001welcome to our meeting um we did call this meeting to order at 3 30 because we had an executive session so we are now reconvening and i'd like to ask you to join us at our pledge of allegiance and moment of silence I can tell by the size of the crowd that we have some presentations and recognitions this evening. So thank you all for coming. We're going to begin with agenda item 4.1, which is a presentation by H.L. Supercroft Elementary School. Good evening, members of the school board, Madam President, and members of the audience. It's an honor to be here tonight. HLS is in our fifth year of our 21st Century Clubs. We just put in our reapplication in, so everybody pray that we get our application approved. We've been able to offer a wide
002variety of after-school clubs at HLS that have been engaging, fun, and creative for our students and our teachers to be able to do that after school. but tonight i'm going to share with you we're going to share with you one of the most popular clubs that started last year that is by miss mesa so i'm going to have miss mace to share with you and you can have the kids tell you what it's all about good evening members of the board last year this harry potter club was offered at hls and this year too it's my privilege today to introduce you to a few wizards from harry potter club Good evening. My name is Avery Rice. Harry Potter Club started with the sorting ceremony. We were all sorted by the sorting hat and we made
003bookmarks to use for reading. Then we had wand making class and potions class. Both our wands and our potions required reading and following step five directions, but also online for individual creativity. In potions class, we also experimented with states of matter, chemical reactions, and trial and error. Good evening. My name is Haroon Martin. We continued on to Herbology class. During Herbology class, we focused on plant science, how to take care of our mandrake and parts of a plant. We also discussed what our plant needs to survive our desert climate. In defense against the dark arts, We described and used details to create a painting with gold and the dark paints. We ended our club with Harry Potter trivia in the Great Hall. We had to study and recall information from the Harry Potter book and
004movie. Our celebration was fun, competitive, and full of magic. 21st century clubs have given students an opportunity to engage their passions and learning interests, skills, and hobbies. At this time, we would like to show you all the Stephen. This is the Wheel of Names. We will spin however it lands will be your house. Each house is known for different things. Gryffindor is known for bravery, being daring and chivalrous, and having courage. Slytherin is known for being cunning, ambitious, determined, and showing leadership. Pebblepuff is known for being loyal, kind, honest, and being a good friend. Ravenclaw is known for intelligence, wisdom, creativity, and originality. Let's see where you land. So we're going to go ahead and have everybody spin today. Okay, we'll start. We'll just go ahead and tap the... Go ahead and tap the... Anyone?
005It's going to be red. No, it's not. It's going to be blue. oh god i'm just a big old oh my god Thank you all for your time. Have a magical evening. Thank you. Thank you for coming. We get a quick picture of the group here. oh my gosh can we get one with yep luna luna luna hurry Next presentation by Selena del Sol. Good evening, Madam President, members of the board, and to all of our community members here today. I will tell you that my BFF, Trish, and I have a lot of great things in common. And another one is our students from Salida. are going to also share some fabulous things that they are doing in our 21st Century Club. We happen to be in the first year of our second round of
00621st Century. And what we love about 21st Century is the sense of community that it builds across our school. Because a lot of times they're in their grade level silos, and this allows them to create a community and friendship and family outside of their grade level. So right now, tonight, we are so proud to have our media club here tonight. They have really transformed the way announcements and media is presented at Salida del Sol. This group ranges in age from second to sixth grade. And I'm going to turn it over to Ms. Blancarte, who has been the mastermind behind all of the creativity that she has probed our students. Good afternoon, boys. My name is Francie Van Parken. As I said, I love everything about media literacy. So last year, I introduced my students to
