001Motion's been made and seconded. All those in favor? Yes. All right, moving on to our governing board meeting. Roll call, please. President Michael Flores. Here. Vice President Linda Heath. Here. Governing Member Chris Gillespie. Here. Governing Member George Arradondo. Here. Governing Member Victoria Quintero. Here. We have quorum. Good evening, everyone. Happy holidays. If we can all stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, of the United States of America to the Republic for free. All right, moving on to the approval of the agenda. Mr. President, I move to approve the agenda. And I'll second that. Motion's been made by Board Member Arredondo, seconded by Vice President Heath. All those in favor? Yes. Yes, motion passes by all. Moving on to public participation. All right, presentations. Principles
002update presented by Dr. Natea Ferguson. I will tell you we're doing something a little bit different tonight. Assistant principals, even though principals names are on there, assistant principals are actually going to present tonight. Good evening. I am assistant principal Michelle Gonzalez representing Coolidge High School tonight. So at the high school, we are wrapping up a semester's worth of learning. We have teachers doing review for finals with some classes doing performances. We actually have band tonight taking place in the pack. We have piano tomorrow in the pack. And then we also have choir Tuesday, the 16th in the pack. In our athletics, we have our boys basketball team currently 6-0. And then we actually had our wrestling team, our girls and boys team, they actually went to Firebird Invitationals and we had some students place. We
003had three girls place first, third, and fourth. And we actually had three boys place as well, second, and then two fourth places. So yeah, that's what's happening at high school. Wonderful good to see you and hear from you. That doesn't happen often. I'm assistant principal Anthony Gonzalez for CAP and CVA. All right. Just a few updates on CAP CVA as of the end of November our course completions for this school year. CAP is 381 classes completed 340 of those being core classes CVA 244 classes with 210 of those being core. Since the last meeting we had, we've been able to track down a few of our seniors that have gone MIA on us. We got them back in class, enrolled, and happy to report that some of those actually have finished classes already towards graduation
004completion. So we're very excited about that. I'm not saying that we may or may not have went to some local restaurants to track down those students, but we did. So they were actually excited to see us. One of them wanted to take my order, so I said, no, I'm actually here to speak to you. Let's talk about this and then as I'm walking out I'll say I'll take some Cardinals authorized to go please. Our Read 180 program is wrapping up their program for the semester and they are currently doing end of course testing so we'll have those results by next, should have those results by next meeting. So hopefully we'll continue the growth that has been happening there. CVA for attendance we've been asked to report it but it's kind of. Weird to report virtual
005academy because the classes are open seven days a week 24 hours a day. So the only thing we can come up with the equivalent of using the ADM our attendance for CVA is about 92 percent which I think is pretty high from what it has been. So we're very happy to report that. So that's it. Thank you. Thank you. Dr. Dix. You have to hear from me tonight because my Gonzales cannot be here tonight. Yeah, we do too. So the seventh grade ELA teachers at the junior high have taken advantage of the essay contest that were available through the Elks. And we are thrilled that we had two of our students who actually won the drug awareness essay contest. We haven't heard when the awards ceremony for that is yet, but we did have two
006winners out of our seventh grade. And then we just had the ones submitted today for the Americanism essay that was due today. So we are really excited and have high hopes for. those kids as well they've worked really hard on those submissions. The band concert is tonight for the junior high as well as with the high school and we also have the choir concert that's next Tuesday so we invite you to come and see that at the pack that will be at 6 o'clock next Tuesday. And we have some exciting things that have gone on with our athletics. So for wrestling we had 18 students that qualified to go to state. We didn't end up with any state champions but we did end up with five students who ended up as a runner up. Four
007of those in seventh grade and one of them in eighth grade which gives us some really good chances for next year in wrestling. And then our football team the seven on seven football team is doing an amazing job. They actually ended up ranked first in our division. We ended up. the Sonoran Conference champions with a 10 and 0 season, which is really amazing. And they play Thursday night in the first round of the state playoffs. And then when they win that game, we are going to be in the state championships on Saturday at 10 o'clock at Thunderbird. And we'd like to invite you to join us because we will be there. Thank you. Thank you. Principal Bruno, your assistant. Good evening governing board members and Mrs. Hodge I'm Skyla Bergeson assistant principal over at Heartland
