Santa Cruz I can also think of another advantage you may remember a couple of years when you had to deal with a lot of rain and we won't have to deal with that issue that's exactly true and it was nineteen but it did get cold on one of those evenings dr. McCord back to you thank you doctor Santa Cruz governing board members kind of my last portion of my statement that I think is important that we discuss and Chandler School District came out this afternoon saying that they were going to hold a graduation ceremony that is in person and with the idea and I'll pardon me but I'll read through this so I don't mess it up students will be seated six feet apart on a field and they may be wearing masks the ceremony will be live streaming to allow all guests to see the graduates accept their diploma they may be able to accommodate a limited audience however that decision will not be made until more information as a bit and this is something that I think we need to discuss because as you know in education and in the valley and we've heard it because there's been other school districts on the west side that will be attempting to do some face to face graduation type ceremony I think more than likely adhering to the social distancing guidelines once the and of course our emails filled up with suggestions and thoughts and wants from our community our parents and our students and I I think it's imperative that as you know superintendent members of the superintendency as well as governing board that we have this discussion is it something that as a school district would be able to pull off well I guarantee we can do anything that was a we're able to do with the guidelines that are set in place but we also have to be cautious and so I'm very interested in hearing your thoughts and ideas related to this mister Jenny's points are well-taken and that is that all of the experiences that we are currently enduring are fluid and they change from moment to moment day to day our our and so what we may say this evening may have to change tomorrow or the following day but could be late could be left open there are lots of logistical pieces that need to be and and implemented related to the supervision related to the distant thing related to any variety of things and those continue to concern me the live streaming is no small task in five six different locations for any school district let alone ours and so those are the items that that concern me but I'm not opposed to leaving the option open dr.
McCord governing board members thank you as Miss Betts indicated I thought we thought we were going to present the final revised budget to you for approval this is a projection so I'll go ahead and share my screen man then you may want to turn up your volume on your microphone that better and can you see my screen go ahead and get started today's report will include a fiscal year 2020 M&O budget revision details on that and then also the fiscal year 2020 unrestricted capital budget removal details and updates on other funds as well the fiscal year M&O budget and capital revision here we have the first item is average daily membership you can see an increase now we're comparing the first column the fiscal year 2020 projected revised number two to the fiscal year 2020 adopted the third column over and you'll see an increase overall of five hundred and twenty seven point eight six ATM and that translates to an eight hundred and eighty nine point five increase of weighted student count that brings our revenue control limit to up by three point six six two million and these are detailed on the next slide and we'll go through those again and then next up is the transportation revenue control limit this had a slight decrease of 158,000 from adopted that was due to an error in the fiscal year nineteen route miles report which has been corrected the M&O override does not change over the course of the year it is based on prior year ADM budget balance carry forward increase there of two point four eight million this is due to final numbers from the fiscal year nineteen AFR and then the EMA no general budget limit I have to increase of four point eight port sorry four point five eight three over the adopted an unrestricted capital budget limit shows an increase of 1.2 million so these are some of the details what we just looked at the increase in ADM and weighted student count accounted for the increase in our revenue control limit the TR CL decrease over adopted was due to the error which has been corrected since since the adopted budget balance carry forward again increased due to the final fiscal year nineteen AFR expenditure amounts the M&O budget limit increase was due to the RCL and budget balance carry forward adjustments and then of course the unrestricted capital was increased to updated final student counts and the final fiscal year nineteen a far expenditures any questions on that before we move on to other funds Matt and the budget balance carry the two items that we have there it seems like we're very late in the year almost at the end of a budget to realize that our carry forward from the previous year with this large we have had issues which are now resolved with the reconciliations and so on the timeliness of those well that helped this so that we know what we have moving forward in a more timely fashion yes at all it all plays into missed bets indicated you know kind of scouring all of our budgets and cash balances and now that we are fully reconciled it absolutely will help us report more accurately yes ad as well please note that we did see an increase of the budget balance carry forward in the fiscal year 2020 revised number one of eight point eight million dollars over the original six point six million dollars so we did identify earlier some of that budget balance carry forward and if you remember that revised number one was adopted in January of 2020 so there's one to make sure that we have been trying to update thank you I do have a question what percentage of the budget is that budget vali my budget balance carry forward what