AUSD sets priorities for Measure B-24 funds

By Mike Chaldu · Mon Apr 27 2026

Superintendent recognizes high achievers from all over the district

ATASCADERO — In its first regular meeting in over a month, the Atascadero Unified School District Board of Trustees set out prioritizing district projects to be paid by Measure B-24 bonds during its late-month study session on Tuesday, April 21.

Before that, though, Superintendent Dr. Thomas Bennett used his report to highlight a number of individuals from Atascadero High School spanning special education, athletics, and agriculture.

"The time I have here I want to take in recognition of some of the great things happening in our district," Bennett said at the start of his report. "It's the people who are part of this district that are making it happen."

Bennett began by calling up Trisha Lomino of the SLO County Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA), who announced that 19 employees from AUSD were nominated for the Special Impact Awards, given to instructors and employees who work with special education students.

Lomino then announced that a winner of the award was Atascadero Middle School Assistant Principal Melissa Smith, whom she called up to the podium.

"Melissa defines the gold standard for special education, with a blend of professionalism, integrity, and a caring heart," Lomino said. "Superhero power is unwavering advocacy for all learners, from her own experience as a parent of a child with a disability."

Next, Atascadero High School FFA instructor Kyle Dadson took the podium to highlight his team's success in regional and state competitions this year, but singled out one member of his team, Jaycee Salas.

"Miss Jaycee Salas is a senior at AHS, and she was recently installed as the 2026-2027 California State FFA president," Dadson said. "Along with five other members across the state, she will have the opportunity to lead nearly 200,000 FFA members throughout the state. She is essentially the face of California FFA."

After that, Salas, along with fellow AHS members Gabby Ferrie, Bryn Baron, and Karis Dadson, informed the board of their team's successes in sectional and regional conferences, and qualifying for state in speaking and livestock judging.

Finally, AHS wrestling coach Joe Belmonte and Principal Leslie Baca introduced AHS wrestler Emma Garrett, who became the school's first-ever girls CIF champion, and made it to the state finals and had a career record of 129-46, with 101 of her wins coming by pin.

"In four years, I've watched Emma grow into one of the most accomplished athletes this program has ever seen,"

Belmonte said.

Belmonte added that Garrett maintained a 3.7 weighted GPA and held down a part-time job while competing for the Greyhounds and has committed to Schreiner University, a Division III school in Texas, where she will pursue a nursing degree while continuing her wrestling career.

Later, during the Study Session segment of the meeting, the board sat down with AUSD Director of Support Services Brant Lloyd and members of Kitchell Program Management to prioritize projects to be funded by the Measure B-24 school bond.

Approved on November 5, 2024, Measure B-24 authorizes the Atascadero Unified School District (AUSD) to issue $110 million in bonds for school facility upgrades.

Lloyd told the board that in prioritizing which projects should move forward, they were targeting the total cost to be around $93 million. "That will give us a little wiggle room with the allowed amount of $110 million," Lloyd said. He also said the projects listed were determined by a workshop done back in November 2025.

At first, some board members seemed unsure about what exactly they were prioritizing, especially Board President Denise McGrew-Kane.

"It's a lot to wrap your head around, is there any documentation as to what type of scope there is with each project," she said. "We're talking about prioritizing, but it's hard to determine priority when I don’t have scope of the project. I would like to be more prepared."

Lloyd and Assistant Superintendent, Business Services Kendyl Darnell tried to ease the concern by pointing out the priorities set could easily be changed later. Lloyd said this session was just to determine what project the district should move forward with.

The board started listing some priorities with the board agreeing on three right away: AHS Student Entry Security Improvements, AMS Gym Complex, and districtwide Campus Safety Systems Upgrades.

Temporarily taken off the priority were seven items identified as modernizations of each of AUSD's elementary school campuses — Creston, Carissa Plains, Monterey Road, San Benito, San Gabriel, Santa Margarita, and Santa Rosa — but those were reinstated after Trustee Corinne Kuhnle spoke out for them.

"These are the items that actually got the bond approved by voters," she said. "I don't want to stab the community in the back."

Another decision was the building of a new multipurpose room, kitchen, and library. The board originally put up on the list building all three at once, which would cost $25.2 million. However, the trustees agreed to just put up the second option, just the multipurpose room and kitchen at the cost of $12.6 million, which enabled the school modernization to be put back up.

Other projects to make the final list included AMS Careers and Technical Education (CTE) Modernization, AHS CTE Reconfiguration and Modernization, and the Paloma Creek FCA scope. The total cost of the prioritized projects came out to $97.1 million, which Lloyd said went beyond the target cost, but could be revisited later.

The AUSD board will next meet on Tuesday, May 5, with closed session starting at 5:30 p.m. and open session at 7 p.m.