008Ranch. We have been very busy at Heartland Ranch so far. We've had a few field trips. Our fifth grade went to Boyce Thompson first grade Shermark Farms second grade Botanical Gardens. They've had a lot of fun. We had our holiday shop fundraiser where students were able to shop for holiday items for their families. Our older kids were able to help out our younger kids. They had a blast doing that. Monday night we had our holiday show. It was a huge success with two separate performances. It was a packed house and a lot of positive reviews. Our music teacher did a fantastic job with that. And then we have finished our middle of the year DIBELS testing. We are averaging 50 point growth. Sorry we are averaging a 50 point growth across all students with kindergarten
009averaging over 100 point growth. So we're super excited to see what else we can do this year. And we are finishing out our second quarter strong and we'd like to invite you to join us at our jingle jog next Thursday at 9 a.m. around our neighborhood. Thank you. Thank you. Principal Ferguson. Assistant. Sorry. Good evening. I'm Monica Sheridan Ferguson. I'm the assistant principal at West. So at West two of our classes took a benchmark in Navi a program that we are using to ask to be used through Project Momentum. This is made by Pearson the same company that makes AASA tests. Our teachers really like the data the way it's broken down by student and they're able to fill in gaps and catch students up to help support them to get up to grade level.
010We just finished a week of dance and the students and teachers did an amazing job. There are already conversations about how to increase participation in dance and make it even better for next year. Coolidge Junior High in Heartland as well as us had the privilege of participating in Campbell's Crew Cares. Wes participated with them in the past but we had more students from Coolidge students families and teachers. It was incredible to witness from the excitement of the kids shopping to the teachers smiles watching their hearts filled with joy. The parents were grateful to be able to be a part of an incredible experience. It made us realize this is why what we do every day. Next week we have two events we'd like to invite you to Monday the 15th our k3 music night at
011the pack at 6 p.m. And Wednesday night the 17th we have our choirs and bands and our brand new piano class is going to be doing a performance at the pack at 6 p.m. As well. Thank you If you wouldn't mind staying up here for the next part governing board outstanding character awards Thank you. So our outstanding character is Gwen Ferguson So Gwen has been nominated by two of her teachers Miss Jordan and Miss Amper. Miss Jordan says Gwen Ferguson is an outstanding student who is consistently doing the right thing. She demonstrates a strong work ethic and shows respect to everyone around her. She brings a sense of humor and positivity to the classroom. Gwen is not only an excellent student but also a caring friend and a kind person. She currently serves as student
012ambassador and last year she held the position of student body vice president. She truly exemplifies the Tiger 5 walking talking acting working and making good choices like a tiger. Ms. Ampers says I am honored to nominate Gwen for recognition as an outstanding student. Gwen exemplifies kindness respect and genuine and a genuine spirit of helpfulness in everything she does. She's always first to volunteer when a classmate is struggling. often stepping in as a little teacher to patiently guide and support others. Her strong willingness to learn and her dedication to going above and beyond are consistently evident in her work. Gwen demonstrates the Tiger Five at all times and serves as a positive role model for her peers. She truly is an asset to her class and the entire campus community. Heartland Ranch would like to call
013up our first grader, Kane Francisco. Kane was nominated by his teacher, Mrs. Lizette Guerrero, and this is what Mrs. G had to say about Mr. Kane. She said, I am truly honored to nominate Cain Francisco for this recognition. He is the kind of student who brightens the entire classroom the moment he walks in. Every day, he shows up with a big smile, a positive attitude, and a genuine kindness that makes such a difference. Cain is amazing in everything he does. He takes pride in his work and always makes sure his assignments are done on time and done well. If he ever needs help or has a question, he is never afraid to ask, something I admire about him. It shows responsibility, maturity, and a real commitment to learning. What I appreciate most though is his
