Highlights from Tuesday night's Board of Trustees meeting included approval of new special education school buses, plans for campus improvements funded by Measure M, new playgrounds at Winifred Pifer Elementary, encouraging gains in student achievement and school climate, and an update on the rising volume and cost of public records requests. The Board also recognized Veterans Day and the upcoming Day of the Special Educator.
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Superintendent Loftus highlighted upcoming opportunities for families and community members, including:
She also recognized the District's alternative education schools for their Operation Christmas Child donation drive, congratulated PRHS girls tennis on their strong season and second place CIF finish, and expressed appreciation for the veterans serving on the PRJUSD team.
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PRHS ASB Secretary Jackson Bedrosian shared highlights from a busy fall semester, including Homecoming celebrations, a Fall Festival attended by more than 500 students, and Bearcat Visits recognizing positivity among elementary students.
The report also celebrated PRHS Girls Tennis for advancing to the final round of CIF Central Section playoffs, highlighted student activities, and promoted the upcoming fall play, *Witches!? In Salem?!*
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The Board approved recommendations for investing remaining funds from Measure M, the $95 million school facilities bond approved by voters in 2016. As of July 1, 2026, approximately $7.18 million in Measure M funds remained available for school facilities improvements.
Approved projects totaling approximately $2.05 million include HVAC and roof repairs at Georgia Brown, shade structures for Georgia Brown's TK/K picnic area, cafeteria and staff lounge roof repairs at Lewis Flamson Junior High, new TK/K playgrounds with shade at Virginia Peterson, and flooring replacements at Kermit King, Winifred Pifer, Pat Butler, and Georgia Brown.
The Board also approved moving forward with construction at Virginia Peterson Elementary, beginning design work for 12 classrooms in three new buildings. The project would replace six aging portable classrooms while adding six additional classrooms to the campus.
Estimated at $14.5 million, the project is planned to be completed in phases using a combination of the following funding sources:
- *Measure M funds
- *Student Support Professional Development Block Grant
- *Fund 25 (Capital Facilities Fund, aka "Developer Fees")
- *Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELOP)
*Wondering how these funding sources work and what they can be used for? See our Budget Decoder section below for a breakdown of each funding source and its allowable uses.
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Winifred Pifer Elementary's youngest students will benefit from new playground equipment following the Board's approval of a $255,051 investment to replace the school's aging transitional kindergarten and kindergarten playgrounds.
Both playground structures are more than 25 years old and have exceeded their useful service lives. The improvements will include new age-appropriate play structures, integrated shade, and updated rubber safety surfacing, funded through *Fund 14, the District's Deferred Maintenance Fund.
*See our Budget Decoder section below for a breakdown of the funding source and its allowable uses.
Watch this segment on YouTube.
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Facing growing challenges maintaining and certifying two of the District's oldest school buses, the Board took action to approve their replacement.
The buses, manufactured in 1995 and 1996, have each traveled more than 250,000 miles. Both are becoming increasingly difficult to recertify through the California Highway Patrol (CHP), and replacement parts are no longer readily available, raising concerns about their continued reliability.
The District identified two brand-new, overstock 2024 buses available for a total of $317,265, representing a savings of $145,989.98 compared with purchasing equivalent 2026 models. The purchase would be funded through *Fund 15, the District's Pupil Transportation Equipment Fund. The Board previously approved a transfer of funds into Fund 15 through Resolution 26-13 on December 9, 2025, setting aside resources for transportation equipment needs.
However, the opportunity to secure these buses is time-sensitive. Another school district in the Central Valley has expressed interest in purchasing the entire remaining inventory, meaning PRJUSD may not be able to secure the buses even with Board approval.
Recognizing the urgency, the Board voted to amend its agenda, changing the presentation from an informational item to an action item, and subsequently approved the purchase. The decision allows District staff to move quickly in hopes of securing the buses before they are sold, improving transportation safety and reliability for students with specialized transportation needs.
