So, this would have representation from the school committee. There would be I'm proposing three of us and the three members that uh that I had listed back in January were actually myself, member Den and member web to be on this committee. Um, and then kind of how we did the superintendent search, we would put out a process whereby members of the public and we could decide, you know, how many teachers do we want, how many, you know, parents do we want, are there other members of the community that we might want, um, who have, you know, who represent special knowledge or skills related to potentially like real estate or other things like that that that we might not have on our own. um but that we would create the process whereby those people could apply and then we would decide and create that advisory committee.
Like it just doesn't make sense to me. Yes, we had an excessive number this year, but we always have at least five Mhm. go past. So, why don't we have language to build that in because we know the last day's not going to be the 9th. Mhm. And then we always have [clears throat] to come back and talk about when we can address it prior to that. So, how uh could you just give an example of how you you see that sound like how would that sound? So >> And where would that What would that look like on the calendar? So, for example, you can take away Good Friday. Like if we go over you know, a certain number days. Kind of like you have there, if more than five days are lost due to emergency closing prior to February break. We would take away the 15th.
Uh we do have a process in place for prioritizing projects, and that that's made uh possible by the from the legislature to have a lump sum fund, and those projects are prioritized every year uh with our CASs and principals. So, we do have an ongoing conversation and discussion with uh CASs and principals about these priorities. And um as I mentioned previously, schools do have an opportunity uh to do school-initiated projects in coordination with uh BofO to ensure that um compliance issues are met and that um projects are safe. CAS and districts just don't have the capacity at this point to carry on with the expertise that Oahu has. Okay. >> We'll get back to that. Sit there. Johnny May Perry in opposition. Susan Piccola Davis. Thank you for patiently waiting. Chair Kim, Vice Chair Kidani and the rest of the members of the committee, thank you for your having me or giving me time to testify.
Now, you may say, well, how did the district achieve the highest credit ratings? We identify a number of the strengths. I'll just mention a few. The district has capably managed expenditures to match enrollment losses to maintain its very strong financial position. The district thanks to uh its excellent CFO and CFOs of the past have have generated and maintain strong fund balances and liquidity levels. So the rating agencies understand the fact that the bonds are payable from a tax on your assessed valuation but they also appreciate and give credit to uh high fund balances that are maintained by the districts because that provides liquidity. It provides flexibility especially in an environment where um the ADM may be trending down as it is at this district and many other districts in Arizona. So again that's a real tribute to the staff for maintaining that and also there's a very strong and stable management team that also includes the board of course but it also uh relates to the the great management of the district by the superintendent and the CFO and to senior staff.
what is going to happen to our community. We can't necessarily know, but we can gather information that can help us know that can at least help us have a good g like a good guess um and that can provide some rationale for why we are moving forward in the ways that we might move forward. So this is sort of my my uh rationale for why I think that this structure is a good one for us to move forward with um with the understanding that it is going to be fully like with the public with us. Not just consulting them but having them be part of the process. um as well as uh making sure that we are building off of what has come before and that we are you know not engaging in that process of of having data that we don't actually use or feeling like we need to recollect.
Um there is a deadline that I've put in here of next May. So I believe next May to give us about a year to to do the study, get the information, talk with people, like get real work done, have a recommendation to come before the fuller body about what are we doing, like what is our long-term vision, what what are we are there any big choices that we need to make? Um and then it would be sort of on us from there to take that recommendation, take any votes that we need to and proceed. Um, I'm really interested in making sure that any option that we have is given like serious consideration, that we do like our due diligence. We do deliberation and that the decisions that we're making are both grounded in current feeling and sentiment as well as long-term like actual real projections.
>> would be taken. Mhm. Yeah, but I mean, I think even reduce it, right? Because that's what we ran into this year is that we before February break, we weren't at five, so we couldn't take any, right? And now we're we needed to take from somewhere to give them the 182 days and we ended up not being able to take them cuz we weren't going past June 30th. So, I think that language needs to change. >> Okay. Um I don't know what everybody's, you know, should it be five days, should it be three days, should it be two days, should it be up to the discretion and it'll be handled by a certain date. But I think the language that's written in this calendar is really limiting what we're able to do because if we could have taken from April break we wouldn't have had the graduation issue that we had.