014heart. He loves helping others whether a classmate is having a tough day or someone who needs a hand around the classroom. He steps in without hesitation and does it with kindness every single time. His presence makes our classroom a better place and I truly feel blessed to have him as a student. It is with great joy that I nominate him. He absolutely deserves this honor. Cain Francisco. Next. In your suit. Coolidge Junior High would like to recognize Anthony Valenzuela. Anthony is our student council president this year and is doing an amazing job of leading by example. He is positive and kind and works hard at all he does, so the student council sponsored events on campus are fun and high quality. Anthony jumps in and does everything he's asked and is always ready with a
015smile for everyone around him. Thank you for always being the first to show up, step up, and come up, Anthony. All right, good evening. Coolidge Alternative Program would like to call up Emma McDaniels. Emma McDaniels is an 11th grade student at CAP and she was nominated by our counselor, Mr. Latham. Mr. Latham writes, it is my pleasure to nominate Emma McDaniels for student of the month. Emma was nominated by her guidance counselor, Chris Latham. With great honor, I'd like to nominate Emma McDaniels for student of the month. She is a very hardworking student. who will graduate early as an 11th grader. She currently holds a 3.5 GPA and has been admitted to two universities so far this year with other acceptance letters on the way. Her determination to achieve her goals is what makes her
016stand out, but she does not take things at face value. If she has a question or does not understand something, she will ask. During the school year she has made a solid calculated decision which has put her in the best situation for her future. I believe that with this mindset she will be successful and continue to do well far beyond cap. With this determination and work ethic she will succeed at any college or university in her future. Emma McDaniels. Coolidge High School has nominated Carter Monet. So CJ a senior at Coolidge High School consistently shows dedication and pride in everything he does. As an office TA he arrives each day ready to help and completes every task with reliability and enthusiasm. Beyond the day CJ is frequently spotted supporting CHS activities and events. His positive
017attitude and strong school spirit truly embody what it means to be a CHS student. If you nominated one of these students that are here tonight we'd love to have you come up and take a photo with them please. All right moving on to the governing board outstanding service awards I'm guessing by principal Bruno and Kelly Ferguson still Heartland Ranch would like to recognize a paraprofessional Leslie Alvarez it gives me great pleasure to nominate myself doing the nomination Heartland Ranch paraprofessional miss Leslie Alvarez for this month's outstanding service award one of our first themes that I introduced to our staff this year was the team everything we do in every decision we make is for the benefit of our team Leslie is the embodiment of that selfless team player. Each month I asked the staff to
018submit nominations for this award but this month I already knew exactly who I wanted to recognize. But that didn't stop another staff member from recognizing her also as well. Officially Leslie serves as our paraprofessional in our math intervention class working with a small group of students to build up their fluency skills. Unofficially, she is our Heartland Ranch utility infielder, stepping in wherever she is needed. Whenever we are short of substitute, a teacher has to leave unexpectedly, or administration is pulled into an extended meeting, our staff is excellent at filling in. What sets Leslie apart is that she volunteers before I even ask. As soon as that email goes out, I know within 30 seconds I'm gonna get a text message saying, I'm ready. Whether it's kindergarten through fifth grade, PE to playground duty, or cafeteria
019support, she is ready and eager to help for the betterment of our team. Many times when we are asked to step outside our typical schedule, it is easy for us to groan or grumble. Leslie adjusts her schedule without hesitation, always smiling and ready to help. It is an admirable quality that I think all of us, myself included, can strive to emulate every day. Thank you, Leslie, for being an outstanding team member and leader within our staff. Vice Principal Sheridan. We're keeping you on your toes this month. Because I'll read exactly what's in front of me. West Elementary would like to nominate Liza Gaspar and Drew McWilliam. When you walk into West Elementary's West School's front office the friendly faces you see are Miss Liza and Miss Drew. As two of our newest team members this