*See our Budget Decoder section below for a breakdown of the funding source and its allowable uses.
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The District is preparing to select new English Language Arts and English Language Development instructional materials for grades 6–8, replacing a curriculum adopted in 2015.
Teachers will pilot two textbook-based programs, HMH Into Literature and Savvas myPerspectives, during the spring semester, pending state approval. The process includes teacher evaluation, opportunities for public review, and a final recommendation to the Board in May 2027, with implementation planned for the 2027–28 school year.
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PRJUSD students are making encouraging progress in academic achievement, graduation rates, college and career readiness, attendance, and school climate. Director of Data, Assessments, and Plan Alignment Doreen Castillo presented the District's 2025–26 CAASPP results and California School Dashboard data, highlighting meaningful gains alongside areas where continued improvement is needed.
Among the most encouraging results were gains by English learners and students with disabilities. In English Language Arts, English learners improved by 4.6 points, long-term English learners by an impressive 22.3 points, and students with disabilities by 7.6 points. Students with disabilities also made gains in mathematics (3.8 points), while both groups improved in science. These results are especially encouraging as the District continues working to close achievement gaps and ensure all students have the support they need to succeed.
Lewis Flamson Junior High was another standout, showing improvement across all six measures presented: English Language Arts, mathematics, science, English learner progress, chronic absenteeism, and suspension rates.
Districtwide, science achievement exceeded the state average, the graduation rate increased by 6.1 percentage points, college and career readiness improved by 10.2%, and both chronic absenteeism and suspension rates declined. On the California School Dashboard, the District's graduation indicator improved from Yellow to Blue, while college and career readiness and suspension rates moved from Yellow to Green.
While overall English Language Arts and mathematics achievement remain below state averages, the results reflect positive momentum, particularly among student groups that have historically faced achievement gaps, and provide valuable information to guide continued instructional improvements and student supports.
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At the request of the Board of Trustees, District staff presented an informational report on the growing volume of California Public Records Act (CPRA) requests and the associated costs to the District. The presentation provided trustees and the public with a closer look at the staff time, legal expenses, and other resources required to respond to these requests.
PRJUSD received 28 public records requests in each of the previous two fiscal years. Just over four months into the 2026–27 fiscal year, the District has already received 39 requests, putting it on pace for approximately 117 requests this year—more than a 300% increase over previous years if the current rate continues.
The CPRA is an important tool for government transparency and accountability, but fulfilling requests can be both costly and time-consuming. Responding often requires employees across multiple departments to research, locate, review, and prepare records for release, sometimes with additional legal consultation. Every hour spent fulfilling these requests is time employees must redirect from their primary responsibilities supporting students, schools, and District operations.
To illustrate the impact, just six of the more resource-intensive requests detailed in the presentation required an estimated 197 hours of staff time—equivalent to nearly five full-time workweeks. As the volume of requests continues to rise, so does the strain on District resources and employees' ability to focus on their day-to-day responsibilities.
Among the most resource-intensive requests presented:
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Berkley Baker: Four requests involving the aquatics project, District expenditures, CalCard transactions, and Board travel and training, with estimated staff costs totaling $17,262.
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Beverly Ramos: A request involving Measure M Citizens' Oversight Committee records, with estimated staff costs of $4,032.
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Thomas Peele: A request involving Measure M contracts, economic interest forms, and Citizens' Oversight Committee records, with estimated staff costs of $3,528 and additional legal fees not yet determined.
The presentation also addressed a separate complaint filed by Baker with the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC), alleging improper use of public funds for mass mailings. The FPPC found the allegations unsubstantiated, with no violation, but the District incurred $17,367.72 in legal fees responding to the complaint.
Combined, Baker's four public records requests and separate FPPC complaint represent an estimated $34,629.72 in District staff costs and legal expenses. This includes $17,262 in estimated staff costs for the public records requests and $17,367.72 in actual legal fees associated with the FPPC complaint.