Um I'm speaking on my own behalf. My name is Susan Piccola Davis. I I'm not a member of any group or any anything. Um I recommend that an amendment that states the Department of Education is requested to establish a framework in the Office of Facilities Management that improves the responsibility and accountability for monitoring all capital improvement projects and repair and maintenance maintenance projects period and cross the rest of it out. Um and I I'm well aware of what you're trying to do. There's been years of problems with the coal issue and it's circles. We keep We keep coming around in circles. But I think it's a misconception that a framework can be established that places the responsibility and accountability for monitoring these projects into the complex area superintendents. And there was something in there that said empowerment. I don't even think that's empowerment. The empowerment is being misplaced.
So, we certainly expect at this time that we're going to maintain those AAA ratings, but we have not met with the rating agencies yet with regards to this bond sale. And of course, staff will keep the board apprised of the results of those conversations that we expect to have in the next few weeks. And we wanted to show this. This is a graph of of tax exempt interest rates over the previous 12 months. And what this line represents is the yield of aa rated bond that matures in 10 years. As you can see over the course of the last 12 months until recently, interest rates were trending very much in the right direction. Interest rates were coming down. But as you'll see on the far right hand side over the course of the last month, the inflation worries associated with the war in Iran has driven interest rates up by about a half a percent just in the last uh four or five weeks.
Um the rest of it that I that put in there I believe is in the proposal I've made itself. So at this time I would be looking for a second. >> Second. >> All right. discussion. Remember Den member Goodwin? >> I just want to confirm that this is an updated proposal because I actually didn't I actually didn't read this one cuz I read the one that you had previously in the packet which was different. So I just want to this is updated. >> So this is updated and I can tell you exactly what those updates were. they were changing the date like the due date for when we would have because I actually >> when I was thinking about order of operations, I would love for us to either have a strategic plan or this plan in place first so that one could be incorporated into the other and I figured this might as we can get this to come first and that give ourselves like the rest of 2027 to work on a strategic plan.
what is going to happen to our community? We can't necessarily know, but we can gather information that can help us know that can at least help us have a good g like a good guess um and that can provide some rationale for why we are moving forward in the ways that we might move forward. So this is sort of my my uh rationale for why I think that this structure is a good one for us to move forward with um with the understanding that it is going to be fully like with the public with us. Not just consulting them but having them be part of the process. um as well as uh making sure that we are building off of what has come before and that we are you know not engaging in that process of of having data that we don't actually use or feeling like we need to recollect.
And we would have let our kids go 182 days, which is what we decided as a board we wanted to do. It does look like they added the language prior to February break. Excess days over five will be deducted from the end of February President holiday. That's what's always >> lost made up by That That has been Yeah, that was there. That's all the February is always the one. >> year would be So, instead of June 30th, are you recommending that it's June 18th? I have New Fairfield's up here. New Fairfield's? It I think the way it's just here Mhm. I just think >> look at that one, yeah. I just think if we, you know, so we're maxing five days, right? And we didn't hit it, but then we got storms late. So I just think it should be up to the discretion. I don't know that it should state five days cuz we're already Now, we've pushed it a week by the time we're at five days, we lost way more than that.
The Office of Facilities Management owns this process. You can't commingle the CASAs and the OFO. I respect hearing Jesse's testimonies. However, we're not moving forward. We're stuck. It's quicksand. The um I wouldn't even be able to offer you my opinion of how to fix it because regardless of if it goes to the past, we're still in the present. And what's happened in the past, we're just dragging it along. Nothing's getting done. I appreciate you trying to figure out a way to put this somewhere. I The only thing I can think of is that you guys think the CASAs are doing such a great job that they would be able to fix this. Let me explain. So, um Let me see if I've got some Oh, no, that is pretty much my final. I just >> time is coming to an end. I just don't think that I appreciate what you're trying to do.
town. I'm I'm pleased to record that before leaving the office and as a result of the temporary ceasefire that was announced today or yesterday that interest rates have started to come back down. And when I left the office, the interest rates uh had had come down by about 10 basis points. So that's about onetenth of 1%. So if if If this ceasefire holds, we expect that interest rates will continue to start to trend down and it's mainly because it will mitigate to some extent the fear of inflation asso associated with higher oil prices. So that's kind of the volatility that we're seeing in the market and we will of course be watching this very closely before the bonds of the district are offered in the market to make sure that we have a very strong investor reception to the bonds. Now lately and we represent most of the school districts in Arizona on their bond issues.
