And both programs were boosted in those years by participation of her homeschool peers. Her involvement in these programs enriched her high school experience. And although it was her good grades and test scores, it was also her participation and leadership in these extracurricular activities that enabled her to receive her scholarship. If we investigated, we would find the marginal cost of adding new students is relatively low and there's a significant um benefit of keeping programs alive and we can offset costs with coaching um costs such as coaching time equipment and and others. In the past, our district only allowed homeschoolers not taking ESA funds these opportunities. I believe this is a grave misstep. Let's make a clear distinction. Choosing homeschool is what removes funds from the public school, not taking ESA funds. If the district does not allow those who use ESA funds to participate, it creates a discrimination that impacts lower income families.
So, let's give a round of applause to our sixth grade team, sixth grade students, and our sixth grade parents for the uh the commitment, the hard work, and we're looking forward how is that going to translate to the state testing, but most importantly, how much stronger the entire school is going to finish for um the rest of the year. So, this is what's coming your way um with open arms. I'll do you present with you. Thank you, sir. All right, if nothing else, thank you, Mr. Miguel Lewis. Appreciate it. >> Turn over to our secondary campus, Mr. Dalton. Mr. Dalton, you're up. We'll be kind. >> [laughter] >> Don't worry. I'm here. I don't even know where to start. Okay, good evening, everyone. Again, glad to be here um and Miss Ann Stead this evening. She was not able to be here, so um Ready to begin?
I do not believe this reflects the values of our school district. I believe in public schools and I believe in their mission to serve the children in our community and that's why I support this policy. My kids have received a good education here and had exceptional experiences at Blige and part of that is when they've been able to participate in great programs that were also involved with their homeschool peers. I believe that this is bal about balancing stewardship with community. A thoughtful policy such as pay-to-play fees, eligibility, and space-based participation can protect the district resources while still allowing all local students to contribute and benefit from the school activities even while boosting programs and adding funding funding. Thank you for your time. Thank you for those thoughts. Anybody like to There we go. Hello, my name is Lana Cip and I would like to advocate for my siblings, my friends, and the many the many others who have been directly impacted by the current policies that are um restricting how they can use their ESA funds.
And there you highlights for All right, with the principal's re- report. All right, highlights. Um Our community event that we held at the secondary campus was a great success. We had a lot of community support. We had um just great comments from from everybody who attended. Um our teachers had a great time. All the campuses joined in and I think it was a big success for um everybody. Um we also had our third quarter awards assembly, which we are getting great turnout um for each of our quarterly awards that we have up there at the fine arts building. Um I had asked about possible other venues and and it was like, "No, we have to have it out there because we're getting so much turnout from the parents in the community." So, so those are definitely highlights for us at the secondary campus. Um events that we have coming coming up pretty soon.
I have two younger siblings. They're both homeschooled. And the the current policies have been okay wait the these policies have taken away opportunities that were once available to them. Instead of encouraging social engagement, this policy effectively excludes a group of students who are still part and invested in this community. Homeschool and ESA student ESA students should not have to choose between their educational funding and their ability to participate in extracurricular activities. These pro these programs exist to support students learning in flexible ways and many families rely on them to meet their children's specific needs. I would like to propose the idea that the district could allow partial ESA contrib contributions, activity- based fees, or another compromise that supports school programs without placing the entire burden on homeschool families. Solutions like these would allow students to stay involved while still contributing while still contributing fairly. It would draw more people to the school instead of pushing them away as it is currently doing.
Prom, I believe that is next Saturday. Um so that is an exciting event coming up. Then decision day, we have a field day uh to celebrate with our kids on the May 1st. And then we're looking forward to eighth grade promotion followed up by the high school for graduation. Um tax credit. Tax credit. And I have it right here. On the screen. Okay. So, for our tax credit, I don't have the numbers here, um but I do have what we did use the tax credit funds for. They were used to It is one of the huge cost that we have at the um secondary campus and I know Russell and I talk about this a lot is is some of our kids struggle with the activity fees. So, some of those funds were used to help the students um with entry fees for athletics, um refreshments for our award ceremonies, our positive behavior interventions and supports, snacks for our state testing, um and for our crown and entertainment for um Sorry, I'm not I'm not going to destroy those words.
I have always been told, "If you see something, say something." This saying is promoted by our school district. Please consider how these current policies are hurting members of this community and making them choose between a well-rounded education and social interaction. I believe these things should be open to everyone. So, I hope you please take it into consideration. Thank you for your time. >> Thank you. Any others? Well, good evening. My name is Christy Cip and I'm a parent of three children, one of which just spoke. She's a ninth grader here at the high school and two younger children who were previously part of the elementary school here. Um I do want to make it known I do value our public schools. I am not against the system. Um so my family's decision to homeschool doesn't really have anything to do with that. Um other than my son especially had very unique needs.
