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>> Yes. >> But you can approve it tonight. >> All right. That sounds good. >> So 26 though we're going to be remote, right? So, do we have to like come in and sign by some specific time? >> Just as soon as you can after that. I can also Yeah, we can drop it off in mailboxes if need be. If people have a hard time easy for you, I can come. I just need to know. I need clear direction. I mess things up. >> All right. Well, she will put that out for signing. All right. So, is someone want to make a motion? All right. I motion that we approve the Eversource Scenic Roads Hazard Tree removals um based on the allowing them to to remove the ones that they selected. Um, and they're going to plant 19 new trees um, with feedback from >> Becca in the forestry plan by the end of 2028.
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But, um, and if there, you know, if there's any questions, we're happy to answer those. Now, >> I just want to ask a question. Um, thank you, Carol, for all the information and uh it's very encouraging. there seem to be in the elementary schools a concern uh about the students as far as moving ahead with reading, writing and math. So I'm quite sure that all every all our schools are on the same level as far as teaching. So have you heard or are there any concern uh from uh the principles or staff or whatever concerning reading, writing and math and how do you or how do the team work together to improve that memory? >> Sure. That's a great question, Glattis. Um so we have a a a process where we um intentionally support and select a couple of schools who seem to need a little more focus than others.
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From a taxpayer perspective, this contrast is difficult to ignore. If programs serving students appear to struggle while administrative structures continue to grow, the public is justified in asking whether priorities have become misaligned. This concern becomes even more significant when families report difficulty accessing taxpayer funded education credits, trust funds, and other public resources intended to support students with disabilities. These funds exist to strengthen educational opportunities for students, and the public reasonably expects them to be accessible and used in ways that directly benefit the children they were designed to serve. The concern is heightened by the recent announcement that school-based programming for blind and visually impaired students will not continue next school year and the dorm programs will close. Making it particularly serious because the Tucson campus serves students across Arizona, including many from rural communities who rely on specialized campus-based and residential services that cannot simply be replaced through itinerant models.
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I was. Yeah. Go ahead. Do you want to go ahead and No, you know, ask your questions and I'll see if I can answer. My first qu Sorry. My first question was um when I see parentheses in this that means we're it means we're okay on the top part. So up here where we're talking about the M M funds. Okay, that's so when things come into the treasur's office, I know this is the part of accounting that I I am frankly honest to everybody that I don't get. Um, but our positive numbers on this part of the report, uh, the ones in parenthesis that we all see as negative numbers on this part of the report, they're positive. So, it says that we have uh our our um expense our receipts have been 11 million and um and I don't quite understand why it says 11 million across.
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Um and that's how we come up with the 67 and then we do the um obviously it's 5,000 per student in here. So, um it's mainly averages and looking at the trends um for the past few years. >> Thank you. Appreciate it. >> All right. Um I think that we will end the forum for tonight. I want to thank everybody for being here and um we will hopefully see you again on the 26th when we actually have our budget hearing. And just a reminder that the vote on the budget will take place on April 7th at our regular school committee meeting, regularly scheduled school committee meeting. So, thank you all for being here. Thank you Seth and Megan for all your behind thescenes work. And thank you, Shannon, for your work on the budget and your presentation tonight and all the answers you've provided for
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>> All right. Is there a second? >> Second that. >> Roll call vote. >> Lea Wangai. >> Anna Tesmani. I >> skip I >> and Trisha Kendall I. And I >> Paul's on. >> Oh, Paul is on. >> Paul just came on. Yes. >> Yes. I'm here. >> Would you like to vote? >> Sure. So, I'm going to Montino. I >> All right. So, that passes. The trees will be taken care of. Thank you for all the detail um and research in this and for the tour as well. >> Thank you all for having me. >> All right. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Thanks, Matthew. >> And hello, Paul. How's the How's the airport? >> I'm still here. I'm in the I'm in the lounge. They're going to kick me out in 354 minutes, so I'll just go outside. Okay. >> No big deal.
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And so um we do things called instructional rounds. And instructional rounds start with a process of a data review. The data review looks at very explicit data by grade level, by teacher, by school. We look at how are the attendance rates going? How what about chronic absenteeism? how are students doing on both of you know formative and summitive assessments across the year and then we say is this a school that um with some additional support we should be able to move and so the team makes some strategic decisions about where they're going to spend a majority of their time across maybe four or five schools and then some schools who are maybe in better better shape uh if you will statistically will support them uh with with >> more typical support and so in that process process. We go into every single classroom. We uh observe and observe instruction.