percentage of the budget would that represent about three points almost 3.8 million or 3.8 3.8 percent rather okay because I remember that when I first got on the board we were aiming for a four to six percent carried forward when there were cuts passed in the legislature we were not able to do that so it looks like we're being able to build up that carry forward or years like this coming year when we may not receive as much from the state as we yep we're in a much better place I think it's a thing is important that we also recognize that having that cash balance that carry forward that allows us to maintain our let's plays into our credit ratings so having an adequate carry cash carry actually saves the taxpayers money because we don't pay as high of interest so we don't want to overdo it but we also don't want to take it to zero so these this slide outlines some other funds that we wanted to bring to your attention and again there's this light after this that outlines that in a little bit more detail but I'll talk to it first the first one is fun zero to zero this is our instructional improvement fund you'll see the adopted 1.5 million the revised 1.5 million we have opted to increase our our budget in this case on the on the fiscal year 2020 revised to projection to include our cash balance we will have which makes a difference of a hundred one point six million dollars we want to make sure that we account for all of that in our budget capacity funds 101 46 title 1 & 2 when we adopted we had to estimate the carry forward and expenses out through so now that's an adjustment based on the final numbers as well as fund 2 to 0 IDE a special add again another adjustment due to carry forward final figures on 290 Medicaid we see an increase of 1.2 million over adopted this is due primarily to an increase in claimable services for special ed students fund 5 to 0 the community school or community IDI we did who we have seen a decrease in revenue approximately 2.3 million dollars due to the school closure this is also applicable to fund 5 to 5 auxilary operations a decrease in revenue there as well 570 indirect costs again we wanted to maximize the budget capacity and include our carry-forward of cash so there's a difference there of 1.7 million dollars we also had estimate at adoption so there's you know we wanted to be strategic with making sure that we can utilize these more flexible funds should the state make some changes to our fiscal 21 budget and then finally fund 700 the debt service an increase of 1.9 million again due to estimating tax rates at the at the adoption and that's just kind of outlines what we just went over the iaf increases due to accounting for current cash the grant funds again the carry forward amounts were estimated at budget adoption medicaid increases due to claimable services community and auxilary operations we have seen a decrease in revenues due to school closure and indirect costs were increased increasing due to account accounting for current cash and debt service increase due to an estimation at time of adoption any questions on those if I could add as well so Reid you mentioned you mentioned the comments about check being caught up with cash reconciliate so in the last slide that Jackie presented because we are caught up in that reconciliation we were able to account for that cash and catch up our budget to reflect it so that is a direct consequence of our being fully caught up on our cat reconciliations on a monthly basis the other point I'd like to make is along with the community school and nutrition services fund is also considered an enterprise fund but due to the waving very USDA and the National School Lunch Program regulations as you know we've been providing school lunch to the community school lunch and breakfast actually through that drive by offering for our families throughout Gilbert and because of these waving of regulations etc we do believe that those meals and we are up to about 6500 meal a day that's going out into the community we believe those to be reimbursable and so we did not adjust the Nutrition Services fund we kept the same revenue on the Nutrition Services fund just wanted to make that clear we basically took out the expected revenue we would have received from students paying for their lunches and then added what we expected the federal reimbursement through the end of June 30 I just wanted to add those two comments or dr. Santa Cruz asked a question sure go right ahead food so remind me which fund were you talking about with food services that is not on either one of these slides it was yes on the budget it is not we didn't point it out because they did not make an adjustment for a decrease in revenues that in that fun so what's the fun 525 then that is our auxiliary operations it's a fee based fund primarily used for gate receipts field trips things like that fees for parents these four classes so there would be a decrease in revenue we've also experienced quite a few refund requests from that for field trips and events that haven't happened okay and then finally can you remind me and get a few more details about greasing the debt service give me a few more details about the increase in the fun 700 the debt service sure so when we adopted in we had to adopt quite early if you remember and the tax rate wasn't said until July we sold bonds in May and so as we move through the year we we estimated that at at adoption and then as we move through the year we made the adjustment for the revised number two to account for the budget that we needed in debt service once those rates were finalized any additional questions okay in continuous manner that actually is all I have for you this evening very good members questions forms happens doctor Santa Cruz I I have a comment I would like to make I just I just want to thank you for putting the presentation together so well I had written down a couple of questions and as I went through the presentation you answered them so thank you very much for anticipating my questions and answering them in the presentation dr.