The Board-requested presentation provided an opportunity to examine the financial and operational impact of the growing volume of requests while reaffirming the District's obligation to uphold the public's right to access government records.
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In recognition of Veterans Day on November 11, the Board adopted Resolution 27-07 honoring the service and sacrifice of our nation's military veterans.
The resolution also recognizes veterans who continue serving their communities as educators and school employees, and pays tribute to the 12 PRHS alumni who lost their lives during World War II and are memorialized at War Memorial Stadium.
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The Board adopted Resolution 27-08, proclaiming December 2, 2026, as PRJUSD Day of the Special Educator, coinciding with National Special Education Day.
The resolution celebrates the teachers, specialists, paraprofessionals, therapists, and other dedicated professionals who support students with disabilities, recognizing their essential contributions to student learning, independence, belonging, and success.
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The Board considered acceptance of several generous donations supporting PRJUSD students and programs:
- Zurn Elkay Water Solutions: Bottle-filling stations valued at $228,530 for all PRJUSD elementary schools.
- James T. Schaefer: $3,200 in support of the Paso Robles High School Choir.
- Dig Deep Beach Volleyball: $250 in support of PRHS Girls Beach Volleyball.
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A quick decode of what the funding source is, where it comes from, and the rules that come with it.
Expanded Learning Opportunities Program: State funding allocated specifically to provide before- and after-school and non-school-day enrichment programs for students. ELOP funds are restricted, meaning they must be used to support expanded learning services and cannot be redirected to general District expenses.
Fund 14, (the Deferred Maintenance Fund) is a dedicated account used to pay for major repairs and replacement of aging school facilities. Unlike routine maintenance, such as changing light bulbs or fixing minor plumbing issues, deferred maintenance addresses larger, more costly needs, including roofs, heating and air conditioning systems, flooring, and other infrastructure.
Money in this fund is accounted for separately and reserved for eligible maintenance projects.
In 2022, the Board adopted a resolution committing 1% of the District’s total General Fund to Fund 14 on an annual basis. The fund held $4,981,243 at the end of the 2025-26 fiscal year, and is project to hold $5,125,077 at the end of the 2026-27 fiscal year.
Fund 15: Pupil Transportation Equipment Fund: Fund 15 is a dedicated fund used to purchase, replace, or rehabilitate equipment used to transport students, including school buses. Under California's school accounting rules, the fund holds state and local revenues that have been restricted or committed specifically for these purposes.
Fund 21: Building Fund (Measure M): Fund 21 is used to track proceeds from voter-approved school bonds and the facilities projects they fund. For PRJUSD, this includes Measure M, the $95 million bond approved by voters in 2016 to improve school facilities. Bond funds are restricted to the purposes authorized by voters and may be used for eligible projects such as constructing, renovating, and modernizing school buildings and facilities. They cannot be used for general operating expenses, such as teacher or administrator salaries.
Fund 25: Capital Facilities Fund (Developer Fees): Fund 25 holds fees collected from residential and commercial development projects to help school districts accommodate the impact of growth on school facilities. These funds are restricted for eligible facilities-related expenses, such as constructing or expanding schools to accommodate additional students. They cannot be used for general operating expenses, such as routine classroom instruction or employee salaries.
Student Support Professional Development Block Grant: One-time discretionary state funding designed to give school districts flexibility to address local needs and rising costs. Because the funding is temporary rather than ongoing, it is best used for one-time investments and short-term needs rather than permanent, ongoing expenses such as salaries.
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NN&V is a highlights-based recap of PRJUSD Board meetings, not a complete list of all actions taken or items discussed. Meeting minutes will be available at this link after approval by the Board at the next regularly scheduled Board meeting.
You're invited to attend the next meeting of the Board of Trustees on Tuesday, December 15, 2026, at 6:00 PM In the District Board Room located at 800 Niblick, Paso Robles.
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