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It is also troubling that leadership contracts affecting the Tucson campus appear on the consent agenda where they may be approved without discussion. Leadership accountability should not be treated as a routine administrative matter. The board has a responsibility not only to approve contracts, but also to ensure that leadership decisions reflect the realities experienced by students, families, and staff. The public deserves transparency and honest evaluation of what is happening on the Tucson campus. These concerns are being placed into the public record so they are not ignored as the future of ASDB continues to be evaluated. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> The last one I have is Lisa Fur.
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Uh that's the piece I don't understand. Um and and I'm honest about that. It's but I will tell you we are fine. We have the money we need in the bank to cover all of our expenses. Um and um uh but you can the one thing you can see is how much of it is coming from property taxes and then you can also see what comes from um uh state equal assist uh equalization. So, the state equal assistance um and u so this matches um uh part of what I report to you in the budget which is that we get we get our our school district is supported partly by county taxes and then the rest of what we are allowed to budget is is uh is provided by the state budget. Okay, that's the equalization formula that works in Arizona. So, there are some school districts that have high property values.
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>> You could be in your car, too, just listening. >> Yeah, I'm just parked off site, so it's too much of a hassle. So, >> better for me to stay here. >> Okay. Um, then we will move right along then. Um, >> we'll just take care of Tilton while it's here. Um, 55 Tilton Avenue is continuing. They've asked for a continuence until >> March 26th, please. >> March 26. So, um, so unless there's comments from the board, I will make a motion >> that 55 Tilton um is continued until March 26th. Is there a second? >> Second that. >> And a roll call vote >> Anna Tesmanitzki I >> skip I >> and Trisha Kendall I. So that is continued. Next on our agenda, which is the one we want to make sure you're here for, Paul, if possible, is 30 Memorial Drive. That is the YMCA.
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So, we triangulate the what we're seeing on paper and test data with what's happening in the classroom. And then we debrief with the principal and sometimes some other um folks that are in the school to see what's going on, how do we increase the rigor of what's happening, and then how do we better support the school? We have a limited amount of support staff. So the the folks that are on this screen are in schools like almost like you know three four times a week and the these processes are extraordinarily consuming. So they they take hours uh to do. There's an there's prep that happens before that. There's hours in the school and then there's debrief and action planning that takes place afterwards. Um, and so again, we take our resources. There's not a lot, you know, we've uh we have some of our supervisors and a couple of coaches and we'll deploy them strategically to do coaching cycles with teachers, coaching cycles with principal.
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Good afternoon members of the board, board president. My name is Lisa Fur. I am an alumni. Thank you all for your service to our students, parents, and staff. I respectfully ask the board to very carefully review superintendent's proposal. That proposal regarding the renewal of administrator contracts and any additions or revisions to administrative positions before approving them. As the governing body of ASDB, the board has an important fiduciary duty to ensure that administrative structures and contracts reflect the most responsible and effective use of public resources. At the previous board meeting, the board approved the superintendent's recommendation to lay off approximately 70 employees. In light of that decision, I was concerned to see a proposal that includes adding administrative positions. Before approving these changes, I encourage the board to carefully review the duties of the proposed positions and determine whether those responsibilities could be incorporated into existing administrative roles.
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And so, uh there are actually three districts out of 200 plus in the state that get no state equalization funds. They make they raise enough in their taxes to pay their entire budget. So on their report, you would see on this line that says uh state equal assistance, you'd see zeros there because they do not get any money from state taxes. It ranges all over the place depending on the on the school district and what the assessed valuation is for the property in that school district. Okay. So, uh, you can see that roughly 40% of our budget comes from our county taxes for our for property in the school in the Bullhead City School District and about well, yeah, about six 60% roughly comes from state equalization. Okay. I don't know that that answers your question, but it's the best that I can do. That that answers it completely cuz I was I was trying to figure out how come cuz it I was under, you know, this dumb classes that you've been you've been allowing me to take um accounting this this was just the the parenthesis just blew me away.
