On Thursday, December 11, the Coronado Unified School District (CUSD) Board of Trustees reconvened for the final board meeting of 2025. The meeting began as usual with the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by approval of the evening’s agenda.
The meeting then proceeded to a tribute honoring Dr. Helen Anderson-Cruz, a former CUSD board member, educator, and cherished friend to many, who recently passed away. Each Trustee and Superintendent Mueller briefly spoke about her impact on them both as board members and as people.
The meeting moved on to two spotlight presentations: a CoSA Instrumental Music performance and an award ceremony for the CHS varsity girls’ volleyball team, who finished in the top four in CIF Open Division.
The board then carried out their annual election for board president, vice president, and clerk. Trustee Cavanaugh was nominated and elected as the new board president, succeeding Trustee Palacios-Peters, who held the position for two terms. Trustee Lee was nominated and elected as the new board vice president, and Trustee Sandie was nominated and elected as board clerk.
After a quick switch of seats to reflect each new position, the board approved the dates and times of the 2026 board meetings and also approved the consent calendar. Senior Director of Learning, Dr. Megan Battle, then approached the podium to present a 2025-2026 CUSD Robotics Program update. Dr. Battle welcomed CUSD Robotics Director Roberta Lenert and multiple robotics students to the podium to speak about CUSD robotics.
The presentation included the program’s accolades, an overview of the different events, teams, clubs, and competitions, and first-person accounts of how robotics has shaped the lives of many students and their future paths, with many middle school students planning to pursue engineering in college thanks to this program. The students then demonstrated how some of their robots and inventions work in real time.
The meeting then moved on to action items, starting with a recommendation from a 7-11 committee (a facilities advisory committee) to declare a property located at 199 Sixth Street as “surplus” and to approve another ten-year lease with the Navy. The board unanimously voted to approve this recommendation.
The next action item was to approve a positive certification for the First Interim Budget, which was presented by Deputy Superintendent Salamanca. This report focused only on major changes to funds, and a more in-depth conversation about budgetary changes will take place early next year. Salamanca briefly explained the district’s expenditures and revenues, and any differences between the adopted budget and the first interim budget, with the most considerable change in classified salaries due to the new agreement with ACT (Association of Coronado Teachers).
Salamanca explained the bridge to basic aid once again and noted that the district’s planned spend-down has been approved, and that the district will, without a doubt, become a basic aid district in 2027-2028. You can see the entire report on the district’s website. The board unanimously approved the positive certification.
Deputy Salamanca then presented another action item: the approval of the revised salary schedules and accompanying recommendations for classified/certificated employees. There are 30 CUSD employees who are not eligible to be represented by either of the district’s unions; therefore, their negotiations typically trail behind any union salary negotiations. ACT negotiations have concluded, and the district plans to conclude negotiations with CSEA soon as well. This revised salary schedule will reflect this, as well as account for the 30 non-represented employees. The board unanimously approved this item.
The board then approved the adoption of AP Environmental Science instructional materials at CHS and approved a retirement notice stipend. This one-time $2,000 stipend is offered to district employees who provide early notice of intent to retire. This helps the district with staffing and preparation, and gives CUSD a jump on other districts when hiring.
The evening then moved into a report section. ASB Vice President Christopher Dyson gave the student board member report in place of Haissam Kouli. Dyson gave a brief overview of the recent and upcoming events across each school site.
Dr. Battle, along with some grant partners, then gave an annual update on the district’s DoDEA grants. The presentation outlined the different projects funded by DoDEA grants, including Project E^3 (mathematics), Project SAIL (science and STEM), Project CS+ (computer science), and Project World Language+ (world language/biliteracy).
Deputy Salamanca then made himself available for any questions regarding the attendance dashboard. At the request of President Cavanaugh, Deputy Salamanca explained how students can use an independent study contract for any time away from school (sick, traveling for the holidays, etc.), which also allows the district to recoup funds for lost attendance days. Previously, these contracts could only be used for a period of five or more days away from school; now, they can be utilized for any amount of time, even one day.
Moving forward, Superintendent Mueller briefly outlined his report for the month, which focused on reinforcing safety protocols, expectations, and accountability, as well as an update on the district’s possible future actions to alter the existing CUSD cell phone policy.
Since the last meeting, Superintendent Mueller has discussed this issue with Village PTO, the Superintendent Student Advisory Council, and representatives from Yondr. He also announced that an invite will be sent to a small group of parents who have shown interest in joining a subcommittee to discuss a parent forum about the current cell phone policy and possible changes. The forum will likely take place in late January or early February of 2026. Mueller is hoping to present a revised board policy on cell phone use to the board in the fall of 2026.
After a period of discussion, Trustee Palacios-Peters presented the first read of revisions to board policies, board bylaws, administrative regulations, and/or exhibits. As this was a first read, no action was taken at this time, and the item will be brought back as an action item next month. The documents can be read on the district’s website.
The meeting then moved to a period of public comment on non-agendized items and Trustee and Superintendent comments. Each Trustee, as well as Superintendent Mueller, took this time to speak about their recent district involvement, teacher meetings, and other notable events. At this time, Superintendent Mueller also wished everyone a happy and safe holiday season.
While creating a proposed list of future agenda items, Trustee Lee requested a comprehensive report on the use of the Facilitron system and the legal requirements governing public access to school facilities. The Facilitron system is an online platform that helps manage public requests to rent school facilities.
President Cavanaugh requested a presentation from district support providers (boosters, PTOs, etc.) to discuss the relationship between these organizations and the district, both financially and legally. She also requested a review of the process for allocating field use within CUSD sports.
Superintendent Mueller added these items to future board agendas, and with that, the meeting was called to a close.
The next regularly scheduled board meeting will take place on Thursday, January 15, at 4 p.m. in the District Office Board Room.
VOL. 115, NO. 51 – Dec. 17, 2025