The Coronado Unified School District (CUSD) Board of Trustees reconvened on Thursday, February 18, for a regularly scheduled meeting. Trustee Palacios-Peters and Trustee Lee were not present at this meeting.
The meeting began with the pledge of allegiance and approval of the agenda, after two items were pulled to be discussed at a future meeting when all Trustees could be present. The meeting then moved on to two spotlight presentations: the first from the Coronado High School (CHS) Stop The Sewage Club, and the second, a performance celebrating Coronado School of the Arts’ (CoSA) 30th anniversary.
Though the item regarding possible changes to the CUSD cell phone policy was pulled to discuss next month with all Trustees, the board welcomed a few Coronado students to the podium to share their opinions on the cell phone policy. The students asked that cell phones not be taken away completely on the CHS campus, but rather that the culture be changed to encourage students to use them more responsibly. They also noted that the policy requires different shifts at the middle school level than at the high school level.
Trustees were given a first read of revisions to Board Policies and Administrative Regulations on Immigration Enforcement. Typically, no action would be taken on a first reading, but because a law mandates action by March 1, the board was required to act on this specific item during this meeting. This took place later in the meeting, and the item was unanimously approved with no comments.
The consent calendar was approved unanimously, moving the meeting to a public hearing on the Coronado Unified School District (CUSD) Initial Proposals for Negotiations with the Association of Coronado Teachers (ACT). With no public or board comments, the hearing quickly moved to a close. The board then unanimously voted to adopt the proposal.
The board then nominated the 2026 California School Boards Association Delegate Assembly Representatives from a list of volunteers. They could nominate up to nine names, but with only five volunteers, they voted to nominate all five plus one write-in candidate.
Trustees had a first reading of Board Policy 6146.1 regarding an amendment to Coronado High School graduation requirements. This amendment added a one-semester personal finance course as a graduation requirement, beginning with the CHS class of 2030-31. The board approved this item unanimously.
The meeting then moved on to a section of reports, beginning with the monthly Association of Student Teachers (ACT) report, presented by ACT President Jennifer Landry. This report was light-hearted, focusing on the furry family members of ACT staff.
Next, Student Board Member Haissam Kouli presented his monthly report. He focused on past, current, and future happenings at each school site. Following Kouli, the Coronado High School Annual Report was presented by Principal Karin Mellina. As the Trustees had already had a chance to review this report, Mellina moved quickly through the presentation.
She started with student demographics, noting a downward trend in enrollment while continuing to expand student opportunities for college and career readiness. This year, CHS exceeds 80% in college and career readiness indicators. A number that CHS hasn’t seen in many years. This number has consistently grown in the years following the COVID-19 pandemic. AP scores and participation were also far above average this year.
She continued on to provide various testing, readiness, graduation, and other data, all of which can be found on the district’s website. She closed out her presentation by highlighting some site updates, including new course offerings, new student activities, a new grading scale, freshman off-campus lunch, mental health aids, and more. She also highlighted some fun ways in which students are connecting on campus, as well as some CHS celebrations this year.
The next steps for CHS and areas of focus moving forward include maximizing college and career readiness, pathway alignment from the middle school level into CHS, continuing to assess various data, navigating AI, and more. Mellina’s entire presentation, including all data slides, can be found on the district website.
After a brief discussion with the board, the 2025-2026 CUSD LCAP Mid-Year Update was presented by Senior Director of Learning Dr. Megan Battle. The Trustees already had a chance to review this update, so at this time, Dr. Battle made herself available for any comments or questions. With no questions, the meeting moved on to boardmember and superintendent comments. At this time, each Trustee, as well as Superintendent Mueller, briefly discussed their recent CUSD involvement, including CoSA performances, sporting matches, forums, school site visits, teacher visits, and more.
While proposing future agenda items, Trustee Cavanaugh requested an in-depth breakdown of grade-specific experiences outside of the classroom and how they tie into CUSD standards and the portrait of a graduate. This item was added to the agenda for a future meeting. With that, the meeting was adjourned. The next regularly scheduled meeting will take place on Thursday, March 12, 2026, at 4:00 p.m.
VOL. 116, NO. 8 – Feb. 25, 2026