Interim PUSD superintendent hired for county job

The Poway Unified School District’s new interim superintendent has been named interim San Diego County superintendent of schools.

Edward Velasquez began his Poway responsibilities this week and was expected to stay on for several months while a search was conducted for a replacement for fired former Supt. John Collins.

However, Velasquez was selected Wednesday night by the San Diego County Board of Education to take the place of Randy Ward while Ward is on paid administrative leave. Ward is on leave pending an investigation into his compensation; a similar situation that occurred in late April with Collins. Velasquez’s start date and compensation are still to be determined.

Velasquez said he applied for the position in late July, after a colleague called him and told him he should apply. He said he found out about getting the position on Friday. Poway Unified hired him on June 22 with a starting date of Aug. 1.

County education officials said his selection was contingent upon an agreement between the board and Velasquez, and is to be considered at next Wednesday’s meeting.

Velasquez said he had not been given the conditions of his new contract yet, and would find out more next week. He also said he is working on a transition plan with the PUSD board of education.

Christine Paik, spokeswoman for PUSD, said Thursday afternoon that Velasquez has not notified the district of any official start date, and that the board will be having an as-yet unscheduled closed session meeting to discuss the matter.

“If need be, Dr. Mel Robertson will be reappointed as acting superintendent,” said Paik in an email. “But right now, the District is focused on our most important work, which is all the preparations underway to ensure a successful start to the school year.”

Robertson previously served as acting superintendent from April to July.

Velasquez was unanimously selected for the interim county job from a group of 12 applicants that was whittled to five finalists, officials said.

Velasquez’s 38 years in education also included stints as interim superintendent of the Alpine Union School District from March to June 2016 and the San Ysidro School District from February to June 2015, according to the county Office of Education. He has also worked with law enforcement and at-risk youth.

Schools run by the county include those for incarcerated youngsters, foster kids and homeless children. Velasquez said this was one of the aspects of the county position that drew him to apply.

• City News Service contributed to this story.