Superintendent's Weekly Update
December 12, 2025
Dear PUSD Families,
This week’s Board of Education meeting was full of important updates.
Leadership Announcements
As this was the annual Organizational Meeting, the Board held elections for leadership roles for the 2026 calendar year. I look forward to supporting our Board in 2026 as we advance our shared priorities of student success, community engagement, and fiscal responsibility. The new Board officers are:
- Michelle O’Connor-Ratcliff, elected Board President
- Heather Plotzke, elected Board Vice President
- Tim Dougherty, elected Board Clerk
The Board also approved the following appointments:
- Kristin Sullens, appointed as Principal of Morning Creek Elementary School
- Colin Young, appointed as Director of Human Resources
- Jessica Kimbrell, appointed as Director of Facilities Design and Construction
Congratulations to these accomplished professionals. You can learn more about their experience and leadership on our district website.
California School Dashboard
District staff shared an update on Poway Unified’s performance on the California School Dashboard, the state’s public accountability system that uses multiple measures and color-coded performance levels to show how schools and districts are performing and improving across key student outcome areas. Dashboard results are based on the most recent available outcome data and reflect both current performance (2024-25) and change compared to the prior year (2023-24).
The Dashboard reports on seven state indicators: Academic Achievement (English Language Arts and Mathematics), Academic Progress (English Language Arts and Mathematics), Graduation Rate, College/Career Indicator, Chronic Absenteeism Rate, Suspension Rate, and English Learner Progress.
Poway Unified’s current Dashboard shows student performance in the two highest categories—Green and Blue—on six of the seven state indicators. This reflects strong overall performance and places the district among the highest-performing districts in the county and across the state.
First Interim Financial Report
District staff also presented the 2025–26 First Interim Budget, which provides an early-year update on the district’s financial condition, including revised revenues and expenditures, multiyear projections, and our ability to meet financial obligations for the current year and the two subsequent fiscal years.
Since adoption of the budget in June, the district’s financial position has improved due to increased state revenue following the enactment of the final State Budget in July, along with expenditure reductions resulting from planned position vacancies and continued budget discipline. These factors have contributed to a modest improvement in the district’s ending fund balance.
The Governor’s budget proposal for the 2026–27 fiscal year will be released in January 2026. As we begin development of next year’s budget, the Poway Unified Board of Education will hold a Special Budget Workshop on Thursday, February 26, 2026.
These are just a few highlights from this week’s meeting. For additional details, please view the Board Brief. The next regular meeting of the Board of Education will be held on Thursday, January 22, at 6:00 p.m.
Sincerely,
Ben
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Midland Celebrates 100 Years
On Friday, December 12, Midland Elementary celebrated its 100-year anniversary during its First Friday assembly. PUSD's Board of Education, and alumni and former staff helped celebrate the milestone, and guests were able to take a walk down memory lane by revisiting photos and mementos of Midland's past.
Congratulations to everyone who helped make Friday's centennial event so memorable.
Coding in the Classroom
PUSD's Educational Technology team brought the power of coding, AI, and STEAM to classrooms across the district this week. Hour of Code sessions aimed to move students from passive users to active creators, building foundational skills in coding and AI, and supporting our commitment to developing AI literacy and digital citizenship.
Congratulations to the Ed Tech team for a successful series of events that empower our world-class learners for the future ahead.
Poway High Engineering Honored
Poway High School Engineering Academy was recognized on Wednesday, December 10, as a 2024-25 Project Lead The Way (PLTW) Distinguished School, as one of just 661 high schools across the U.S. to receive this honor for providing broad access to transformative learning experiences for students through PLTW (Computer Science, and Engineering).
The PLTW Distinguished School recognition honors schools committed to increasing student access, engagement, and achievement in their PLTW programs.