amass well she wasn't just any teacher to any of us but she was particularly Stacey's grade-level partner after her passing she took on multiple responsibilities and not unnoticeably thank you so much to Stacey Kirino I can't imagine what you experience and then kuben happened so kudos to you for quite the year safety I want to congratulate you for all that you do you're an amazingly strong always learning caring teacher and I'm honored to be your principal it's been a pleasure to learn alongside you please help me in celebrating Ellington's 2019 2020 Teacher of the Year this is Stacey Corino congratulations what do you mean my name is Sanford mo and I'm the proud principal of Foothill middle school it gives me great pleasure to briefly highlight FMS is Teacher of the Year Susie Santana's illustrious 39 year teaching career I have known Susie for 27 years with 11 of those years having the privilege of working with her at Foothill middle schools both a teacher and administrator during that time I observed outstanding pedagogical practices caring for the students by staying after school to assist them involved in extracurricular activities valuing her colleagues and maintaining the utmost professionalism as we all know these are things that any Teacher of the Year in our district County state and country should be displaying of course Susie does all of this just as well if not better moreover I personally would aspire to have the teaching career Susie has exhibited more specifically this being Susie's last year of her wonderful 39th year of teaching she has the exact same enthusiasm and motivation for teaching as you did in her first year of teaching you don't see this very much towards the ends of any teaching career Susie you will be tremendously missed by our students parents and community we love you Susie on behalf of the Gladstone administration faculty and staff we salute you mr.
Santa Cruz may I ask over here dr. McCord I know you just talked a little bit about what Chandler sent out today and I just want to clarify as of what their information is is that they this would be a situation that only the students would be attending the parents as of right now I mean like I said that could change tomorrow but as of what they know right now it would be just the students correct right now we're talking just students with the possibility of course like you said of being able to add a limited number of people in an audience and I would believe they'd be social distance as well well my biggest frustration with this entire situation is just the unknown of you know us trying to make sure that we do the very best for our students and you know I think that what you presented with the information that you had and that we had that is amazing is it possible for us to do both you know what I I want to believe in this situation anything is possible of course I would still rely on what the guidance that would come from the governor's office and if he's gonna allow larger groups to assemble with we're still adhering to social distancing guidelines yeah this is something that would be a stretch for us I mean as you can see putting the virtual piece together is is a task we had conversations with high school principals this afternoon Miss Taylor and to sum it up they'll do whatever we ask them to do and they'll do it with a smile on their face and and they'll do whatever they can't it being able to do something like this in the first week in June in terms of organizing getting it then yes we would be able to do it but again I don't know what the circumstances will be statewide restriction if tomorrow let's just say you know in that that the governor comes out and says that everything's gonna be okay and you can do whatever we want how could we pull it off so first and foremost we would go forward with our virtual just because I think that is extremely important and that isn't known right now that is something that we know that we can do and if tomorrow the governor said yeah we can get out and we can move ordered graduations I still want to move forward with the virtual for the mere fact that he may say that on Wednesday and then on Friday something happens and that gets changed again going back to my statement that I don't want to keep disappointing students but we would be able to do it thank you I think if I can put in my words dr.
Santa Cruz if I can just kind of also comment more than a question thank you I just would like to again thank our finance staff if we go back we've just come so far in the presentation of the budget helping us understand the impacts and detailing the impacts we're recognizing the diligence of of their work you know we referenced earlier an issue with reconciliations of the timeliness of reconciliations and I know we've got a very large online audience based on the numbers to clarify for those who may not have followed this our reconciliations on our accounts were several months behind when this staff came in and they worked diligently to to correct that that has two issues one we've had an ongoing audit issue over those five or six years where they've found us in non-compliance no no material issues with Miss spins but just a risk because of the timeliness that audit that's now been fixed now we're seeing the additional element that we better understand what our budget is we've had to make assumptions the more assumptions we can remove and go to actually no numbers the better we can budget and service the needs of the community and protect the funds that the taxpayers and trust is with so with that explanation I just want to echo of my gratitude that I've expressed previously how seriously this group was taking it and their corrective actions they've taken Thank You mr.