020year they have already become incredible incredible assets to our school community. No matter who is at the front desk, every visitor is welcomed with a warm smile and a genuine greeting. Liza's natural ability to build connections with our students and families has brought such meaningful and refreshing presence to the front office. Drew's calm, steady, and caring demeanor adds peaceful balance that is truly appreciated by everyone who walks through our doors. Both ladies have... quickly become invaluable members of our front office team. We are so grateful for their positive attitudes dedication and willingness to jump in and support wherever needed. West School is lucky to have them. All right moving on to the consent agenda. I make a motion to approve the consent agenda. Motion's been made by Vice President Heath and seconded by Board Member
021Gillespie. All those in favor? Yes. Yes. Motion passes by all. Moving on to business. Discussion of possible approval of the Coolidge High School exterior paint colors in pink and purple. Okay, now let's talk. So we were just approved through school facilities oversight board to for weatherization of Coolidge High School. There was an idea to maybe change the color scheme a little bit with maybe some more neutrals. But in looking at it Alyssa did a little mock up for us and it was terrible. So. Our goal is to take the exact colors that we have there. It'll look brighter. It's going to be refreshed. It won't be faded. So not up here, out at the high school. You know what? I left it in my office. I can go grab it. You want to look at
022the swabs? Okay, give me. Yes. In a folder. We thought about going a very neutral kind of brown, keeping the blue accents, going a more traditional Coolidge red color for the doors and things like that. And we get a lot of comments about the color scheme of our buildings. People really like them. And so we'd like to keep it virtually the same. It's pretty. It's better than red and black. Yeah. You might not be able to find it, hopefully. We're waiting. So these color schemes are going to be utilized. Granted, what the sun bakes and changes things like that. But it's going to be consistent throughout whatever we always use that same color scheme. Yes. And so now we'll have the colors. We'll have the color codes specifically so that when a refresh needs to
023happen, it'll be there. I like that. And granted, depending on the material you apply it on, it kind of changes. The current, yeah. I love those colors. They're very nice. And I will tell you, we've been very fortunate just in the last recent months to have a... an update in our school facilities liaison and has been very, very helpful in us getting some projects approved and I think Dan can attest and Alyssa can attest to that about the helpfulness of that. We're grateful that they're gonna take care of all that paint. So do you, I mean. Any questions? Cost wise, I guess I mean paint is paint is you're gonna pay for. School facilities is taking care of it. Exactly. All right. Tax payer on the other end of it. On paint, to spend on
024paint specifically. I make a motion to approve the Coolidge High School exterior paint colors. I second. Motion's been made by Vice President Heath and seconded by Board Member Quintero. All those in favor? Yes. Yes. Motion passes by all. Pink and purple. All right. Moving on to discussion. Do not put that in the minutes. Discussion and possible approval of the 2026-2027 school calendar. Okay, so I'm gonna actually let Ben take this on. He'll kind of talk to you about the process and highlight some of the changes that you'll see that staff really wanted based on our previous calendars. Yeah, so we started out with 18 people that were on the committee. I would love to say that everybody consistently responded, but there were 18 people that were on the initial committee. Some of the things that
025we talked about is obviously still Friday's off. We were going to maintain a four-day school week, and Friday was consistently what we needed to have off a lot of holidays on Monday. Then we talked about the breaks and when they would fall. The only change in the first break in fall break is that it's a week early. And the reason that was done was because it evened out the number of weeks before and after. This year, there was more weeks on the front side of fall break and less on the back side. So to even that out, we moved it up one week. People consistently want that extra day for Thanksgiving, so we maintain that. Let's see. Spring break is about almost exactly the same time. The big difference you'll see though is a lot
026of school districts go to a midweek start, right? So we looked at that to start the year and then we looked at that right after Christmas break. To start the year obviously gets kids, excuse me, teachers being able to prep for the first day. Now midweek, you say, why would we do it midweek? It gives you an opportunity specifically with transportation and other things as an opportunity, not a trial run, because we're not saying these days don't matter, but it gives us an opportunity to work through some of those logistical problems that always happen. No one's fault, just we over, you know, something didn't work the right way. On the backside in January, thought it was important to be able to allow teachers an opportunity to prep. for students returning. So that would be a