007Canva and they loved it. And so a way to, you know, empower them, I decided to come up with this club and they're going to talk to you guys a little bit about what we do and show you guys what we do. We are a group of 19 students. We have three littles from the lower grades who have never used camera before joining our club. Most of our students are also part of student council and math, physics, and talk show. Hi, my name is Mesa Mejia. We only meet twice a week after school, but we make it work. Ms. Lincarte has the birthdays printed out, the lunches, and the to-do lists for the day. Hello, my name is Emmanuel Mendoza, and we record in the old Gap Lab classroom. We have a green screen, a
008tripod, and Ms. Lincarte has some wireless microphones that we use to connect our iPads. I'm Catherine Castillo. Sometimes we also act in jokes and any events that are happening. Oh wait, sorry, it's okay. We have sections of the announcement assigned. So we have a group of students who work on birthdays, announcing the dates, sport fun facts, and fun facts in general. Sometimes we also add jokes and any events that are happening to the students regularly during coaching meetings and student council dances for fundraisers. Up next, we have three of our teammates explaining some of the equipment we use. What are you guys working on? Well, right now we're working on contacts and one of the contacts that we're working on is this. We use the vocal boost to like count out the noise, you know,
009when we record. When we record, we record it and then we send it to other people. We also airdrop our videos so that our teammates can set them in the appropriate page. We use Canva because it makes editing and creating faster. We work on it. At the same time, we have worked hard to help our younger teammates understand how to use Canva too. They practice typing and searching to add stickers to our videos. We use templates from Canva and add in our information and edit it to fit what we need. Here's our birthday team explaining their process on a sample video of what they do. My name is Diego Lopez and I'm in charge of the birthdays. I duplicate the slides and I get the video sent to me and I remove the background and
010I add them to the correct slide. And I'm in charge of the birthday. We're from Ms. Roof's class. Happy birthday. Happy birthday to Nathan Campos from Ms. Prowl's class. Happy birthday. I forgot to pick up your birthday crown. Amber. Have a fabulous birthday, Wild Runners. Amber, on Monday, you have to dress up as your favorite character. I'm going to dress up as Eat the Cat. Here is Junior in my section of the announcements. I like sports and I love learning about sports. Hi, my name is Alex and I love sports. I share fun sports, fun facts with our roadrunners. Hi, my name is Junior and I normally help him adding like searching up like the fun facts, adding photos and stickers. And this is how we search stickers. Let's say like right here, he's making
011a fun fact about the NFL. We can search NFL and then we just. Right. Then we just go to graphics and then we've got a bunch of like stickers about the NFL. Then we just add them and then we get to choose them like which size we want them or we want to turn them around. There are some behind the scenes videos. I am a kid at home. I'm talented, smart, and capable at this. I have dreams for the future and I'll try to reach those goals and dreams every day. All capable at this, no exceptions. Here is our video that we created at Ms. Blancarte's health center for our store night at Salina. Your name and the name yourself. I'm Mrs. Anaya and I teach art and then I also teach games and learning
012and stuff like that after. How did your club meet? I meet every morning at 7.40 and then in the afternoons, Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays at 3.30. What do you work on during your meeting time? Do you have a special project? We explore different art. We've done Surrealism and Cubism. And then in the afternoon, we work on different learning things. What is your favorite part about cooking? My favorite part about cooking is that I get to spend time with my friends and it's fun to make. What do you work on during your meeting times? Any special projects? During our meetings, we work on gathering minutes. We have our officers who are also helping vote. We're voting for different things for our school. We're advocating for our school and our community. We do community outreach. There's a lot
013of things. What is your favorite part about junior coaching? My favorite part about junior coaching is probably playing tag with the board. Also, I really like to take care of the kids. We can be like in the yard all day and that's my favorite part. My name is... Francis McCart and I run the media club for 21st Century. What time did your club meet? We meet twice a week from 3.35 to 4.30. What is your favorite part about media? That I get to spend time with my friends and record videos. Fun to be having pizza and burgers. Have a good lunch, Roadrunners! Please remember that all of us stay in the cafeteria and drink pizza. What we do we do a lot we announce the lunches we announce the calendar we announce any student council?