Modell's Godstone teacher of the year 2020 good job sir Gladstone's Teacher of the Year Tim Medeiros was a great guy he is our department chair and he really listens to us he's done a great job this year he is a girls varsity soccer coach he is really involved the avid program he really advocates for the students who listens to them really deserving at the Teacher of the Year award Tim as our girls varsity soccer coach he shows great character on and off the field he has respect of his players opposing coaches and officials regulations ami can be Teacher of the Year deserve this the impact you have on Sue's in and outside the classroom everyone good evening I'm Victoria Velasquez principal of Victor Hodge and we are here to honor our Teacher of the Year Kathy Diaz Kathy Diaz is a teacher who celebrates learning as much as she celebrates her learners she's been actively involved in all learning initiatives including part of the math leadership ela leadership and I am science initiatives she's engaged in peer coaching and peer support and she's also a key parent educator who welcomes the community in and shares her passion for learning with our families college to career ready of course that is her path everything from connecting students to technology to connecting with her students in ways that are warm witty and wonderful she's always available to celebrate their learning and their successes to know them better to be a part of community events and to bring the community to us she's a proud Hodge cougar whom her colleagues left she's our very own Wonder Woman and we celebrate our Teacher of the Year please honor Kathy Diaz I am very on Aurora's principal of charles HD elementary school it is with great pleasure that I present mrs.
McCord what I'm hearing and what I'm understanding from from a lot of input from a lot of parent parents from a lot of different perspectives one we we all want seniors to have an experience I don't know I've yet talked to anybody that likes the fact that we've ended the school year and likes the fact that we're not able to bring these seniors together to celebrate as a parent many of us have personally experienced the effects of this I don't have a child graduated from high school but I've already missed a daughter's graduation from college ooh commencement was was cancelled it it hurts you know that your child hurts they put a lot of work into this I've had a son who had a wedding planned that wedding plans were set aside and he did he did get married but with eight people instead of instead of the planned party we know as a board how much difficulty that it's personal because it's personal to our children whom we love so to the parents and the students please know that whatever decision comes tonight whether we continue the path whether we modify it whether we add something we know how hard this is so now we're looking as a question of certainty if we proceed with the plan that's that the principals and superintendents see is put in place for a virtual graduation we have something that's certain at least we can celebrate your accomplishments it might not be how we want it to be we know it's not how you want it to be then we can go the additional route of discussing whether we hold something in person in our early June at some time we recognize that whatever plans we put in place now are uncertain we want to accommodate and we would be doing that because we care and want the seniors to have that experience but it's uncertain because we don't know what restrictions will be lifted I will say up until today 90% of the feedback that I was receiving from parents was we want our kids to be able to get together but you're putting together a plan that's the best plan of any of our neighboring districts in fact I've talked with parents who were in Chandler School District that I know that were we're admitting that that they liked our plans better than Chandler's today there was a switch that happened one of our neighboring districts put out an email saying hey we're going to plan this we know there's a lot of uncertainty many of many parents are taking it as if it's going to happen but one we don't know whether those restrictions are going to be lifted how they're going to be I know that that district to their credit is working with the governor's office and the Health Department to try and do it in a way that will be acceptable but their own letter indicates a lot of uncertainty I am supportive of trying to find ways that would enable our seniors to get together if we can do that in a reasonable fashion but we recognize that any plan that we put in place are conditioned on those trigger points as you mentioned dr.
Carr and how to concur with your commentary and also applaud the efforts of our finance division mr. jetty miss woods miss Humphries anything addition there's nothing else then I'll turn it back over to mr. McCord and thanks to Ms Betts and the finance down Thank You Santa Cruz governing board members our next item is item 2.03 presentation of the class of 2020 graduation ceremony information if you would indulge me for two I'd like to kind of take us back to get us where we are today initially when we shut down the schools on Friday March 13th I truly assumed we'd be back to school in about two to three weeks and life would go on as normal obviously that wasn't the case then a couple weeks later Governor Ducey ordered all schools to remain closed for the rest of the school year and remote learning began once Governor Ducey set down the schools for the rest of the year my first thought was graduation what are we going to do will there be graduation and if so what would that look like many questions were lingering with no real answer at all and as we were moving forward we had to think a little bit and we had to decide what can we do first and foremost I want one to know those that are watching those that are with us here right now there's nothing better than a face to face traditional graduation and nothing can truly replace that experience all the reasons that were in place and many still are in place we had a couple options to consider first option was upon graduation we gave this a great amount of thought ultimately decided not to go this route because we didn't know how long restrictions would be in place and if it was postponed would students still attend would they still be in town if we set a date in June and then we had to reschedule what we continue to disappoint 3,100 seniors and so we really pondered that but so many different things that were in play that we couldn't predict an option that we considered was virtual graduation this was pretty much the go-to plan for every district in the state of Arizona and probably the country but we didn't just want to do a slideshow with a picture in the name of a student we were looking for something something that sets us apart from everyone else we stumbled across a company called vx3 they could provide this unique experience that no other district that we know of was doing while having us participate while adhering to social distancing guidelines and this is something mrs.