027midweek as well. But in general, a lot of consistence with what we've had historically with a calendar, but those two big things or three things I should say, the midweek break, the earlier fall break, but then to maintain Thanksgiving. I know some people wanted a full week at Thanksgiving, but just with all of our Fridays off, it was just hard to make all the pieces fit. Right before we... We gave it to you guys, we gave it to the entire staff, and there were a few people that caught some things that we needed to obviously fix. So if you have any questions, I'm more than willing to answer. Yes, sir. So with the start of the midweek, so those days are pushed somewhere else? Or, I mean, we got to do so many days of
028school, right? So same number of contracted days. It's just when we started is different, right? So yes. So it's not like teachers are working less days. It's just when they start. Well, if our student requirements with the state. Correct. That all fits as well. Great question. We're actually starting two days earlier than we would typically start to have a midweek start and then to have. starting two days later in January to maintain that. So student days did not change. It definitely looks more eye pleasing here than what I gave to Andy. So I have no idea what she did, but it looks definitely way better than when I gave it to her. So I love it. Any questions? We did consistently hear that this year we had 11 weeks in the first quarter. The first
029quarter wasn't... 11 weeks prior to fall break. And it was a lot and you could tell a difference in staff and kids alike. So really pushing that up a week will hopefully make a difference. A lifetime ago, I was a principal at the high school. That was the only year that we had one week at fall break. And I would tell you that when teachers came back after fall break, I don't know I've ever heard so many people say, we gotta have two weeks at fall. I know that's not historical because. those that have taught a little bit longer ago maybe didn't even have fall break, but it's kind of part of the culture now. We didn't get a fall break, did we, Becky? No, there was never a fall break. assuming it gets approved
030today, is it gonna be published with the community so they get a chance to like? Yeah, we can actually get that uploaded to the website as the FY, if you approve it, so the FY27 calendar, which is crazy to say. But yes, we would go ahead and update that and make sure that the public is aware that next year's calendar is there. Those three particular items. And when I sent it out to staff, that was one of the things. that my boss said, make sure you highlight the differences. And so I think we'll do the same thing that, you know, to the public, I would think if we. The other nice thing is as an administrator, you think about taking that winter break off. It's very difficult to take winter break off because you're getting
031ready to start second semester. Those two days coming back, making those actual teacher work days, staff work days, I think will make a difference for teachers and administrators alike thinking, I can actually take the break because I've got two days now to prep myself moving into the semester. And we're hoping that that's a positive change for our staff. I can remember coming into my classroom. two or three days before we had to go back because I had to get my classroom ready. So this, that's a gift, I love that. And hence we only did one year right now. We wanna see how it works with the midweek start before committing to two years on that calendar. Any other questions, comments? Mr. President? Yes. I move we approve the 2026-2027 school calendar as presented and emphasize
032notifying the community as well. Second. Motions were made by Board Member Arredondo, seconded by Board Member Quintero. All those in favor? Gillespie. Yes. Gillespie. Oh, you beat her? I thought Vicki beat her. It was simultaneous. Okay. Gillespie. Seconded by all those in favor? Yes. That was really something tonight. All right. Moving on to the discussion of possible action to approve a one-time bonus for part-time 250 and full-time 500 employees. So this was at the direction of the board. When we came back in July, we talked about, or when contracts were released last school year, we talked about that we would institute a 2% raise, and if there were any additional monies, that we would re-look at that and try to provide that back to staff if we did have it. You know, it's... It's hard
033to know what the what the next year's budget is going to look like and how much money we should actually carry forward. However in working with Alyssa on this we we determined that we can do this and still maintain a healthy carry forward for next school year depending on what the state allocates for our budget for next year. We realize, you know, while it may not seem super significant, we hope that staff recognizes that, you know, again, we are holding true to our promise as far as if we have it, we want to give it back to staff, but also maintaining that fiscal responsibility to make sure that we can maintain our budget moving forward. Any questions? No, I'm just very pleased that we can do this. We wish we could give you more, but
