Superintendent's Update - December 12, 2025

From the Office of the Superintendent

Board Agenda Calendar

View Calendar of Board Items 2025-26

Superintendent Austin’s Message . . .

We recently announced some transitions in principals across PAUSD. I have been asked if we have a policy regarding the movement of principals after a certain amount of time, as some school districts do. We do not. In this case, we had two retirements. Both leaders had long and distinguished careers. We are proud of them and all they accomplished. At the end of the day, however, we all retire. At the same time, we had two principals who expressed interest in doing something different. Both are exceptional and made it easy to honor their requests. Finally, we had a former administrative TOSA who had dutifully served one of our schools and was eager to return as their principal. These are all excellent qualities and indicators of a healthy and strong organization.

We believe strongly in succession plans in PAUSD. There was a time when every vacancy felt like we were starting from scratch. Those days have been behind us for a while now. Instead, we devote considerable thought to building our own bench, developing talent, evaluating performance, and creating an environment where our best and brightest can thrive. There are still circumstances when we will go outside of PAUSD to recruit new leaders, but that is only when we don’t have natural fits within our current team. I believe strongly that a daily work record is more important than a 20-minute interview. Our unprecedented stability and performance support this idea as well. Congratulations to Ms. Bimpson and Mr. Sherman.  We will miss them both and are thankful for their many contributions to PAUSD. They have both earned their retirements!

Our Board of Education will reorganize next week. This is when the leadership positions traditionally shift.  I would like to thank Ms. Segal for her leadership during the last year as our president. It always seems like the “right” person is in the “right” seat for each year. The last year was no exception.

This is the time of year for Holiday celebrations. I hope you can all enjoy these events and have some fun with your kids. My grandson practiced “Jingle Bells” for a couple of weeks just to stand on stage and look around without saying a word.  Life is beautiful!  

California School Dashboard Released

The 2025 California School Dashboard shows strong overall performance for PAUSD, with the district earning top ratings (Blue) in English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, College/Career Readiness, and Graduation Rate, and Green ratings in English Learner Progress, Chronic Absenteeism, and Suspension Rate. The data also highlight areas where targeted attention is needed, particularly for Long-Term English Learners and our Homeless student group. PAUSD was identified for Differentiated Assistance based solely on outcomes for Homeless students, whose small group size still reflects significant challenges. As we celebrate continued progress across most measures, the Dashboard also helps us stay focused on narrowing persistent equity gaps and ensuring every student is supported to thrive.

Upcoming Winter Break/January Schedule

Friday, December 19, 2025, is a district-wide early release day.

Winter Break is from December 22, 2025, to January 5, 2026. Students return on 1/6/2026.

January 19, 2026, is a local holiday in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.