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Poway Unified hires interim superintendent

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A veteran school administrator was hired Wednesday night by the Poway Unified School District board to be the interim superintendent.

Edward Velasquez will start work on Aug. 1 and will handle the responsibilities of Supt. John Collins, who has been on paid administrative leave since April 25. School board members placed Collins on leave while a board-hired auditing firm looked into his employment contract with the district. A special board meeting has been scheduled for July 11 where, according to district spokeswoman Christine Paik, the matters of the audit and the leave “will be concluded.”

The board voted 4-1 to hire Velasquez. Board member Andy Patapow voted in opposition without giving a reason.

Velasquez retired in 2013 as superintendent of the Lynwood Unified School District in Montebello, a post he held for three years. Prior to that he was superintendent of the neighboring Montebello Unified School District for six years. His career with the Montebello district started in 1993 and included positions as assistant principal, intermediate school administrator, assistant superintendent, interim superintendent, chief of school police and superintendent.

Since retiring, Velasquez has served four months in 2015 as interim superintendent of the San Ysidro School District and three months this year as interim superintendent of the Alpine Union School District. The Alpine job ends this month.

Velasquez said Thursday morning that he hasn’t officially heard from the district so he doesn’t know what the district’s goals for him are. If they want his assistance in finding a new superintendent, he said he has experience in that field and will be able to help.

Velasquez will be paid $75 an hour for up to a maximum of 560 hours. He will receive no district benefits, according to his employment contract. As Velasquez lives in Chino, he will stay in a motel or hotel within the district that he will pay for on his own, his usual procedure when working as an interim superintendent, he said.

Velasquez said he has been following PUSD since 2009, when he was working with San Ysidro School District on refinancing bonds. He said he heard about the Poway Unified School District and has been following news about the district ever since. “I had concerns (for the district) and I saw things that needed to be rectified,” he said.

His motivation for working as an interim superintendent following his retirement comes from his passion for helping children, said Velasquez. “I was one of those kids who should have fallen through the cracks,” he said. “But I had some great role models. I really care about kids.”

The school board made two other personnel decisions Tuesday night:

  • Approved an employment agreement for Associate Supt. Mel Robertson, who has been serving as acting superintendent since April 25. She will receive an extra $200 per work day, retroactive to April 25, until Velasquez takes over. After that, she will return to her regular post.
  • Approved a two-year contract to Sandra Heuzo as associate superintendent for personnel services. Her salary will be $175,404 per school year. She replaces the retiring Tracy Hogarth. Since 2011 she has been the assistant superintendent of human resources at the Sweetwater Union High School District.
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