014Friendship ramps any dances we basically like you know tell you everything that's happening at the bottom that you could achieve this warrior That they're improving on the reading and their math and they're doing it in school They do like something about today's presentation in the cafeteria. I like the band. It's good. They're pretty pretty good. I never seen that before Thank you. What are you most proud of that your kid achieved this full year? Having good grades and being really focused. Do you like anything about today's presentation at Salida and Sotins? Everything. Everything was nice. What is your favorite part about this year? Oh, there's a lot of things, but I really love the opportunities that gives our students to be creative outside of the classroom, build other friendships that they didn't have. I love
015watching all of the products of their work. And tonight's a great example of this. And I want to learn from all of you because this media club, you guys have just downed that. Thank you all for coming. we don't do more uh me and three other people would like to invite you to um to our halfway happen in spain oh yeah he's already living in spirit thank you Thank you so much. Thank you. What you all are doing is so impressive. And I was wondering if your students do any technology tutoring on the side. Speaking for myself, possibly one other. Last year, I had the opportunity to teach my sixth graders a part of the club. They are truly the ones that are mentoring my littles and my parents with readers so that the work
016you know keeps on Getting better we would love to help you guys. That's great. We may be in touch. Thank you for coming Get your picture real quickly thank you can i say something sure hey um i'd like to thank you guys for sure for the invitation for the hat parade if any of the board members have never made it that hat parade it is worth the price of admission which is nothing but it's great it's a great great program Thank you. Finally, we have one final agenda item here. This is a recognition of Yuma County Science and Engineering Expo winners. The governing board would like to recognize all of the Korean School District 2026 Yuma County Science and Engineering Expo first, second, and third place winners. And I'd like to ask the board members
017to join me in the front and we'll hand out certificates. And as I call the names of the students, if you'll come up, get your certificate, but also stay up here because at the end, we would like a group picture. So the 2026 Yuma County Science and Engineering Expo winners, starting off from Crane Middle School, Manny Harris, second place in botany. Sophia Tolman, third place in social sciences. From Crane Middle, Carmen Tudor, third place in social sciences as well. They must be busy with sports, right, Mr. Tyree? They're doing something else. Grace Saverd, second place in zoology. And last from Crane Middle is Raecelle Romero, second place in zoology. Moving on to Gowan Science Academy, starting off with Holden Randolph, first place in chemistry and biochemistry. I love the jacket. Congratulations, Holden. Next is Cecilia
018Lopez, second place in chemistry and biochemistry. Next is Taylor Tu, second place in chemistry and biochemistry. Then Anna Bermudez, first place in zoology. Luciano Temponi, first place in botany. Next is Ishan Nathan, first place in engineering and technology. Roma Chandra, third place in physics. Next is Malia Jordan, second place in social sciences. Next is Jay Chandra, first place in health medicine technology and Jay was the overall middle school winner. Congratulations, Jay. And parents, please feel free to get pictures and we'll get pictures as well. As the board is coming up here, parents and students, you are more than welcome to stay for the rest of our board meeting. But if you would rather exit now, you are more than free to do that. We'll give you a minute to do that or you're free to
019stay, whatever is your preference. Thank you. pretty awesome Yeah. Okay, now Rebecca. Okay, thank you all. We are now going to move on to our superintendent's current event summary. The superintendent needs to provide members of the governing board and residents of the Crane schools with a monthly statement of current happenings and pending events, including information about student academic achievement. Again, we want to recognize the Crane Teacher of the Year nominees and give them a big congratulations. The culmination of the Teacher of the Year program is the annual Teacher of the Year banquet, which is held on Thursday, April 30th, to honor these true stars, which are our teachers. Explorer Nights. Each of our elementary schools held an Explorer Night to highlight the amazing opportunities offered at our schools. The middle schools have their events this
020week. For example, Ronald Reagan held an exploratory 21st Century Patriot Wellness Fair. The following organizations participated on Vita Health, Avenue B Dentistry, Arizona Complete Health, Sunset Health, Great Beginnings Preschool, Special Olympics, Girl Scouts, the Crane Nutrition Department, and Reagan's 21st Century Program. These events were fun-filled and engaging and we're excited about the middle school events this week. Spring Break. Spring this year falls, or Spring Break this year, falls on March 23rd through April 3rd. Staff and students are looking forward to this much-needed break, followed by testing as they come back. Madam President and members of the board, this is my report for this one. Thank you very much. Next, we'll move on to our, I'm sorry, 5.2, sorry. Superintendents update on legislative or other governmental actions. Sometimes issues that can impact crime schools are considered
021by various legislative and or administrative bodies in the state or the federal government. Members of the governing board need to be aware of those issues and provide appropriate direction to initiate or respond to them. This agenda item permits the superintendent to provide an update on legislative or other governmental actions and the governing board the opportunity to discuss, take positions, or propose legislation. and rules and or direct the administration to research such issues. President, members of the board, thank you. A little bit of highlight of what's happening by providing some session statistics for legislative session. We have 1,966 bills that have been introduced. You may have heard that House bills eclipsed 4,000. from a naming convention, the first time that's ever happened within our state. Of those, we also have 154 memorial and resolutions for a
022total of 2,120 different initiatives that have been prepared or presented by the legislature. Currently, 15 of those are transmitted to the governor, and 12 of them have been vetoed. More locally, I'd like to share a little bit of an update on some of the things that we're working on. So as you know, we've been partnering with Senator Dunn. on Senate Bill 1763, which really works around school district funds and reporting requirements when the release of the annual financial report would be provided to school districts, which is August 15th, within the bill. In addition to that, he's been helpful in working to consolidate further funds that we have to make that a little bit more user-friendly. Appreciate his leadership there. It did pass the Senate and has been transmitted over to the House. I've been monitoring.
