The IUSD Board of Education on Tuesday approved an expanded communications plan to solicit feedback on a proposal to harness solar power at up to 12 additional Irvine campuses.

BY SUPERINTENDENT TERRY L. WALKER Every May, for better or for worse, the budget picture becomes a little clearer for school districts, as the state begins to solidify its spending plan for the next fiscal year. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case this time around.

Calling for a greater effort to notify neighboring communities, the IUSD Board of Education continued a proposal to add canopies topped with solar panels to the parking lots of 11 Irvine schools.

It's been more than a year since IUSD held an activation ceremony to mark the installation of solar panels at 13 schools and a pair of support facilities, and the data that's been gathered over the last 12 months is

Student donations and fees were back in the spotlight at last week’s Board of Education meeting, as the district’s director of secondary education discussed the steps IUSD has taken to ensure compliance of California’s right to a free public education and outlined the impacts of seeking donations to preserve programs and activities.

With IUSD projecting a shortfall of about $5.3 million for the next fiscal year, the Board of Education voted this week to certify the district’s latest financial report as “qualified,” meaning adjustments will be necessary to present a balanced budget in June.

Earlier this month, IUSD’s Board of Education approved a set of educational specifications for the district’s high schools, marking the latest step in the process to develop a longterm "facilities roadmap" for the dist

BY SUPERINTENDENT TERRY L. WALKER This week, school districts in California finally got an answer to the question they’ve been grappling with for months: How much money will there be to support students this year?

At its yearly organizational meeting on Tuesday night, the Board of Education voted unanimously to elect Michael Parham to a one-year term as president and Carolyn McInerney to a one-year term as clerk. Sue Kuwabara, who was president this past year, was honored for her leadership.

The selection of a new president wasn't the only big news at Tuesday night's Board of Education meeting.