RANCHO SANTA FE — Rancho Santa Fe Board Member Jim Cimino resigned from the school board July 29. Cimino’s job with Wells Fargo Wealth Management Group has taken him to Dallas.
“We are not only going to miss Jim as a board member, we are going to miss the entire family,” said District Superintendent Lindy Delaney. “His wife Carrie was instrumental working on our foundation and they have two wonderful children. Jim has served us well on the board.”
Cimino was elected to the board in November 2008. His term is up in November 2012, so someone will be appointed to fill the vacancy.
Delaney said there will be a special board meeting in August to determine how the board wants to proceed at that time.
“We have 60 days (to appoint someone) before it triggers an election,” she said.
She said she expects several people to step up for the position.
“We have a lot of wonderful community members who are interested in education,” she said.
During a special school board meeting on July 26, the board also voted to pay general contractor C.W. Driver $393,000, the final amount owed on change orders for the renovation and construction of the R. Roger Rowe School.
Delaney said negotiations are finished.
“We’ve been going back and forth,” she said. “We’re saying, ‘No, we’re not paying for that or we’re not paying for that, you are.’”
“That means we are done?” asked Jim Depolo, board member.
“We’re done,” Delaney said. “Anything more that needs to be done does not come out of the district’s pocket.”
She said the district is still withholding a contingency fund of $1.2 million.
“We want to make sure the punch list items are taken care of. We still have an issue with the stairs and until we get that resolved, we are not completing all the payment.”
Some outside stairs were ordered galvanized, but were installed without the treatment. While it is not a safety issue for students, it is a financial issue in that the stairs will not last as long as expected. Metal experts have visited the school and are seeking solutions to the problem.
Also discussed at the meeting was the construction of the new soccer field, which is right on schedule, Delaney said.
“When the excavation is done, the major part of the ‘unknown’ is over,” she said.
She said some soil testing has been done, which has come out fine.
“We did some redesign on some retaining walls. Now we’re in the phase of doing the underground preparation for the turf,” she said.
The project is due for completion by Aug. 19, she said.
Delaney said she continues to interview teachers for music and drama and for the maintenance departments and that the applicants are very high quality.
“People are sending us people so that is good,” she said.
She said she has narrowed down the maintenance applicants to four for final interviews.
“We would do fine with any of them,” she said.
Anyone interested in applying for the vacant board seat should call Delaney at (858) 756-1141.
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