>> Walguywalk Munchamancookamundatouchas Okay, and then future funds for targeted with the Um actually Would be for athletic possible new athletic uniforms, overnight stays for athletic events especially on the long trips when they our kids got to be on a bus for 5 or 6 hours to get all the way up north. Um New or refurbished app athletic equipment, diplomas, and additional athletic events and related expenses. Okay, if there's no questions Mr. Weaver >> Thank you sir for being here. Appreciate it. You did well. A plus. >> [laughter] >> Uh Miss Bazon. 40 Indian Oasis Middle High School. Good evening President Wentea, board members, Superintendent Diaz, and all our listening audience. Um we want to start off with some highlights for our principal report for March. And um it's been confirmed with TOCC uh West Campus that we can hold our promotions on that same day of Wednesday, the 21st uh for both eighth grade promotion and also our high school graduation.
Um his needs were not met in an effective way in a public school setting. So, we did make that choice. Um, as parents, we do the best to meet our kids' needs. I'm sure you all know that. Um, under the current structure, families like mine who use ESA funds are effectively shut out from participating in the very community that we still belong to. Our children lose access to extracurricular activities, sports, and even opportunity to take individual core classes within certain um within the the district. And that's even though we are willing to pay for those classes. I'm here today to ask you to reconsider that barrier. So allowing homeschool ESA students to pay the the district for access to extracurriculars and select classes would be a win across the board. First, it strengthens community in inclusivity. These are still your students. They live here. They grow up here.
Another highlight is that PBIS is up and running. So our kiddos are earning points. They're getting their snacks and other incentives, which um is pretty exciting. Our bubble ready uh hiking club uh peak, sorry, hike. Um it was out this uh month as well, and you'll see some lovely pictures of the outdoors with our kiddos. And um let's see here. For our updates graduation updates, um out of seven students in the current cohort, four are on track and are expected to meet all graduation requirements. And there's no reason for them yet not to stay on track and keep going. So, we're supporting them with um that journey to finish through. Um three students remain eligible, but have fallen off pace a bit. Um their ability to graduate will depend on the timely completion of the remaining coursework through our digital platform. So, just want to remind everyone that at times um our learning platform is a digital a digital curriculum, which um can be uh pretty sneaky at times as far as as looking at those results because it could be that they're at 30% and then um drastically uh pull through and complete the course.
And they want to stay connected. participation in sports teams, music programs, clubs, and even part-time classes. It fosters relationships, builds social skills, and it keeps families engaged with the district instead of pushing them into the margins. Second, it supports students success. Not every homeschooled parent can teach every subject at the same level, giving students access to specialized teachers, labs, structured classroom environments for certain subjects. It enhances their education without requiring them to fully reenroll when it doesn't suit their individual needs. Um, third, it benefits the district financially. These families are not asking for free services. We are asking for the opportunity to pay into the system. Opening the door to part-time enrollment or extracurricular participation creates an additional revenue stream for the district without the full cost of full-time students. It's a practical, sustainable way to increase funding while serving more students. This is not about dividing public school and homeschool families.
And the beauty of this program um as well as it it's downfalls, um I want to make sure that everyone knows that our curriculum is always available. It's never locked. So, um we are in we have high hopes for those students who are a bit off pace, but might be pulling through. They might be pulling through. And [snorts] also, there are two students who have already graduated this year, one uh in December and the other in January. We also want to make sure that we include those in our school year uh graduation cohort.
It's about bridging the gap between them. We all want the same thing. Kids who are educated, supported, and connected to their community. Right now, the system forces families to choose one path or the other, but it doesn't have to be that way. By allowing ESA homeschool students to participate on a payto access basis, you create a model that is flexible, inclusive, and forward thinking. I urge you to consider the policies that welcome these students back into the fold. >> Thank you. Hello, my name is Casey Flake. I personally went to Blige K through 12. Longtime Blueridge lover. I have four children in grades 3 through 10. Um I also coordinate exchange students for Blige at the high school level and love that. Um, I am the head coach at the junior high level for cross country as well as the boys head coach at the junior high level for track.