034as Mrs. Hodge said, we don't know what's going to happen next year. So we have to have kind of a little cushion at least. Yeah, definitely. What she said is, we appreciate what everybody's done for the community and the schools and all that. Yeah. And I just want to make sure that that everybody knows that this is truly at the direction of the governing board. They're the ones that said please make sure that you remember to look at that. Make sure that we provide that back to staff if possible. Mr. President I move we approve the one time bonus for part time of 250 and full time $500 please. Motion's been made by Board Member Arradondo, seconded by Board Member Gillespie. All those in favor? Yes. Yes, motion passes by all. Moving on to the
035Governing Board and or Superintendent's report and update. Okay, well, gosh, first semester flew by, right? I don't even know that I'm in the holiday spirit yet. It feels so strange, right? No, it's been a really good semester. I feel positive about the direction of our schools. While we do... maintain that we still have a lot of room to grow. The things that we are seeing on our campuses and in our classrooms are exactly what we said we wanted to do. I know that Assistant Principal Sheridan Ferguson, she mentioned the fact that they were completing, no, I think it was. Skyla Richardson about completing DIBELS right and the growth there. That's one of the things we are really anxious to really dive into and look at with the implementation of a full phonics program in our
036early grades. We know that again sustainable change takes three to five years but. Because our kids have not had that, we are anxious to see what kind of growth we're going to see, not just from the beginning of the year till now, but now looking at where our first graders currently are based on where they were in kinder. And then even comparing cohort to cohort, right? Like, so last year's kinders, where were they performing without it or a semblance of it to where are they now with that full phonics curriculum? So I'll be leaning on our curriculum department to provide all of that data for us. We met with a and I alluded to this earlier. We met with a housing development that is building over in Heartland Ranch not Heartland Ranch. Good grief. Landmark.
037Thank you. And talking about possibly setting aside land for another school. Now they are about four years from building out. And so we don't necessarily know what our population will look like. We can go based on the information we got from school facilities who uses ASU to give us predictions on population, school growth, that kind of thing. Based on that, Looking at our schools specifically even through F.Y. 34 we're not seeing the need actually for another school site. The junior high will need an expansion some additional classrooms. We're predicting F.Y. 29 school facilities is saying F.Y. 34. So I know that's looking at me like what. And so that's something that we'll have to navigate right. Like as a as the as the community grows. So next month I'll be we'll be bringing to you
038that proposal whether that is we want a school site and you'll have to decide that do we want a school site or would you like for us to negotiate a per rooftop amount. They're they're looking at. Mid 700 like 749 I want to say. Does that sound right. Somewhere around there. Whole additional homes going in that area. Looking at what ASU is projecting the town growth. It's it. That's a hard thing to predict. Based on that I don't know that they're going to how long it'll take to build that out because it's showing the population not increasing by that much. So we'll just kind of keep an eye on that and we'll bring that to you and based on what we see and where and I'll give you all the data on the population of
039our schools and where the projections are so that we can make an informed decision on that. That's all I have. I'd like to go over to that program so I have nothing to say except I really am enjoying the ones I've attended so far. I'll be real brief. I appreciate all the weekly reports from everybody. I had a chance at the Native American event the other day, and it was a little bit cold out there, but it was great. And the dance recital as well. Yeah, thank you very much. I'll let you get back to the show at 7. There's some more shows Christmas next week as well. Just thank each and every one of you. And you guys are so happy and energized. And every year I look at Don and I'm like, God,
040they're so tired, poor things. Why did they have to come to a December meeting? This is the first time I've seen you guys so happy and energized. You guys work your rears off, right? So I get it. But you guys are just amazing. Keep up the good work. Yes. Can you tell Luke that we miss him? Yes, Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas. And a safe, happy holiday. Yes. All right. Happy holidays and thank you for everything. Yes. All right. Do I hear a motion to? So moved. Seconded. Seconded. All those in favor? Yes. Yes. Good evening, everyone.