023To be fair, I didn't look at today's or the agenda for this week for the House Education Committee, whether or not it was going to be presented before that particular committee. But do see that move forward, as many speculate. There's also HCR 2007, which has been proposed. I'm not sure that it, as I understand, has the legs to move forward. You might remember this is the bill that would require that 60 percent of all spending. on operational spending take place actually in the classroom. We wrote to Representative Pena about our position on that particular piece of legislation and how that could be detrimental to rural schools and others. While we appreciate the advocacy of putting more dollars into the classroom, we really believe that the definition that's used today of instruction, which includes instruction, instruction
024support, and student support, should really be representative of that full amount because then There are some special ed programs and some other programs where there may be occupational therapists, physical therapists, maybe speech pathologists that are in the classroom to assist the student in their learning, but technically are not coded to instruction. And so, you know, those dollars can't be included in the classroom calculation. So we would advocate for that 60% threshold to include all three of those because that's really the true picture of those that have direct contact with the students. As I understand that there's been a lot of members who have expressed concerns about the explicit definition of instruction and the likelihood of that continuing may not be there, but we have shared our perspective with Representative Pena, who is part of that
025team as well. A small little piece about the budget. As I understand, there are some small discussions that are taking place at the legislature about the budget. There's also the issue about tax conformity that has not yet been resolved. And that's something that the governor, I believe, is wanting to address first. As tax filings are April 15th, that's around the corner. What tax conformity bills have been put into place to see whether or not we will align with the changes at the federal level or if we'll make any other changes. Senator Mesnar had indicated, I was watching online. that that is his big push is really to address tax conformity so the citizens of Arizona actually know about the taxation of their income taxes. But there's not a whole lot of progress, but the budget
026is beginning to start a little bit now. Whether that shows it will be out by the end of April or early May, as many speculate, I don't know. the biggest hurdle that we have is making sure that the DAA restoration that we had phased in along with the FERPA or the free and reduced price lunch weight, that both of those continue in 27, I'm sorry into 28 and then forward as well. So those are things that we're working on. I'm sorry in 27, I'm already thinking of budget year. So yes, we want that to be included in the 27th budget as part of the upcoming legislative session. The original bill added that it would come back into effect in 28. So we've been having these one-time bridges up to that point. But in FY28, both
027the DAA and FERPA will be up to those thresholds. So we're really just trying to get that one-year gap. With that, I'll stop for any questions by the board members. We'll get a flannel board so you can. Yes. Flannel board. I like that. Yes. Thank you. Thank you very much. Okay. Next, we'll move on to agenda item 6.1, oral reports on conferences, workshops, and school visitations. Periodically, members of the governing board attend various conferences, seminars, workshops, district schools, and so forth, and have information to share with other members. Does anyone have anything they'd like to share this evening? February was a very long month, but I did get out to see some great teaching at several schools, so that was exciting. But that's about it. I was able to visit with every school, almost every
028school, and enjoyed visiting the schools and seeing things that are going on. And I look forward to Sheila's hat parade, I can tell you that. Yeah, very often. But I did go to the color run. that happened at Gowin and ran their 5k. And I think my favorite thing is just they do a dunk your teacher, which kudos to all the teachers who were willing to volunteer for that for the sake of fundraising. But I think my favorite is just to see the kids' interactions with their teachers and how strong those relationships are. And it's, yeah, it's awesome to see. Thanks, guys, for that. Next, we'll move on to agenda item 7.1. This is the call to the public. Consideration and discussion of comments and concerns from the public. Those wishing to address the governing
029board on items not on the agenda may do so at this time. Speakers are requested to make their comments to three minutes. Individuals addressing the governing board may not yield any portion of their allotted time to any other individual wishing to address the governing board. In accordance with the open meeting law, board members may respond to criticism made by those who have addressed the board, may ask staff to review a matter, or may ask that the matter be put on a future agenda. However, board members shall not discuss or take legal action on matters raised during an open call to the public unless the matters are properly noticed for discussion and legal action. Do you have anything for a call to the public? Just the one I did. Okay, great. Thank you. I don't see