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>> Yep. >> So, um, so Peter, we are ready for >> Oh, okay. So, um, >> Dio, I believe, is presenting. >> All right. Um, >> good evening. I Yeah, I'm I'm going to present um so I can drive the drive the presentation from here, but you ready for us, Trisha? Yeah. Um, I think so. Is there any other introduction we needed, Jasmine? Obviously, we haven't we we recognize you, but we haven't seen you for a while. So, >> correct. Well, that's why we're here. Excellent. >> Um, so as a reminder, uh, Carrie Dio, Scholar Consulting Group. We're the owner's project manager for the project, uh, Ashlin Firm and, um, really excited to be back. Um, why haven't we been here? That's a great question. Um, so we um got to kind of a crossroads I think with both conservation and planning and realized that we weren't making a lot of progress until we got through the peerreview process, right?
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Um, but we, you know, we could stand to use some more of that staff for sure, Glattus. So, it's a great question. There's not, you know, we we have to choose because we don't have enough to do all to support as everybody in a deep deep way. So I would say that um many of our schools can benefit by uh deeper levels of engagement with central office uh and co instructional coaches um to help support and we know that where we've applied those strategic uh supports schools uh we've helped schools improve um but really at the end of the day the the the courage and the and the will of the principal drives the outcomes in the schools and our job in central office is to do everything we can to support them and to and to increase their level of uh understanding but also help them increase the level of understanding with their teachers as well.
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and also look at those administrative salaries. The board may also wish to evaluate whether the current chain of command could be streamlined in order to operate more efficiently. From my perspective as an alumni and a former employee in the early 90s, the current administrative structure appears larger than what I recall during my time in the school when we had more students and more frontline staff. At the same time, the superintendent has emphasized that student enrollment has declined. Given that reality, I encourage the board to carefully consider whether expanding administrative positions is necessary at this time. ASDB's limited resources should be directed as much as possible towards student programs, instruction, and services that directly support deaf, heart of hearing, blind, and visually impaired students across Arizona. As we invest in our children, they are our tomorrow's leaders. Thank you for your time and consideration. That concludes public comment.
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I thought, "Oh my god, oh my god, we're in trouble. We're in trouble." Um but okay, we're not. Uh but you will notice I and actually this is a pretty good month for us to to look at some of these things. So you notice the item 3020 where it says additional state funds. Remember last month when I asked you to approve an an amended budget and I said it's because we received some one-time funds. Okay. So that $102,000 is an example of that one-time fund. So, I haven't gone back to look at at say uh December, but I'm guessing that if we looked at this report from December, that line would have zeros because we had not gotten those funds yet. You know, that was a one-time award of funds. Um you can see interest on investments. That's the investments the county makes with our money.
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So um we kept coming back and and realizing that that a lot of the conversation was about what was happening with the peer review. So we did opt to stay um out of the out of the planning board and consom until we were ready. Um just as uh I'll go through this, but we have since um been able to close uh the comments with GCG and Vanessa Associates and then earlier this week um Becca and the conservation uh closed their hearing on on our project as well. So we thought this was a great time to come back, give you a quick update on kind of where we've been since. Um a lot of the work that's been going on has not been super glamorous. It's been a lot of uh back and forth of conversations around storm water. Um but what we also recognized is that there were some items that were talked about with this group.
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>> Thank you. >> You're welcome. >> I did have a question Cara that was great data. It was great snapshot. Um just to second glattis question was um the accountability index values. I was wondering how was the category 3 schools supported when it comes to PD for staff um or even summer programs for students? How are those areas kind of you know those supports being added >> for pre for preschool? Did you say >> no for category? >> Category three schools. >> Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you said preschool. I'm sorry. I category three schools. >> Yeah. So I would say like similar to what Cara said earlier, we do have a tiered system of support depending on typically the needs of the of the of the school. So we do look very deeply at the accountability index. Um you know at at the beginning as soon as it's released, uh Dr.
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The other comments that were not um talked about here today were 50/50 split between teacher salaries, reorganization, and um the relocation of Tuc. Uh those are submitted. They will be on our website for anybody to be able to read. Moving on, we are at 1.4. Superintendent Reichman's report. Good afternoon, board president Buchanan, members of the board, Assistant Superintendent Cooper, Deputy Assistant Superintendent Katchov, and members of the ASB community. I'm happy to see all of you here this afternoon. I have been listening to you very carefully and now it is my turn to speak. I'm going to start with the same three questions that I asked at our last board meeting. Those three questions are, how do we make sure that ASDB can continue to provide education and support to students who are deaf, heart of hearing, blind, and visually impaired for the next 50 years.
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