Um, the other thing that I believe that I updated was adding in having a dedicated thing that we want to know about be regionalization. So, there are a few things that I name in here >> um that I would like us to like I don't know exactly how we will organize this in our advisory group, but potentially that looks like a task force of two or three people that goes and does research and presents to us as an advisory committee and then we sort of summarize all of that and bring it here. Um about think regionalization is one. Um there's some specific language in there about building closures or even like building new buildings if that is a like essentially not committing to anyone at this time but doing the leg work that we know we're going to need to do to make an informed decision and then sifting through all of that saying we think that this might be our best fit moving forward and then we bring that recommendation back here in about a year.
Um the rest of it that I that put in there I believe is in the proposal I've made itself. So at this time I would be looking for a second. >> Second. >> All right. discussion. Remember Den member Goodwin? >> I just want to confirm that this is an updated proposal because I actually didn't I actually didn't read this one cuz I read the one that you had previously in the packet which was different. So I just want to this is updated. >> So this is updated and I can tell you exactly what those updates were. they were changing the date like the due date for when we would have because I actually >> when I was thinking about order of operations, I would love for us to either have a strategic plan or this plan in place first so that one could be incorporated into the other and I figured this might as we can get this to come first and that give ourselves like the rest of 2027 to work on a strategic plan.
And we couldn't use it. Yeah, can it just be more open language and that's what you're saying, right? Sure. Mhm. Yeah. The Fairfield says the first five snow days will extend the length of the school year. Additional snow days will reduce the April break beginning with April 16th. Right. >> That's for next year. Okay. April 16th. Okay. Yeah. And the day of the high school graduation will be set by the Board of Education March 2027. So, that's nice having a date like of when we're going to set graduation. Um Are there any union issues with taking away spring break days? That's what I'm going not not April break. No, nothing with April break. So we could absolutely use that language if the board agrees to that. Wait, so what we're saying is it's better to take days away from spring break than add days at the end of the year.
I understand what's been going on uh probably four years of no production. And Thank you, Susan. Thank you. >> Appreciate your So, remember, I want the CASAs crossed out and stuff it back into the Office of uh Facilities Management and get them doing their job. Thank you. >> Okay. The The way And let me just clarify. The intention is not to take it away from the Office of Facilities and Management. And yes, your your recommendation is absolutely spot-on that they need to improve their responsibility and accountability for managing all capital improvement projects and repair maintenance. That's their job. That's what they're getting paid for. We're not taking that away from them. We're not taking away anything. All we're doing is adding to say that if you're a complex area superintendent, you should know of these projects. You should be monitoring and know which schools which projects aren't moving.
We've seen very strong demand, but just in the last few weeks, we've seen that demand still hold, but at higher interest rates than we had a couple of months ago. So, we'll of course keep our eye out on that. Finally, we just show an estimated timeline with regards to this process. Um, of course, tonight is the governing board meeting to consider the resolution to issue the bonds. We will uh upon the passage of that resolution tonight, should the board decide to go forward, we will plan to meet with the bond rating agencies and look to potentially go into the market with your bonds sometime in early to miday again subject to market conditions. Um after the offering of the bonds, we would look to close the issue and deposit the proceeds into the district building fund uh probably towards the end of May. And at that time, monies would be available for any of the projects uh that are to be funded with the proceeds of these bond.
I really appreciate you explaining that and I'm sorry that I didn't read this because I was like it's the same thing as the one that I read before. I've got it now. I've got it now. Okay. Cuz I was like I was reading the other one and you had something about a two-year thing and I was like I wanted to I wasn't sure. So I'm glad that all you I'm Thank you for referencing the policies >> and I want my motion templates to look as nice. Um, and I just want to say that I'm really thankful that you are doing these kinds of templates and ration. And I really like doing the motion templates and ration. And I'm sneakily saying to all of you that you should do motions and ration so that we can all read it ahead of time and know what you're thinking and be prepared and do our research prior to the meeting.