030anything else. Okay. Next, we'll move on to Agenda Item 17. This is the acknowledgement of public request to speak. Anyone wishing to address the board on items on tonight's agenda may do so at this time or at the chair's discretion at the time the item appears on the agenda. Comments should be restricted to three minutes, not including board questions and comments and responses by the speaker. Individuals addressing the governing board may not yield any portion of their allotted time to any other individual wishing to address the governing board. In accordance with the open meeting law, board members may respond to criticism made by those who have addressed the board, may ask staff to review a matter, or may ask that the matter be put on a future agenda. However, board members shall not discuss or
031take legal action on matters raised during an open call to the public unless the matters are properly noticed for discussion and legal action. I do have a card here under this agenda item. This is from Stacy Tu. This is regarding Apple iPads and second grade classrooms. This is to, I have the option of allowing you to speak now, or you can wait until we get to the agenda item, which will be shortly. And because it's on our consent agenda, I will pull that agenda item. So you can speak now or you can speak that up to you. I can speak now. Okay. Good evening members of the board. My name is Stacy Tu. I'm a proud Gatlin Science Academy second grade teacher. I've been a crane teacher since 2011 except for one year I took
032off to have my youngest daughter. I taught both before and after iPads were introduced. At Knox, I was fortunate enough to receive five iPads through DonorsChoose and was thrilled to integrate them into my classroom shortly after the district became an Apple district with one-to-one devices. Now we are being asked to go back in time, potentially down to five iPads for 32 students, my current classroom size. I have students performing at fifth grade level and I have other students performing at first grade level. and others right at grade level. I must follow our curriculum with fidelity and my main opportunities for differentiation are Lexia and ST Math. Students rely on this using devices. Even sharing iPads within our grade level, a one to five distribution wouldn't cover a whole classroom. And our district assessment platform, NWEA,
033is also online. Removing iPads will make it nearly impossible to meet the needs of all learners. How are we supposed to prepare second graders for third grade state testing without one-to-one iPad experience? We currently use Seesaw to limit our copy count by uploading worksheets to HMH, Science, and Social Studies. Our 2,000 copy limit, or monthly copy limit, would be quickly exceeded if we switched over to paper. HMH reading alone would require about 576 copies per week with math, science, and social studies adding around another 288 copies. That's over 800 copies weekly used up in about two weeks without counting interventions, centers, and classroom or classroom packets. With only five devices, copy needs would skyrocket, creating unnecessary barriers to learning. I urge the board to consider this proposal. Taking away one-to-one devices is not progress, it's
034going backwards. I agree students should not be on iPads all day, but we don't need brand new devices. Maybe keeping our existing iPads allows us to provide meaningful, differentiated instruction and give all students a chance to succeed. Thank you for your time and consideration. Thank you. Mrs. Tu, I would invite you or encourage you to stay for the discussion on this agenda item. That might answer some of your questions. Okay, thank you. Okay, next we're going to move on to our consent agenda. The consent agenda. I'm sorry. Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know you had a card. If you could give the card to Minnie, Jim. Great, thank you. Sorry about that. She'll give it to me and then I'll return it. Thank you. Mr. Jim Allen, who'd like to speak regarding Apple iPads. Hi,
035Jim Allen. My wife is a teacher in this school district, has been for over 30 years. One of my concerns is you guys do spend over $3 million on iPads. Your website boasts you have roughly 6,000 students. You're only buying 4,300. That means 28% of students aren't going to get an iPad. And I heard the other lady speak. She expressed her concerns. On your website, your hallmark of a crane school district is one-to-one student-issued iPads. I think they've done really well for the students. The teachers seem to like them. Yeah, kids shouldn't be on all day, but... I would hope that you guys would take a look at that and decide again maybe use the old ones or come up with a format for donations to help but it's hard to I think to get
036one five kids to use one of that so when they're used to one to one so please take a look at that and see if you're spending that kind of money you need to think about it thank you Thank you. Sorry, I didn't notice you were out there. Is there anyone else who wanted to speak? Okay. We're going to move ahead then with our consent agenda. The consent agenda conserves time by limiting the items to those of a routine nature, which normally do not require deliberations on the part of the governing board. The items will be accepted and approved in one action unless a board member wishes to have an item separated from the consent agenda and specifically discussed. The vote or action on any item removed from the consent agenda will be taken separately.
