PRJUSD meeting highlights include back-to-school update, cellphone policy rollout, and donations supporting local schools

PASO ROBLES — The Paso Robles Joint Unified School District (PRJUSD) Board of Trustees gathered Tuesday, Aug. 19, for its regularly scheduled meeting, welcoming a new student trustee, approving critical technology upgrades, and receiving a back-to-school update from Superintendent Jennifer Loftus.

The evening began with Loftus administering the Oath of Office to Paso Robles High School student Grant Acevedo, who was appointed by election of the school’s Associated Student Body president to serve as Student Trustee alongside the PRJUSD trustees. Acevedo’s term will extend through June 2026. Trustee Kenney Enney was absent from the meeting.

The board also accepted several generous donations from local organizations and businesses:

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  • Charities Aid Foundation America donated $500 to support Georgia Brown Dual Immersion School.
  • The Wonderful Company contributed $800 for Virginia Peterson Elementary School.
  • Connect Builders donated a washer and dryer, valued at $1,580, for the new Career Technical Education (CTE) class at Lewis Flamson Junior High School.
  • The Blackbaud Giving Fund gave $315 to support Paso Robles High School’s Cross Country and ASB Leadership programs.

Trustees expressed gratitude to all donors for their investment in the success of Paso Robles students.

In a unanimous vote, trustees approved a major infrastructure modernization project for the district’s Central IT Room, which functions as the hub of PRJUSD’s data systems. The plan includes replacing outdated servers with one Dell CTO Powerstore 500T and three PowerEdge R760 servers, along with five years of technical support.

District staff explained that they evaluated multiple manufacturers and vendors before selecting Dell equipment, ultimately securing a steep discount through competitive contracts. While the equipment’s list price was $350,543.05, PRJUSD negotiated the cost down to $93,608.55 through the National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO) cooperative purchasing agreement with CDW-G.

Superintendent Loftus provided an update as the new school year gets underway, highlighting the rollout of Yondr bags, magnetically locked pouches designed to store student cellphones during the school day.

“Feedback from staff has been positive about the increased focus of students in the classroom,” Loftus said.

Trustees voted back in May to adopt a new cellphone policy in compliance with the state’s Phone Free Schools Act, which requires restrictions on smartphone use by 2026. Following months of surveys, committee input, and policy drafts, the district approved a stricter approach: TK–8 students will be prohibited from using smartphones during the school day, while high school students may only use them during non-instructional times unless permitted by staff. Disciplinary measures, including temporary confiscation, will apply for unauthorized use, and the policy will be reviewed in three years.

Loftus reported that districtwide attendance on Aug. 19 was 6,386 students, noting that enrollment numbers typically fluctuate at the start of the school year.

The next Paso Robles Joint Unified School District meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 9, at 6 p.m.