Lauren Ayala as our Teacher of the Year since the first day that mrs. ella stepped onto our campus as RRSP teacher she made a great impression with our school community by her friendly compassionate demeanor and her stiletto heels which by the way she soon learned the neat exchange feels pretty heels for a pair of tennis shoes mrs. IL exemplifies all the characteristics of an outstanding teacher hard-working carrying personable collaborative and professional mrs. Ayala is admired and respected for her dedication and passion for learning and teaching her colleagues describe her as someone who goes above and beyond the call of duty for all students and staff if she sees a student that needs help she offers her support and does everything she can to help them academically socially and emotionally she aspires our students to believe in themselves with her positivity and encouraging words along with being an excellent teacher mrs.
McCord that would enable this to move forward I am appreciative of the hard work that's gone in even during this board meeting I've gotten texts and emails some saying this is awesome and something this isn't what we want the community split and that's because we all once bet what's best for our children so my concern would be if we move forward with a second optional ceremony that the that you suggested and again I'm in favor if we can pull it off but my concern would be we have to do it soon enough to make it meaningful there are suggestions that we could put out into August or even December the reality is the further we go out if we go out beyond a week or two families start to leave students leave some colleges are going to open some colleges aren't student some some students are enrolled and will begin service in the military some students are going to serve missions as as was mentioned in dr.
Taylor will go over in just a few minutes as you all know we went with the virtual option this decision was not taken lightly and we considered many different avenues to graduation we understand that this impacts our 3,100 students and their families and we want to give them the very best experience possible considering the restrictions that we're dealing with ultimately we had to make the decision juicy came out last week and we were all waiting to hear when you would have to say and how that would impact and graduations and he basically just extended to stay home stay safe and stay connected order while dealing with some things lightning some things related to retail knowing that we were pressed for time and vx3 would need several days to film and produce a final version of graduation for our seven schools we had to move down the virtual road on Sunday May 3rd we sent out an email explaining that graduation ceremonies were canceled and a virtual graduation would take its place on Monday May 4th high school principals send specific information about the virtual graduation to the students and parents that same afternoon governor Ducey held another press conference this is something we didn't know was gonna happen as a school district in this press conference he talked about slowly opening up restaurants and hair salons with strict social distancing restrictions again we had no idea about this announcement but we really didn't think it impacted graduate in one way or another after my initial email went on them on the 3rd we heard parents and students about their disappointment of not having a real graduation then it will fight even more over on the 4th after governor Ducey made his announcements related to restaurants and salons which brings us to this I'd like to ask Miss Taylor go through what our virtual graduation will look like this is something that we will move forward with over the next couple weeks I think regardless of where discussion League night this will be something that all students and parents will enjoy once the finish is produced after Miss Taylor presents her information I'd like to discuss the possibility of having a modified graduation ceremony or celebration in June pending the restrictions sent forth by the state and the CDC one of our neighboring districts came out today with that type of option I believe that we'd be remiss if we didn't discuss it more than anything I want our students and our parents know that we hear their thoughts their concerns and their suggestions and we are open-minded group of people who are willing to listen and discuss thoughts concerns and suggestions so right now I'll turn it over to mrs.
Ayala serves on our schools student study team and is always a great advocate for students and their families she also supports our PTA events by helping in any way she can we are truly fortunate to have mrs. Lauren Ayala as part of our team at Lee and we are very proud to honor her as our Teacher of the Year for 2019 2020 good evening Leslie Ford and Jenny Lee directors of the early childhood education programs would like to honor longfellows Teacher of the Year Yi Annette Cardenas mrs. Cardenas has taught six years in Azusa due to her extraordinary success with the DonorsChoose program miss Cardenas is able to provide an incredible learning experience in a unique environment so now please close your eyes hold your breath make a wish count to three and experience the magic of mrs. Cardenas preschool classroom upon entering you since in a warm embrace your spirit calms the children's smile and suddenly you feel three years old again experiencing the wonder of miss carton assists magical instruction all your senses become engaged as happiness emergencies and understanding Dawn's and you realize that this is a classroom wheels of pure imagination evening this is Marcela Fonseca principal of the wild mustangs at Magnolia elementary school and I am honored to present ana frescas Chun as our Teacher of the Year mrs.