037Is there anyone who would like to pull an item from the consent agenda? I'd like to pull eight points. 11 on the consent agenda okay great um are there any others i have none okay okay all right uh there being none then um i will call for a motion to approve the consent agenda with the exception of agenda item 811. so moved by jim second by kelly all in favor aye opposed Motion carries. Now we will move to agenda item 811. Audrey, would you like to start? Sure. 811 directly aligns with what our two community speakers just spoke about. So it's the multi-year lease agreement for Apple devices. So I figured it'd be appropriate to have that discussion. Can you guys give us a little bit of background of the decisions around kind of switching
038from that 1 to 5 device in K2? Yes. Thank you, Mrs. Garcia. It really comes down to a financial decision. So we're currently with a DAA override that was approved back in 2018 and commenced in 2019 and expires June 30, 2026. That provided $1.5 million a year for seven years to address program parameters within technology, transportation, and school safety. In November of 25, we saw a renewal of that DAA override and it failed. 47% were in favor, 53% were not in favor of continuing that override. So they required us to then take a look at, within the resources that we have available, how do we reprioritize? So we met as a management team and said, here's what we have available. So based on what we're projecting to receive in our capital funding, less our existing
039commitments, less the curriculum needs, less copier leases. contingencies, all of those things left a sum of 1.4 million dollars. So as a management team we brought everyone together and said here are the things that have been requested, here are the things that we believe that are of need and we spent a lot of time in dialogue to determine how to best utilize that 1.4 million dollars. We reached consensus with everyone on the team that it was necessary for us to continue with the iPad program, albeit at a reduced cost. To implement one to one across the district was going to come at a price tag of $1.5 million. We only had $1.4 million available, so we had to restructure what that looked like. So we began having dialogue as a team to determine how to
040best restructure the... the device quantities to be able to meet the threshold of the 1.4 million dollars ultimately we ended up One device for every five students across grades kindergarten through second, and then one device for every single student in grades three through eight, because those are the tested areas. There was some discussion by principals about those in second grade that also have MAP testing. How do we address those? And so there was some dialogue about that. It felt like that wasn't anything that we couldn't overcome as a team to make sure that those second graders had the testing requirements for that. I think part of that is also what we're hearing from the community. Community members are reaching out to the district and wanting to know how much screen time do our students have?
041How, you know, in those lower grade levels, are we teaching penmanship? Are we teaching that dexterity required to hold a pencil and hold a book and those types of things too? So that was a factor in the consideration, but it was heavily geared around the financial aspect of where we were at. We could certainly continue using the devices we have today. There's nothing that prohibits us from being able to do that. However, there are some considerations that we should have as a school district. Number one is those devices are on year three. And just in 2019, we did an iPad refresh or one to one. And that was a four year agreement. And I don't know if the principals could probably share this. I felt like we were limping along by the time we got
042to the testing. I felt like the devices were starting to fail. We were seeing more upticks in service requests in order to maintain those devices so that we could get to the testing in the spring. Now that's 2019. Technology's likely improved, and the longevity of those devices could be improved as well. So we could certainly continue with the devices we have today. When we do refresh, we also sell those devices and then use those proceeds to help offset that lease payment that we're making. So it ends up being a total cycle, total cost of ownership cycle with that. So we purchase the iPads. The iPads generally hold a higher resale value. We're able to sell those, recover those dollars from the sale of property, and then reinvest that into the lease program. So that's something.
043If we do maintain those, there is a $27 per unit charge for the mobile device management software that's tied to each of those things. That's not something that's in our budget currently. We've currently budgeted for this same model, but there's a cost for us to be able to maintain the same devices that we're using today. Obviously, we can do those things if that's something that works out. What I would say is even if we implemented the current devices we have now to help supplement and maintain one-to-one, there will be a time in which those devices will also begin to fade, and we will have to implement a one-to-five model or some type of model to fall within the financial parameters that we have to operate within. A typical... I'm sorry, I got ahead of myself.
