August 21, 2026

Dear PFT Members,

Welcome Back! I hope you enjoyed your summer break. Below is the quick version of this PFT Update. Here is the version with all the details.

We are more than 1600 Members strong, and it takes all of us working together to improve our professional lives. Make this the year you get to know your rights: Access your PFT Contract! Your elected PFT Site Reps are your first point of contact when you can’t find the answer in your contract or when you have questions or concerns. If your matter requires additional support, your Site Rep will refer you to the Vice President for your level, or to PFT staff as needed. Please use non-PUSD email to communicate on union issues for privacy. PUSD emails are subject to public records requests.

(NOTE: The email address kellogan in the powayusd.com email system is NOT the PFT President. Union-related inquiries to this email address cannot be answered. To ensure everyone gets the support they need, direct union-related questions to your PFT Site Rep before contacting your PFT Vice President, PFT Staff, or the PFT President).

2026-2027 Agreement Reminders

·       4% salary increase on your first paycheck

·       Another 1.5% to be applied as of Jan. 1

·       See salary schedules here.

·       Current employees as of July 1: $760 one-time payment per full time equivalent, payable by Sept. 30^th

·       No employee contribution increases for health plan year 2027. The scheduled increase has been postponed to Jan. 1, 2028.

·       Up to 15 consecutive days of paid Pregnancy Disability leave after the day of delivery, without any loss of accrued sick leave.

o   Effective Jan 1, 2027, a new law will provide up to 14 weeks (more details to come on this law).

·        See attachment to email for full 2026-27 Agreement between PUSD & PFT.

Read more - click here

May 28, 2026

Dear PFT Members,

PFT Members voted electronically on Tuesday, May 26 & Wednesday, May 27, 2026, and have ratified the Tentative Agreement (TA) for 2026-2027!

618 PFT Members (80.16%) voted YES

153 PFT Members (19.84%) voted NO

The TA will now go before the PUSD School Board for a vote on June 11. If ratified by the School Board, salary changes will be reflected on your first pay warrant for the 2026-2027 school year. The agreement and supporting documents, as well as the email sent to you on Friday, May 15, are below & attached.

We will have draft salary schedules for you very soon.

Attachments:

- PFT Contract with proposed changes highlighted
- Summary of PFT Contract changes
- Tentative Agreement 2026-2027

In Solidarity,
Kelly

 Congratulations to our 2026 PUSD

Educators of the Year!

 The Poway Unified School District (PUSD) is proud to announce that Cherene Askar, Sciene Teacher at Mesa Verde Middle School; and Joshua Bess, Elementary Teacher at Willow Grove Elementary School; Jose Lucero, English/AVID Teacher at Westview High School have been named the 2026 PUSD Educators of the Year. These outstanding educators exemplify PUSD’s commitment to academic excellence, innovation, and student support. Their names will be forwarded to the San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) for consideration in the countywide Teacher of the Year recognition program.

Read more

Dear PFT Members,

We all know that feeling of hunger when we have been busy in our classrooms and it’s hard to find the time to make sure we grab a snack or remember to take our lunch break. Being hungry is no fun.  For many families in our area, hunger, which is also called food insecurity, is not a pre-lunch feeling but an unfortunate everyday occurrence. You can help here.  Even a small donation makes a big difference.

Nearly 42 million people nationwide are on SNAP food assistance. This means that one in eight of our fellow Americans gets help making sure their family has enough food. Over 400,000 people in San Diego County are facing the potential loss of their food assistance. Others are managing without paychecks due to the government shutdown and may soon face food insecurity.

PFT is partnering with the San Diego Food bank for a donation drive. The SD Food Bank is one of the most respected and largest food assistance organizations in our region and is already working overtime to support families needing extra food during this crisis.

Instead of a more traditional canned food drive, donated funds can quickly be put to use for items in high demand. We are providing an easy to use link, and the Food Bank will track donations from our organization. Everything helps, no matter the amount.

Thanks for your support!

In Solidarity,
Jay Steiger, PFT COPE Secretary
Kelly Logan Powell, PFT President

TPLES - Teacher Professional Learning and Effectiveness System

Dear Colleagues,

The demands on a teacher's time are endless, and the school year seems to go so quickly from this point on. The below link Teacher Professional Learning and Effectiveness System (TPLES) reminder sheet is intended to provide support and suggestions for teachers in the evaluation cycle this year, as they monitor and document progress on their SLO/PLO.  It can also help make the final evaluation conference, for both traditional and alternative evaluations, more meaningful for the teacher and administrator.

Teacher Professional Learning and Effectiveness System (TPLES) reminder sheet - click here

In Unity,
Kelly

Classroom Supplies using Online Donation Site

What teachers need to do first to be eligible for donations: Go to www.pusddonate.org. Click your grade level (elementary, middle, high), click your “Site”, click “Teachers”. Please be sure your name is listed. The website is linked to the district’s payroll system.  Therefore, the donation website uses the same name you are using for payroll purposes (legal name).  Unfortunately, we cannot change that name.

What the Online Donation website provides:
1. Parents have the option of donating directly to their child’s teacher(s), program, department, grade level, program, or the school site’s general fund using this online donation website. The website is designed to provide parents with an easy and convenient way to help fund our instructional supply needs. Teachers and schools have received more than $100,000.00 in donations using this website. It works.

2. Parents may access the donation website by going to www.pusddonate.org.  Parents receive a tax deduction and email confirmation when donating. The website also includes a “Matching Gift Program” if a parent’s employer provides that benefit.

3. Teachers receive an automatic email confirmation stating the amount of the donation, donor’s name and email, and student’s name, if provided by the parent. Our District uses a spam filter. Therefore, to receive confirmation emails from the donation site you must check your spam folder. When you see the link, pusdonline@firstlinemerchant.com that’s the Online Donation secure banking (when using a credit card) email address. Please “whitelist” this email address. For accounting purposes, your site finance clerk or site secretary receives a monthly report of all donations. If you have not received an email confirmation but think you have received a donation, check with your site secretary or finance clerk.

Donation: Teachers access these donations the same way they would their regular supply budget/s at the site.

COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES: Teachers may communicate this website to parents via their MyConnect site, newsletter, and/or during Back-to-School Night (see Common Message on Q&A attached). To promote greater equity among all our classrooms, we suggest grade-level teams or departments come together to identify their “collective” supply needs and request donations be made to the grade-level or department, rather than individual teachers.

Please note: Donations to this account may only be used for instructional supplies (e.g. school supplies, software, workbooks, art and science materials…). If requesting donations for technology, check with your principal. The primary function of your site Foundation is to purchase software and technology and teachers should be coordinating their efforts.

Field Trip Fees: The Classroom Supplies ~ Online Donations website now offers the option of collecting Field Trip fees. More information and directions for teachers will be coming soon in a separate email.

I've attached an FAQ and a handout you may wish to provide to parents.  

Attachments:

FAQ Classroom Supplies
CSOLD Parent Handout

In Unity,
Kelly