MYIaxDnlj6Tszmw9LRQfgqkeD-3vZ1f~tIf~pe6s5285~fmITiW5BGGYLTZ2d2Or~yR7Wrt4Mq3x6ns-bW7nAXTnVWg9Nim1IAdDXGGjxsifQ3hLfqyhY6lxLZSgKTiFyQw5BAy962QyjTBZaGkcAIT18JRBo2zVFX7YKXLpnmcR7TiUFIFdRYE4AsgROBYHX5L-bARTCjtcTSKEfMbpXoedeCmw9f4QhZN0exwhFcxwGsweGUllIA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Coronado Unified","date","2025-08-21T00:00:00Z","article","Deputy Superintendent Drew Salamanca told the board the district opened the school year with 2,691 students, down from 2,778 at the same point last year, a drop of 87 students; Salamanca later said the district lost an additional 13 students after opening day and called the roughly 100‑student drop significant for district finances.

“Last school year, we opened the school year with 27 78 students, and this year we opened with 26 91. That's a decrease of 87 students,” Salamanca said. He added that he had asked for updated numbers and “we've lost another 13 students from that enrollment,” noting student mobility and summer moves as possible explanations.

District staff said the decline affects funding because California school districts are funded based on Average Daily Attendance (ADA) or related formulas such as prior‑year ADA or a three‑year rolling average. Salamanca said the district had budgeted to open at about 2,750 students; a rough estimate in discussion placed the revenue loss from a 100‑student drop near $1.2 million before smoothing rules apply, though staff told trustees the district will use the three‑year rolling average or prior year ADA formulas to mitigate the immediate hit.

Trustees and staff discussed interdistrict transfers as a factor. Salamanca said the district received roughly 500 interdistrict transfer applications last year and closer to 300 this year, and suggested some neighboring districts showed greater reluctance to release transfers. He also said the board’s spring guidance to be strategic about transfers—focusing on secondary students and filling available space—shaped this year’s intake.

Enrollment declines have prompted staffing and organizational adjustments. Salamanca said the district reduced management and support staff FTE by about 1.01 and reallocated responsibilities after the director of special programs separated from the district. He said the district has added some site‑level support where needed (for example, adding a teacher at Silver Strand Elementary) and will continue making strategic staffing decisions as enrollment trends firm up.

Salamanca and trustees said staff will provide more detailed budget impacts at the September board meeting and at first interim in December. The board took no separate vote on enrollment figures; trustees asked for further breakdowns by site and grade and staff agreed to supply additional detail.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Coronado Unified - School Board","oneSentenceSummary","Deputy Superintendent Drew Salamanca reported the district opened the year with 2,691 students, about 87 fewer than last year, and later said another 13 students left; staff described the enrollment drop, its effect on Average Daily Attendance funding, interdistrict transfer trends and some staff realignments after a director resignation.","taxTitle","Coronado Unified, School Districts, California","taxId",76651,"location","California","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6506559,"Residents press for transparency as district converts public information officer to full‑time; board approves personnel register",4808,296000,5104000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5617787-0bea16efe77a58bec29e9114ae954a7f&start=296&end=5104","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5617787-0bea16efe77a58bec29e9114ae954a7f/thumbnail_296000.jpg","/articles/6506559/California/Residents-press-for-transparency-as-district-converts-public-information-officer-to-fulltime-board-approves-personnel-register","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6506559-762a53922f34efb1b6a9034a12f93bea/orig.mp4?Expires=1770432540&Signature=Lz66Ca4mGxq7XQl48MZ8o73cWDP8a5KqR3~fqwm0NXQT3Rsw5-oPjbgH-AJhMHiENV2GELnByw1hni7FUvip3QUwCQviy0tB8XDqEdOM8i6AbkO1Ts6I4BuC7xeHYkEKO2nqD9wAfoiTJmmRxtQEXkkAH~gxxZbJOVDkK-bOrwjlVRekiqHVLuTpakntqYjo~kEwggSyQKTF9V6k945tPFy4iaSXivvx2YKSp5dB85onA9996Fa9DT01iCz~2eUIHc1ueVIshlet7L~oR-ZeqyBChNSUYpcxTfcJbTq1oTFbvUEDGM3Tl7hPNPAEPMCJ5oBM8~~fTj09a~REZUkBSQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","A Coronado resident raised concerns about transparency and pay before the board approved a consolidated personnel register that converts the district public information officer (PIO) from a part‑time position to a full‑time (1.0 FTE) role and reallocates duties following a director’s resignation.

During public comment, Jennifer Landry (who later appeared in the meeting as ACT president) said she was speaking to process rather than a person and described an absence of publicly available documentation about the PIO job, calling attention to the salary change. “Four years ago, our school board approved a public information officer position at a 0.5 FTE at a salary of $40,000,” Landry said, and she said the current personnel register would increase the position from 0.8 to 1.0 FTE at a salary she cited as $112,500. “Nowhere on our district website in a public manner does it show the job description, job roles, or job duties of that person,” she said, and she asked for more detail from the district.

Deputy Superintendent Drew Salamanca and Superintendent Mueller responded that the PIO job description has been posted online since the board approved it in June 2021 and that the PIO position is a 261‑day contract rather than a teacher’s 186‑day contract. Salamanca said the district had expanded the PIO’s duties over time and that several responsibilities carried by the district’s recently departed director of special programs, Mr. Schmeichel, were being reassigned among administrators and the PIO to maintain continuity. “We have expanded the role of our public information officer, from the initial board approval until the request this evening,” Salamanca said. He also noted that employees receive step and salary schedule increases over time and that a direct day‑to‑day comparison with teacher salaries does not account for contract length and differing duties.

