She's not there. Okay, anything else? Um Mr. Brown, were you going to say anything? Oh, yes. Oh, okay. Just kidding. Go ahead. Okay. All right. >> [clears throat] >> Uh I got a few things to report. I'll I did attend the speed uh that Alex represent. And we do have a automotive Do we have automotive lab here, technology and all? Automotive lab now? No, we do not. Okay, we'll scratch that cuz they donate cars. Oh. Okay, I said I wasn't sure, but I'll find out. But it was a productive meeting. Again, they formalize and do some things different. The board, just the parliamentary approach. But it's good to hear perspectives. We have, I don't know, eight, nine, 10 school district board reps there, so And also Dr. Perkins sent out something in our job brief regarding the dental program. More to follow on that. I had extensive conversation with Dr.
He was also an alumni, and I'm honored standing here today in front of a a great person, a great individual, an incredible member of the team, along with family and the work family. I thank you all for making the commitment of being here tonight. Um and the letter says, um "Dear BUSD family and community, it is with a heavy heart that BUSD family and community comes together to honor the existence and contributions of Mr. Christopher Lee, known as Chris Marietta. On Saturday, March 7, um 2026, Chris' life on this earth ended due to a fatal accident. But his spirit will live forever among every heart he touched in his lifetime. Chris was a father, a husband, a son, a brother, BUSD alumni, class of 2026, a colleague, and a friend to many around him. Some people come into our lives for a reason and some for a season.
Our next item on the agenda is a recognition of our teacher of the month award. There we go. Is he here? There he is. Come on up. So, uh there's a theme here. So, Mr. Wot is also one of those who's quietly awesome and amazing. Um I try to I embarrass him by once in a while going by his room and telling him so and he just kind of offshes and tells me to get out of his room. But um he is one of those teachers who um goes about his business every single day. Kids are always learning. It's bell-to bell. Um has great relationships with kids. And he is one of those teachers that you don't pay attention to because nothing ever goes wrong. and he's just the glue that holds it all together. Um, anytime we have any need, anything we need help with, um, he's the first one there to show up.
So, congratulations to seventh grader Zoraida Hunt and sixth grader Zari Forehand from Mrs. De Boise's art class. And their art show their work is going to be displayed at the final drone show at um the Fiesta Salado to show off how creative our kids are. Full summer academic support and enrichment for your calendars. Information will be coming soon. June 1st through June 17th, Monday through Friday Friday from 8:00 to 12:00. So, teachers are about to send letters out to parents permission slips for students to participate. And that concludes my um presentation. Thank you very much and again thank you for being here for all of you. Great. Thank you. Quick thank you to appreciation to the earners actually twice. Um for donations to towards the greenhouse. Take a look at it. It's darn near done right on the side of the south side of campus.
Perkins on that. What transpired for us as a district to tweak our process to make it better. Okay? And probably the last thing here I did have the opportunity. So many colleagues, Dr. Burgess was there. I think our assistant superintendent Jason was there at the funeral of the kids, the grandfather. So I had the understanding. I thought the kids was going to be funeralized last Saturday, but that was not the case. And we [clears throat] had a great turnout from the district. And our [clears throat] principal, high school principal, he recited a great highly felt recited a great resolution at that funeral. So being said, board member Janine, she reached out to me and saying basically said, "Can other things be done from the board perspective to involve ourselves in the community?" Uh usually our superintendent represent us in flowers out and condolences and things of that nature.
Chris was both. Whenever you met him for a day or for years, his genuine character and his silent smile will capture anyone's soul. Chris was not only blessed Chris not only blessed us with his presence as a student but also as a BUSD team member for almost 10 years. Chris was known for his his dedication, commitment, humbleness, gentleness with students and caring for those around him. A testament of his commitment included becoming a supervisor and never taking a sick or a vacation day off. He embraced life and took pride in everything that he did. On behalf of the BUSD governing board, staff, students, we send our prayers and strength to Chris's wife, children, family, and friends. We thank Chris from the bottom of our hearts for sharing his life, his light, his smile, and his legacy. May Chris live an eternal life in peace and watch his children to grow in heaven.
Whether it be help with sound systems at dances or whatever we need, he I I I'm pretty sure he just wanders around looking for ways to help. So, um, I just really appreciate him. I know the kids and all of our staff do, too. So, good job. And congratulations. For some of you old-timers here, >> there are none. >> There are no old-timers. His father and I carried out groceries in Nick's market when we were in high school. And look at him now. That was before he was even married. I mean, his father was married, to put it that way. >> And I had Brian in uh youth soccer, too. >> We're glad to have you, Brian. >> He's amazing. Okay, the next next award and I don't know who's giving this but it's our recognition. Okay, for the employee of the month, Neil, could I have you come up, please?