044So the iPad resale. So we've never sold one back after year two. At the earliest, it's been year three. Typically, the resale value of those are 45 to 60% of the original purchase price. If you wait until years three and four and later, obviously the amount that you get diminishes over time too. The financing terms that have been provided by Apple are very attractive. It's 0%. And so if we had the money to make the purchase 100% up front, we have that flexibility. But Apple is also saying we'll split that over three payments without any financing charge or interest to the district. So essentially, we're able to use that same dollar and stretch that over time without an additional cost to the district. So I think that's... That's an important consideration too. So I recognize
045what Mrs. Tu and Mr. Allen have said. This is not something that we thought that we would be in. This isn't a position that we thought we were going to be in, but really comes down to the financial constraints because we are in a declining enrollment environment. And so we have to reduce our expenditures accordingly. At the same time, the community did not support the renewal of our override. and we have to address that by the best way that we can. So working collaboratively with the principals, we believe that this is the best option that we have based on the information that's before us and the parameters that we have to operate within. With that, I can take any other questions. So these are all Apple, right? Correct. And they're Apple distinguished schools. But what
046would... Other manufacturers offer a deal similar or is it software? How Matt like for it's not not iPad, but what's that Dell or any of those other guys Chromebook. Mr. Moore, yes, we could make that change. I'm sorry, Mike. I'm looking. Yeah, right. I see two bulbs in your eyes. Thank you. Mr. Moore, we could definitely look at that as being an option. We have made a significant investment in Apple, partly through the Apple Connected program that was gifted to us back in 2014 to develop the infrastructure that we have in place today. I don't know what that investment is, but I suspect that there would be an investment the district would have to make to transition to a Chromebook platform, a Dell platform, something that's Microsoft-based, or just a different type of device altogether.
047I suspect that there would be an investment. I don't have that in front of me to present. That's fine. Mr. Ponder, is the $27 per unit, is that a month or a year? That $27 to maintain per year? eddie can you confirm the champ is 27 per year annual yes thank you per machine right yes the It's not just the iPads that are failing, though, right? What about your charging units and your bus? What are those called? Correct. The charging carts. So, yes, part of this plan is also to replace the charging carts. Many of them are at end of life. The power module is beginning to fail. We have replaced the charging cables within those carts a couple of times, I'm going to say, since they were gifted to us by Apple in 2014.
048But the power modules and the internal components are starting to fail across many of our classrooms. And so, yes, this plan also includes replacing those. I think it's wise for us to begin to limit the exposure that K2 have on iPads. I've seen dexterity issues rampant with our younger students, penmanship. is lacking. And there is something to be said about writing paper to pencil. There's a lot of research behind that. I don't want it to come at a cost where our teachers are struggling. I don't want them to feel like they don't have enough paper to copy if they need more paper. Or if we are mandating ST Math or we're mandating Lexia hours or minutes, I want to make sure that they're able to do that. I know we speak a lot about fidelity
049to our curriculums. I want to make sure that they're still supported with that. I do understand that we're in a budget restraint. I know that we have to get creative and think of some things about that as well. But do we have a plan to support our K-2 students? Specifically, it sounds like second grade, because I believe Mr. Allen's wife teaches in second grade. Who's first? Oh, is it first? OK. Do we have a plan moving forward with how we will support teachers in that capacity? I have been in communication with Mrs. Haynes, the director of curriculum, about different programs, about how we can best support. I believe that we can work on something, and maybe this is the phase year, right? So maybe this coming year is the year in which we begin implementing
050a phased approach to phase out to one-to-one. So it's not such a quick break. I could concede to that in saying, you know, that we already have these other resources available to us. We maintain that. to have a one-to-one or to provide the supports that the teachers need in order to make sure that the curriculum is being met with fidelity. Those are important things for us as well. We want to make sure that those high-quality instructional materials are being implemented within the classroom and can understand that if those resources aren't there, how more challenging that is in providing that curriculum. So it's possible I can brainstorm with Jamie, we can work with principals, coaches, teachers, and and maybe use this coming year as a phased approach and saying we we will need to move away
051we do not have the resources to continue uh but make it to where it's more phased instead of what seems to be a sudden break i guess i have a question so maybe this is a question for dr hoffman but i believe uh miss two said something like five years we've had we've had the ipads for five years right it's 2014. oh since 14. okay so What are our growth in proficiency in using that technology and then with minimal technology? Was there a growth? Was there growth in our scores? That's hard to compare because in 2014, we had a completely different state test. So there's a gap going backwards that way. I guess we haven't, but have we? Well, have we improved in the last five years? So one of the things that have changed
052on the state test, it is very dynamic. So I do understand. How do you get to? teach young children how to answer certain questions that are very high level because it is no longer just multiple choice. It is making a choice and then choosing certain words that go with the story. So those are impossible really to do large scale without device, which is why the state mandates the state test is online. So, the answer is that we have grown by increasing the rigor of our curriculum statewide, or standards, excuse me, standards statewide. And with that, we've had to change our curricula to meet those rigors and choose the technology. So, I would answer your question without the data because, yes, we have increased growth and knowledge in our students. to be more critical thinkers, to
053go beyond just the joke for me and the principals who grew up in the multiple choice era is I choose C, right? Because kids who don't, they guess, they just choose C and they, and because it used to be C was the most popular choice and you could actually pass a test if you choose C every time. So that low level test, like the Ames test that was bubble test, those are gone. So I guess to answer your question in short, it's like, yes, we have grown and maybe not the numbers, but we have grown over the years in numbers. And we have made great inroads in serving our most needy students who need extra support, who traditionally don't do very well on state tests. But we have shown that we can help those students
054with the technology. So it is very sad to me that we have to do this without getting too long winded. you know i was a principal at valley horizon with connect ed we were the second school in the whole nation to roll out with connect ed right behind nanowallock alaska one to one so it's very dear to me that we have one to one but talking with the group and dale and trying to rack in the resources it's near impossible so we have to make some consent concessions because the community did not support our initiative unfortunately So we're basically $100,000 short, right? You said a whole one-to-one revamp is $1,500, right? And we only have $1,400. Correct. So we're $100,000 short. $100,000 a year, yes. $300,000. Is it okay if I ask you a question?