Castillo's letter more and more time that goes by the smaller and smaller group that we're going to be able to get together so my thought would be if we go down that route it's got to be sooner the first half of June than later because we'll never gather everybody together mr. I would be with you on everything you just said and I'd like to add that I think in the letter I sent me this would be an option optional and I'm not just saying necessarily from a districts point I'm talking from the individuals point of view if if there is a family that just says you know what the Virtua is the way to go I'm not interested in this I don't I still think as much as safeguard you put there I still don't feel safe and I don't I don't want my child involved with that that we completely understand that and so I just wanted to add that piece into it that this would not be mandated this would be strictly optional for those that wanted to attend what would you like the way in yes please thanks dr.
Taylor thank you okay thank you dr. McCord after Santa Cruz governing board members I appreciate the opportunity to share a little bit more detail tonight innovative plan that we have into motion so far for our 2020 situations John get the slideshow put up there so I'll wait just a minute there we go alright I had John to the next one alright so we as dr. McCord met and we had the x3 submit a scope of work that really included a lot of attention to all the details in this list so I'm gonna start by doing aspects into these items first and then we have photos and a couple videos that should help to better understand for those watching and for everybody involved kind of what technology will be involved as dr. McCord reference the first thing that vx-3 took into account was our current climate that we're in right now and the social distancing requirements that are in place so the first item on this a hologram and that is something that they have built in-house they have an in-house system that uses a specialized material that allows them to protect a virtual person on the stage that is not physically present in the room so the system will give the illusion that the person is standing on the stage the graduate but they are really in another room with a green screen and viewed through a camera it looks like they're actually on the stage behind a podium handing the student their diploma cover it shows depth and features exactly as if they were on stage so it's suit it's not superimpose or editing it actually requires the person in the other room which would be our principals in this case to be in a remote studio in order for that to function so it's extremely innovative and it will probably make a little bit when Jay the owner of this come explains that in the demonstration video the second thing on the list is the unique design for seven different schools so they use some LED backgrounds actually bill built-in LED wall in the mesquite junior high on a tour today that acts as a background replacing the specific school logos or images that our schools have selected to custom brand each of our schools so again innovation to the core as far as how to make one unique and very specific to our seven different high schools the third item listed on there is the video system that they're using includes all the switching of the cameras it includes the lower thirds and the pre editing of the stream prep so they will include a lower third on that stream that will include the student's name it'll again have the school logo as each student being called and walking up onto the stage to receive their diploma cover the video system drives the hologram the LED wall the recording systems the cameras for that actual finished product that would be projected live stream on we're hoping on our graduation dates May 21st the audio system again is equipment that is used to drive audio back and forth between the remote studio and the stage it includes drives for recording and the streaming setup as well they plan on creating a backup recording that would also be included and of course they're using some wireless communication systems to for the crew a huge crew of about 20 of them to make peace this all together and make it look exactly correct for them from the viewers standpoint the scenic piece of that includes touching lectern so podiums that the principal would be standing behind and then the one that's on the stage that the student will walk up to and grab their diploma cover it also they have the ability to either use a vinyl application to the front but in this case we're going to use LED projection again because it can be changed instantaneously for each of the schools that we are going to film it includes making the drape and the light control for for the remote video possible as well so the next item on there the video the green screen again each of our principals will be in a separate room with a green screen that has all the lighting and on monitors for the remote presenter the principal to be holographically transported to the stage in the final product so it includes monitors and drive systems so that both the presenter of the principal as well as each student as they go up onto the stage see a monitor to be able to hear and see through that monitor pull in the feedback there so they will coordinate the handing of that diploma cover even though it's all virtual though the student will pick up that diploma cover and then walk off the stage with that they were they had power covered our auditoriums are not equipped to handle the power is required for all of this technological equipment so they brought in a rental generator to take care of that piece the labor obviously all of that is a lot of setup teardown and operations of all of this systems both dr.
