Governor Jerry Brown recently brought some resolution to the matter of impermissible student fees, putting his signature on a bill that reinforces existing laws and judicial decisions while establishing reasonable enforcement measures for schools and districts.

Vehicle shade structures outfitted with energy-producing solar panels will be added to the parking lots of nine campuses, saving the district an additional $305,000 a year, following a vote this month by the IUSD Board of Education.

At its final meeting before the start of a new fiscal year, the IUSD Board of Education this week voted unanimously to adopt a spending plan for 2012-13.

At the direction of its Board of Education, the Irvine Unified School District has mailed out thousands of fliers encouraging local residents to weigh in on a proposal to add vehicle shade structures outfitted with energy-generating solar panels to a dozen 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.

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.

BY ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT JOHN FOGARTY More details have come out about the governor’s budget proposal, and unfortunately they’re not in our favor. As previously mentioned, Gov.

Over the last few years, IUSD has grown accustomed to operating in an environment of fiscal uncertainty, as state lawmakers have often deferred decisions and provided little in the way of concrete information while grappling with California’s budget crisis.

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?

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