Um any questions uh regarding the rest of the report? Through and through. Questions? No questions. For our tax credit over at Indian Oasis Middle and High School, um available funds at the moment are at 11,592 and 75 cents. Um to which we are currently um looking at the expense that already went through was for MESA. Um future possibilities of for this tax credit would be again to contribute to MESA, our garden, um to maintaining our PBIS, and our graduation diplomas, caps, counts, decorations. We're also hopeful to look into possibly putting in a literacy book um or a book club. Uh so which we would need um some book sets for those. Um and possibly even theater arts. And these are taken into consideration some of the ideas our students have been um giving us back as far as um hopes and wishes and maybe some interest there.
I would like to bring my perspective as a very non-interested in homeschooling my own children perspective to this ESA fund. As a coach as well as a parent, um, I attend the coaches meeting at the beginning of every school year. In that coach's meeting, we are strongly told you must share the students. There are not enough Blige students to go around to say you must choose track or this or theater or this. We are told as the people operating these that we must share our students. We must make it possible for them to do all these activities because if not, we do not have enough students to fill these. Uh specifically with cross country at the junior high level, I have had some highlevel athletes. I have coached Jet Gerardi, who's currently number one in the state of Arizona as a runner, as well as many other extremely successful students.
Thank you. You're welcome. And then we also have a video with those amazing pictures of those hikes. And our community day which we took part of. It was very fun to see everyone out there. And thank you for hosting um that community event to Bobo. >> How adorable are those? >> [applause] >> Um, any uh questions for accelerated? Thank you, Ms. Mazone, very much for your presentation. >> Thank you, Ms. Mazone. >> [applause] >> The next presentation or is the Barbecue Unified School District 21st Century Grant Presentation. Dr. Flores, good to see you. Hello. I submitted my report. Hopefully you had chance to review it. I'm just kidding. So, um, Skeit Koadineek, [laughter] uh, Aniyah Apchigi, Dr. Flores, uh, fourth grade teacher as well as site coordinator of the 21st Century Community Learning Center of Autumn Thunder Watch Our Mission Wakoot, Arleta Indian Oasis Intermediate Elementary School.
However, we can never place as a team. We have to have seven runners in that division in order to get a team score. So even though I'm consistently putting pulling number one kids, we do not get team scores because we do not have enough kids in the program. I have had to turn away ESA kids because under no circumstances will the school allow them to contribute their funds and their body to the team so that Blueridge could be winning these banners and filling the school with the successful programs. I feel strongly that the programs that we have at Blige is what a lot of what will attract families to come and want to be part of this. Again, I have been to Blige K through 12, but when my oldest children were in elementary school, I was at a very wealthy area in Gilbert where the public school had a lot of money to have incredible programs.
So, um, tonight I will be sharing our program's purpose, current offerings, student impact, and how we are responding to community feedback to better serve our, um, students. And we are proud to tell that we are offering engaging and supportive learning opportunities to our students, including those who are in general education and exceptional services. Moving forward, I will be, um, talking about the program overview, current offerings that we have, the student data and ratios, the student impact, and the family engagement of our 21st CCLC. So, the purpose of our funding of the 21st CCLC is to support programs that provide students with academic enrichment and learning opportunities outside of regular, uh, regular school hours. These services are designed to reinforce what students learn during the school day and to address their, uh, specific academic needs. So, our 21st Century Program has been awarded a total of $396,000 in grant funding over 5 years.
I have chosen to raise my kid in a small community, my children in a small community because I want a sense of community. Many of my children's best friends are kids who are using ESA funds. My son, who was actually mentioned tonight, Cooper Flake, one of the only two kids that is going to nationals for FBLA, also starred in the play. His best one of his very best friends, attended every single night of the play, hoping to be able to someday be part of that program, but currently cannot as he his family takes ESA funds. Um, sorry, my notes went away. Um, I also feel strongly as far as living in a small community of having it be about choice. If I did feel like one of my own children best learned in a home environment, it would be very hard for I have all boys to have to choose between sports and school.
For years 1 through 3, the program is allocated $88,000 annually. While years 4 and 5 are funded at $66,000 per year. So, I would like to give a credit to our federal grant director, Ms. Allison Cornell, for the help in helping us in our proposal and it was get approved. And it is also important to note that continued funding is contingent upon annual compliance with program requirements where in each year the program is evaluated to ensure we are meeting expectations in areas such as academic support, youth development, and family engagement. So, maintaining compliance is essential to sustaining funding and ensuring the continuation of services for our students. Our approved funding allocation supports both our after school program and our summer school program that is coming up. We design funds for instructional staff, program coordination, and clerical support. So, for the after school program funding, it is structured to support four teachers per session along with a site coordinator, which is myself, and my clerical data support staff across 100 program or 104 program days.