Uh so they only gave money they sponsored us and helped us at the Jazz in the Desert. Any jazz band members? That's it. Okay. And then some donations from Tractor Supply which you can imagine what they might have donated soil and some other accoutrements to go along with that as well as the Violet Tool Cart project. So with that it is time for Colt of the Month. Mr. Layton Welcome to Colt Families and Continental Colts. We're excited to honor you tonight as Colt of the Month. If we could have all of our Continental Colts come and line up here. Preschool, we'll start with preschool and we'll line you up all the way through middle school. Bring your certificates with you. Option All right everybody, parents please don't be shy. You can come forward to take video and pictures. And we would like to thank Wasada Java for giving ice cream free ice cream certificates.
But I think Janine Janine had a good point on that. I would have loved have given a resolution from the board perspective. It's not slating our superintendent, just from the board perspective to let people know that we are there. We have had a lot of tragedies just my tenure here on the board. [clears throat] A lot of tragedies happened within our district. And the district as a whole have came out, but I I think I actually have a policy here. And Dr. Coggins and I are supposed to talk a little bit about some things she wanted to share with me. But there's a policy 8:10. It says connection with the community. It doesn't list specifically that we are to involve involve involve ourselves regarding condolences and things of that nature. But it does lend itself for us to do things just to show during those times of bereavement and >> [snorts] >> and troubles and things of that nature.
Please, a moment of silence. >> [snorts] >> Thank you. Chris, from up above, continue to send the blessings to your children, your loved ones, your friends. You can now continue to rest in peace and watch from above. And at this point, team, if you don't mind handing over the blanket to the family further. Um, why a blanket? We look for a blanket when we look for comfort, for warmth, when we sick. Any type of representation or just a symbol that I want you to continue to find the strength, the comfort, and the love, and the warmth from up above. Thank you for sharing Chris with us. May he rest in peace, and thank you for being here. Thank you, guys. That didn't work. You need new batteries on that one. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, guys. >> [snorts] [clears throat] >> Thank you so much, Mr.
Speaking of quietly awesome, I asked Mrs. Neil if she'd rather I present this in song, dance, or poem, and she declined all of them. So, I'll just talk about how great she is. Uh, Mrs. Neil runs our our student information system and so there is not a day that goes by where I am looking for some kind of a report and I'll ask Mrs. Neil do you do you know where I could find she delivers it within minutes. Um she is she knows our system inside and out. Um, but she's also she also oversees our um our health departments and so all of our health techs, she oversees that. Um, she also was instrumental in writing a grant that got us more AEDs, defibrillators on our high school campus for all of our athletic events. So, that was a big deal this year. I'm super grateful about that.
And also if you'd like to meet your child at the table over there to pick your t-shirt size, you can meet them over there. All right. With both of you, when you come up you'll just say your name and then you're going to stand over here with Mrs. Reagle, okay? Colleen Evelyn is an extraordinary child. She has patience and kindness she shows in every day. When someone needs help, she's always there for them. She shows responsibility by being in her seat on time and ready to learn with a smile on her face. Evelyn follows the safety rules in and out of the classroom. She stays on task when given an assignment and is always happy to learn new things. I love having Evelyn in our class. Congratulations Evelyn, MISS GRACIA. GIANA GIANA IS KIND, SAFE, and responsible. She has grown so much this school year.
It says, "Earn the community." This is It's about seven eight bullet points. It says, "Earn the community goodwill, respect, and trust." I think showing ourselves like like uh Principal Hollyfield did and all of our representatives from the school district. I mean, they stood up. They stood up and got recognized. There was a lot there. [clears throat] So, I'm just looking I'll be reaching out to see where we can better tune this up to represent as a representative of the board to say, "Hey, we're here for you as well." Again, our superintendent is basically our our leader, not basically, is our leader here. But, at the same token, the board has a footprint. We was recognized, the board was, about less than 2 years ago, of one of few districts in the state of Illinois as being a highly effective board. So, anything we can do better, it just add that much credence to who we are.
Diaz. Um I especially on behalf of the board, I think that to the family, to the staff, and to friends, and many, many individuals who I know were deeply impacted. As a board member for the past 6 years, I I it's been really, really the impressions especially um um that are that are not only um observed but I will say Chris I think exemplified professionalism, he exemplified care and unwavering dedication in all that he did. um We had a visits to sites um and he always carried himself as such knowledge and pride and I want to say he stood out because that's just his character and who he was. It was a quiet presence but it was a powerful one. um He valued his work and most importantly he cared and I think that's exactly what I want to express is that the kind that kind of commitment is rare and hard to find.
