Schools K- 12 Rep

Michael Tarantino, CSFM

Poway USD, Poway, CA

Michael Tarantino, CSFM is the Director of Maintenance and Operations for the Poway Unified School District where he has been employed for 25 years. The Poway District consists of 40 sites covering 100 square miles with an enrollment 34,300.

Michael manages more than three million square feet of building space, including gymnasiums and pools and more than 800 acres of ornamental landscape, 42.5 acres of sports turf, 99 acres of multi-use fields, and 19 acres of synthetic turf fields. He manages a budget in the high seven figures.

He has been involved in the green industry for 40 years and is the current President of the SoCal Chapter of the STMA, of which he has led on and off during the past 10 years. He has served on many committees for the national STMA including the PCI Task Force, Membership, and Chapter Relations Committees. He currently chairs the STMA Scholarship Committee. At the 2009 STMA annual conference and exhibition, Michael received the Dick Ericson Founders Award for his service to the national STMA and his leadership within STMA and the local level to advance the sports turf industry.

Michael holds a BSBM with a minor in Human Resources, and he is a licensed landscape contractor in California. He is a frequent presenter for many organizations and schools and sits on the Board of Directors for a local soccer club and the Kick for a Cure Muscular Dystrophy Foundation.

Vision for STMA

My vision for STMA is a simple one: we must become an organization that is looked upon as having the vision and the commitment to become the go-to organization in the sports turf industry. My interest for the K-12 position lies in ensuring that public education continues to move forward and takes the leadership role as the stewards of the green industry. My belief is that as sports turf managers we must first insure that all students receive a quality education.