Chung is our wild resource teacher and she takes great pride in her role serving the Magnolia Mustangs there is no limit to what Ana will do to support students families and staff whether as Cat in the Hat on the playground in the classroom or in the parent Center she inspires everyone through her leadership she has a passion for learning that shines through her smile and innovative ideas she is a force of positivity and a most valued member of our wild community in addition to being an exemplary educator ana is a wife and mom of two wonderful boys we are so thankful they share Ana with us she has an amazing heart for the Magnolia mustangs and we love her just as much Thank You Ana for all you do my name is Jeanette Flores and I'm the proud principal of Marie Elementary and it is my absolute pleasure to introduce to you Marie's Teacher of the Year mrs.
Santa Cruz I guess going along with that last comments um dr. McCord it's interesting we we've received many emails both ways there are some parents who have said please keep the virtual that for health reasons for myself or my children I mean is the best way for us to celebrate graduation this year and then there's others who have said please let our kids get together because there's nothing like seniors being able to get together and celebrate that together so again as we mentioned we're trying to balance the many needs and you know we're trying to balance the safety and health of our students with the huge desire that we have to celebrate our students and to give them something to remember is this has been a kind of a disappointing end of this school year nothing that we would have chosen for them I have a senior myself graduating and it's been it's you know another high school students myself and it's been a lot of loss and disappointment as you think about it it's just like everyone mentioned everyone's faced it in all their different all their different walks of their life so I I am I really I think the virtual option when it's gonna come together I think the final product is gonna be something that families will enjoy and appreciate I think obviously the filming of it is a bit underwhelming and our students might feel that as they go in but I think to be able to have your grandparents watching and have you know be together as a family in that graduation night have some element of closure in that kind of a way that we can guarantee I'm excited about that and then um again I'm with I'm with my other board members if if we can tentatively set a plan and is it you know do we want to do an actual on the field graduation do you just want to do a celebration on the field where they get together and you know do something I don't know if we can find a plan how they can also have that experience I know that would be meaningful to many many families and parents who might take advantage of that in early June and I know that would be asking our our principals our teachers and others too to come back I think many would you know are happy too many teachers I've talked to who have said this has been the worst they want to they want to see that's part of their happiness too is to watch these students graduate students that they care about and to celebrate them that night and that's it's taking it away from all of us so I think the virtual I'm I'm really pleased with how it's going to turn out and I hope that we will be able to go forward with that and support that and then um again as this new idea has come about just with the change yesterday with Governor Ducey opening a few things up and all of a sudden there's maybe some leeway and some opportunity that we could maybe gather in a certain way and I I would like us to continue to look at that in and have a have a plan see what we could put together that way thank you would dr.
McCord and I were able to sneak over there today and took some of the pictures that you'll see that will hopefully help explain this a little bit better but the whole production including setup dismantle and all of the filming of our schools twelve days of work on the site at mesquite junior high and in the letter that dr. McCord referenced and out on Monday you know we know we knew there would be questions about why picking mesquite junior high school as the location for these students to attend and that was very intentional because of the length of time that it would take to set up each of our separate auditoriums for this and so time was a crunch a consideration and then also if we were to set up for example at Gilbert high school you know desert bridge students would be asking the question why do we have to go to be able to walk across their stage so we tried to pick a neutral site that would allow students to feel more comfortable it wasn't what their other competing high schools stages that they would have to go to and walk across the preprint and the formatting and obviously the creation of the background for each school we have sent them files with each school's press logos so that they can use that to display not only on that led wall with that with the curtain and you'll see it in a moment but the curtain and ribbon each school is able to select which color they would like that in so obviously we can include each school school specific school colors the music videos the last item on there the content edit and stream prep music videos from each school can actually be inserted into the program very similar to what they would be if they were in their graduation in their stadium or at desert financial arena each school is able to end their specific Orchestra choir or band musical performances to insert into the final product will edit that that includes all their editing studio the prep all of that fully to be delivered live stream at the time of our scheduled graduation at that time they'll eliminate all the gaps and the spaces will be removed they heard the speeches from all of our bowel cells student council speakers our principals speaking dr.