She's also helping with our 21st century grant. She runs all the attendance and the reporting for all of that as well. Um, but just she is not all of the things that she does are not seen by everybody on a daily basis, but are vital to how things run in our district. And so we are so grateful for Mrs. Neil and everything she does. So, thank you. >> All right, the next item is the uh recognition of our April Volunteer of the Month. And I Don't. Oh, here you go. There you go. >> So, she said she might be a little late. So, if we could maybe >> we'll move that to later. >> See if she >> when she comes in. >> We'll let her know. Okay, >> sounds good. Thank you. >> All right. Uh, moving through the agenda. Next item is a presentation of the district spending report and that's double duty for Miss Hotmeer.
She waits her turn, raises her hand, and consistently shows respect to others. She gets along well with her peers and is a positive example for all students. She takes responsibility by cleaning up after herself and always makes sure she has done her best. She demonstrates safe behavior both on the playground and in the classroom. Congratulations, Gianna. MISS WILCOTT. THANK YOU, MISS A. BLAKELY HAS GROWN SO much this year. She has become a good friend to all her classmates. She helps out when needed and shows kindness when a friend needs a little pick-me-up. What a great year she has had. Congratulations, Blakely. Mrs. Tessel. Angel. Angel is Colt of the Month for March 2026. Angel has grown so much this year. He is caring and kind with his classmates. He easily offers help and support to others. He starts his day with a cheerful good morning and at the end of the day he is sure to tell others to have a great night.
So, there's a probably some Many of you probably heard of Stevie Stephen Covey. He's a book writer out there. I had it in my MBA program, business program, my corporate world, Seven Habits of a Highly Effective Person. So, we're looking at highly effective opportunities to make our board better. So, Janine submitted to me some ideas. I plan on I plan on attending the kids' funeral, the three kids, this Saturday, correct, Dr. Perkins? >> I believe it's the 25th. Oh, the I'll check and make sure. If you can make it Okay. Okay, FYI. And I know some things got it was communicated to the board and maybe the staff that this wasn't the most conducive place to attend because of the apparent neighborhood you know, violence things of that nature. I will attend. I grew up in that neighborhood. I [clears throat] find no factual evidence that it's as bad as better than any other neighborhood that I go through Chicago on a daily basis.
um I know he leaves behind a huge legacy not just of service but of quiet excellence, reliability genuine heart. um He always had a really firm handshake and an extremely extreme pride in in showing us what he was working on, how the schools looked and and his um his commitment. um His presence made a difference, that's definitely what I want to share. And that impact will not be forgotten because I think that even for us as board members while we're not involved in operation, we know impression and what those what individuals who take the time to really share with us how proud they are in what they're doing does have an impact. So on behalf of the governing board we extend our sincere condolences to the family, to his friends and to all our staff who've had the privilege of working alongside him. We stand with you in this time of remembrance.
>> We'll turn the time to you. Yes. And now the fun can start on the all the district financials. Everyone loves to hear about that. All right. So this is our um this is recapping our district spending for FY25. So this is last year's spending report. Um and this is this is published every year on the Auditor General's website. And so you have access if you're ever interested in looking in the history of all of our um all of our spending, you can look back years on the auditor general reports. Um so we'll just go through FY25 and this is just explaining thanks what it is. Uh just analyzes our school district spending at the state and our individual district level. So, when you go on to the auditor general's site, you can pull the state all of the state spending, you can pull every district in Arizona, um, every school in Arizona and compare schools, um, and you can compare them with different, uh, peer groups.
Always with a smile. His smile is contagious. He is responsible for his work and his actions around campus and in the classroom. Keep up the great work. Keep on shining bright, Angel. Miss Bennett. ALVIN IS IN THIRD. ALVIN is a fabulous first grader. He is respectful and kind with teachers, staff, and classmates every day. He uses school equipment and classroom supplies safely. Alvin is responsible because he comes to school ready to learn, works hard to complete tasks on time, and he is honest. Thank you for being a terrific part of our class, Alvin. Keep up the great work, Mrs. Rodriguez. Jonah I chose Jonah for the Cult of the Month because he is such a wonderful kid and student. He always has a positive attitude and he is so kind to others, always complimenting them on their work, on their clothes, or their hair. He has such a pure and caring heart.