20 Years of Impact: The Long Fall of a Poway Superintendent 

Former Poway Unified Superintendent John Collins was once the picture of an ideal public educator.

After rising through the district’s ranks, the school board chose Collins to lead the North County public school district in 2010. He was homegrown with full support from both the governing board and teachers union. He had high-achieving students and a large compensation package. Collins seemed to have it all.

But it didn’t last long.

Voice of San Diego helped uncover a costly capital appreciation bond deal the district made in 2011. Poway had borrowed $105 million from investors to fund the final stages of its decade-long effort to renovate its aging schools. But here was the kicker: The district would have to pay back roughly 10 times what it borrowed.

In honor of Voice of San Diego’s 2