Poway Unified Superintendent Put On Administrative Leave

There is a shakeup going on in one of San Diego County's highly regarded scored districts. Poway Unified School District John Collins has been placed on administrative leave. With the compensation of more than 400 With the compensation of more than $470,000, John Collins is listed by the walk watchdog group transparent in California as one of the highest-paid educators in the state. Joining me is in the sticky reporter tran 19. The audit comes after I lot of speculation that John Collins actually wants to leave his job before his contract expires in 2017. Is that the main reason for this audit? We nevertheless the monster of the discussions going on behind closed doors between the board and the superintendent last year. Last year superintendent Collins brought his own attorney into the mix. His evaluation was scheduled for several months. The board in December high their own legal counsel to work their own interest. In favor of somebody you had no relationship with the superintendent pics so we know for a month they have been looking at their options. The superintendent told the local paper that things were not working well with the board and that they needed to explore their options in the best interest of the district. I think they've been talking. Is this sleeve, which has been described as short of a standard procedure, due diligence. But it is an audit of his contract. Are there any other reasons question mark It is not totally clear. They are saying very little. They put out a press related leasing a standard protocol. Paid leave. Do an audit. We've reported over the last year some interesting things about his contract took some extra perks build and that are usually reserved for teachers. Longevity pay. He also has unique to races that are tied to his administrators and those usually mirror what teachers get the districts. And he is negotiating with teachers and other paying groups and they get the same racist and it could be a potential conflict of interest. His base salary is roughly 300,000 not including the longevity pay. You also have benefits. At this point his compensation is pushing the $500,000 range. According to the reader comments, after your story was posted in voice of San Diego, there are parents in the Pali district who are quite dissatisfied with John Collins as superintendent. They talk about a very expensive bond deal that was put forward as his time during certain superintendent. Can you remind us about that? There is a lingering frustration and distrust among some constituents and resonance among the district in 2011 during his watch, the district went out and sold bonds. Actually to pay off some old debt for facilities construction Mohammed before. They it issued $105 million in debt with a promise to repay investors about $1 billion. That is getting into the nine or 10 times repayment range. A capital appreciation bond. They don't pay anything on the dead for 20 years as interest compounds and then the last 20 years they spend those paying off this massively ballooned pile of debt. They haven't even started paying that off. It was 2011. It broke with the San Diego -- so yes folks are still feeling the hurt. They feel distrust. They are not sure how the district could have entered that in good reason. Collins and other administrators, and a enough former board agreed with it. And yet there are board members on there now who protested that bond. What does that mean for the harmony on the school will empower a question mark Initially and 2012, Kimberly Beatty was one vocal voice on a board of an comments. But in 2014 several new folks were elected. Some more vocal than others. Charles Sellers has probably the most vocal. Saying if elected I will pursue ousting columns. Getting him out of here. Others have been maybe a little bit more reserved. But have said we want to be transparent and accountable. We are elected on those terms. They have been asking mostly respectful questions. Mostly it up public forum. So it has been interesting to watch. Yes. Are we to assume then since we have that quote from Mr. Collins, that things are not well and he is speculation that he is looking to leave his position before his contract expires. That things really are not well in how the board is interacting with a superintendent? The momentum had changed with in 2014 when the new folks were elected. And then last year several issues came up. And then the districts actually put up using the same financial consultants to do a new bond deal that were part of the old notorious 2011. A couple board members had been hesitant to question authority of the superintendent. This move to put on paid leave signals that there must have been something pretty compelling to get the folks that were even reluctant to question the superintendent to do this. The great schools in power way are a big draw for that community. It affects real estate values. It affects the city's economy. Is this trouble at the top a potential threat to the academic standing question mark I think it does. Pete teachers have a lot of power over the classroom. If they don't have their supply their stress it they need a professional development. There is actually an education technology consultant I came in last year and said there are problems at the top an arrogance problem that was trickling down and affecting the entire district in how the students were able to learn and the teachers were able to teach. Absolutely think it matters. At least some folks have been pushing. There was a recall effort that aim to one incumbent to be in play replaced with Collins. Others completely back to Collins. Say he has a great record. So folks that question him are naysayers. I want to thank you very much.