Janet short when I think of school spirit Janet quickly comes to mind she is always one of the first to volunteer to be a part of any activity that involves the students she was one of the first teachers to bring the very popular and very successful hundred mile club to Marie Janice thought that by bringing the hundred mile club students would have the opportunity to work on their physical fitness and parents would have a purpose at school Janet is an active learner and dedicated teacher when I'm looking for someone to coach the track team teach Saturday school be a part of our after-school tutoring or participate in an obstacle course during an assembly or play a role in the toolkit I know I can always count on Janet to be the first volunteer I know that Janet has the love and dedication both to our school and our students to always be willing to go above and beyond she is professional and cares about the students janet is well respected by all the members of the staff and we are proud to call her our Teacher of the Year evening everyone my name is Antonio Flores principal of Paramount elementary and it is an honor to introduce Paramount's Teacher of the Year nancy de Lappe nancy has been an educator for 30 years in those thirty years Nancy has touched the lives of roughly eight hundred students since meeting Nancy it has been evident she consistently demonstrates enthusiasm for educating her students she goes above and beyond on many levels as she works with our students and parents and contributes to the community at large her energy is contagious and everyone responds positively to her efforts both inside and outside the classroom she is a role model for everyone and always has time to lend a hand to help someone in need she is an outstanding teacher who uses fantastic teaching strategies to support her students she creates a wonderful learning environment in the classroom which incorporates standards as well as student creativity students feel respected cared for motivated excited challenged and our to share and participate in lessons and discussions as they learn and grow as a cohesive genuine community of learners parents are very supportive and appreciative of our hard work and the passion she demonstrates for students Nancy you are much deserving of the recognition of Teacher of the Year for the 2019 2020 school year Thank You Nancy for all your years of hard work and dedication enjoy your return Jenny maybe principal Powell and I am proud to present Cesar Gouveia as Powell's Teacher of the Year as you can see thing five here is our awesome fifth grade teacher so I thought I'd share five things that we love about mr.
McCord do you have enough information is there anything okay I I really appreciate the hard work that's gone into the virtual graduation obviously there's been a lot of thought and planning and I think that is a good option to give everyone an opportunity to see their child graduate in a way that is more than we had hoped previously I myself I understand how sad parents are I do have a daughter graduating from college we won't be walking her walk across this stage we will on Friday watch a slideshow not a virtual graduation but a slideshow and it you know it's it's a little sad and I'm but we're trying to find some things to do we won't be having family over we won't be having friends over and because of the concern about this virus so I do understand you know how disappointed both students and parents are I looked at the Arizona Department of Health website today just to see where we are on April 27th we had 416 new cases and today was our highest day of death so far today 33 deaths have been reported that may not be an accurate number it may take a few more days to get a more accurate number today we had 350 new cases we've been trying to stay home and keep people from getting sick by staying home we had a 446 cases on April 30th so we are actually going down a little bit and I understand the governor is anxious to reopen things however both the doctor Anthony ouchy and dr.
McCord speaking all of those will be inserted into the video and the final production and then of course it is accessible from that point on for anybody any of our families to be able to save preserve record share with family members across country and so forth John if you want to show some of the pictures and then we'll we'll do the video this is the LED wall that they were assembling that you'll see in a moment the last picture that I took when I was just over there at the end of the day actually has the LED projection of the desert Ridge High School and the curtains of a stage so in a couple slides you'll see how that LED wall turns into that this is the green room where the principal you can kind of see the podium that's there but all of the equipment around it so there is a camera there's cameras projecting back to the state but they also have a monitor in front of them where they will be actually reading the names of the students and they'll be able to see the student walking up onto the stage even though they're not in the same room as the student again just more of the crew setting up the last picture this is kind of what the final product of the stage actually looks like and the podiums not in that one I don't know if we have one more that kind of shows the podium you can see the podium on the left of that photo with the green screen kind of behind it that's the monitor where they will actually see the simple on that monitor as they're walking up to the podium the gentleman in the pictures walking exactly how the student would walk up to that podium to receive their diploma cover they would see and hear the principal calling their name and congratulating them and then they'll walk back off but you can see how the desert ridge crest is projected on the wall that led while in the back and it looks very similar to the actual auditorium of Desert Ridge High School with those red curtains and the black behind it in their school colors the first demo video is a little bit long but what it explains the seven minutes shows how the social distancing requirements would be put into effect how all of the Sanitation setups areas how the parking lot they actually use their studio their warehouse in Phoenix to the street in this video but our mesquite jr.