Board members said the change was part of a broader strategy to position the district for the transition to basic aid and to preserve programs while the district addresses declining enrollment. Trustees described the reassignment of duties from the departed director to multiple existing staff in order to avoid hiring a new higher‑paid administrator. Trustee Lee asked for more information and context about days on contract and comparative pay; Salamanca and the superintendent provided contract‑length context and said the job description is on the district website, listing its approval date as 06/17/2021.

After discussion the board voted to approve the personnel register, including the PIO conversion and related reassignments. The motion passed; the public excerpt does not include a roll‑call tally.

The district said it will continue to work with site administrators, staff and community partners as it implements the personnel changes and will provide additional details where appropriate at future meetings.","Public commenter questioned the transparency and salary increase for the district public information officer; the board approved a consolidated personnel register that converts the PIO to a 1.0 FTE and redistributes duties after a director resignation.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6506564,"Coronado Unified approves lease‑purchase financing to bridge budget shortfall",961,659000,1620000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5617787-0bea16efe77a58bec29e9114ae954a7f&start=659&end=1620","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5617787-0bea16efe77a58bec29e9114ae954a7f/thumbnail_659000.jpg","/articles/6506564/California/Coronado-Unified-approves-leasepurchase-financing-to-bridge-budget-shortfall","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6506564-22897a60c0e542d5d2db66e12dc431be/orig.mp4?Expires=1770432540&Signature=ZdSEQ-O6lK~JDdUK4QJWYddYB06bSy5M0LGWXjOyAVrDj8WP7~kYqnjL82Py31xW09HOg02e3jvhfWBmyUHVHb-a-TOQ3FOLsXyeDZ99KikhnPM0FFeR-Q-MniMFKIW-fsn96vyhQrdurVLJCKaKwmF0xNLwQN0GRESyClu~b7S0Uc4ZPkTJoY3zMltWpLX27wE3CM4vWC-ov4ZqfGOKtjRS0nT0ZbAznyJiepWYXjQD4DMgQggWwuo4Omdg6k07-Uy4tjIYRv1IiiosLJZPGipu2EyAj2UjulyHIPsh-5dtmmccwhMz2EncGq891QDvQkVFHwRfdO9kp77CImAkaQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Coronado Unified School district board approved Business Services Resolution 25‑08‑02, authorizing site lease and lease‑purchase financing to address a near‑term budget shortfall and refinance older debt.

Deputy Superintendent Drew Salamanca told the board the financing is intended as a short‑term bridge while the district transitions to a “basic aid” revenue structure. “To put it plainly, at least purchase financing is essentially loan,” Salamanca said, describing taxable and tax‑exempt options the district reviewed.

Salamanca presented two primary structures the district considered. For a taxable option he described a roughly $1,000,000 loan and said, “If we were to keep the loan alive, dollars 1,000,000 would cost us 1,150,000.00 if we pay it off in 2027. If we keep it all the way to maturity, which is 09/11/2040, the total cost would be about 1,570,000.00.” He said a tax‑exempt structure would allow a larger principal at a lower rate: “We’re suggesting, about a $2,100,000 loan, significantly lower interest rate of 4.03%,” and added later that the tax‑exempt option carries different prepayment timing and total cost assumptions.

Trustees pressed staff on alternatives and on how the numbers were developed. One trustee summarized the tradeoff and the likely interest cost: “So basically, by my math, we are gonna commit to spend about $570,000 in interest charges to have access to $3,110,000.” Salamanca said the district ran a competitive process for financing, receiving responses from multiple agencies, and presented the staggered structure to preserve short‑term flexibility while lowering long‑term cost where possible.

Salamanca framed the financing as a tool to avoid deeper, immediate program reductions: the district has been covering an approximately $550,000 annual certificates of participation payment in part from developer fees and in part from the general fund. The proposed structure would shift some of that burden and create a buffer for one‑time or unanticipated costs, such as HVAC repairs, carpeting and roofing work, and emergency maintenance, he said. He noted the district is opening the year with lower enrollment and that staff expects staffing reductions to align with enrollment declines rather than be triggered by the financing.

Board members asked when prepayment options would be available and how quickly the district could extinguish debt once new revenues arrive under basic aid. Salamanca described prepayment windows tied to each financing component and said the district’s plan would be to pay down debt as soon as practical to minimize total interest paid: “The recommendation…and why the prepayment option was so important, the September 27 prepayments, coincides with our first year as basic aid.”

The board voted to approve the resolution authorizing the lease and lease‑purchase financing. There was no roll‑call tally in the public record excerpt.

The district will proceed with documentation and the staff said it will report further budget details at the district’s September board meeting and at first interim in December.","The Coronado Unified School District board approved Business Services Resolution 25‑08‑02 authorizing lease/lease‑purchase financing and related actions intended to relieve near‑term budget pressure while the district transitions to basic aid.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Coronado Unified opens year about 87–100 students short; district outlines budget effect and staffing adjustments

Residents press for transparency as district converts public information officer to full‑time; board approves personnel register

Coronado Unified approves lease‑purchase financing to bridge budget shortfall