055No, go ahead. I don't want to interrupt. No, no, go ahead. um dale and i had some conversation this afternoon about this and i um He suggested that there may be some alternatives, some different ways of making this work. And I asked him if he needed to make this decision tonight. And he explained to me that there are time constraints that we need to meet. So you might want to explain why we need to make this decision tonight. What would the plan be if we were going to consider changes? Thank you, Mrs. Paul. The interest rate that we have, the 0% is good till Friday. And then Apple has to go back to their finance team and evaluate that. It took some time to even get to that point. Initially, when we had the refresh
056cycles, there was 0%. Last refresh we did in 2013, it was marginal 0.1785. But they said the likelihood of us being able to offer you 0% is likely gone. they were able to do that because of our standing with them but that is only good until friday so that's one second if we're not able to move forward with this we will likely not get the devices to do the refresh over the summer so we collect all those devices they they come already ready image to the district's needs but they have the keyboard so the device is similar to I want to say exact, but I can't be certain, but very similar to the devices that you have. The same keyboard configuration, everything is coming ready for the students' use. In order for us to be
057able to meet that timeline, we do have to have the order now so that they're able to arrive in time for the summer for Eddie and his team to roll them out to the sites and determine how many goes to each school. So there's a little bit of that project management that goes along with that. So we're like just let's just say for kicks and giggles. I say well, we're gonna deny it. Where would you get $100,000 a year? We would have to take that from M&O in order to do that which changes the salary model that we're speaking of. We would have to take that from somewhere in order to meet that need. I thought so. Thanks. So to be clear, in order to finance the whole proposal one-to-one, we would have to So
058with this new refresh, we have to return all of them. We do not. The devices we have today belong to us. So at the end of this term, so we made the last payment in July, they belong to us. We can sell them. We can throw them. Well, we can't sell them away. There's a disposal process. There's a disposal process. I saw Mercedes in Hawaii. So they are property of the district. So they don't belong to Apple. We don't have to give them back, which is why typically we resell them. So Mercedes goes through. has a procurement process where she evaluates what's the best value to the resale of those devices. And that's typically our pattern. And then use those proceeds to offset the lease payment for the subsequent year. So let's just say we're
059looking K-2 district-wide, and let's say we keep those old devices. What... And I know you can't quote exactly because we don't know, you know, the state that they're in and how many we have. But what would be how much would we lose by not trading those in? Could we offset that or would that hurt as bad as choosing between one to one and choose between our salary and benefits? Because that hurts. I don't know that I'm prepared to answer that. I can't even probably can't even get the state the ballpark's located in, let alone the ballpark itself. I'm welcome. I'd be happy to do that math and share that with you all. I know that doesn't help you in the decision today. I just I would hate to misspeak. I do not know. So in
060terms of if we are to maintain some of those devices and pay the 27 a year, is that? Can we handle that without really doing some damage elsewhere in M&O or is that? Are we going to have to make another hard decision somewhere else just to even do the maintain? So with that, we would be dipping into the contingency that you have asked us to maintain. And in light of declining enrollment and current year funding, there's a risk in being able to do that. I'm not saying we can't do that. I'm just, I need to share with you all that the risks of us using those contingency funds to address those needs and at the same time and it's a state of declining enrollment where um if the enrollment drops faster than we project and
061if we don't make those reductions and expenditures to accommodate that uh we're gonna be in trouble we're gonna be in trouble yes would it make an entrance if we weren't trying to do one to one in k through two and it sounds like i'm hearing second grade maybe because of the testing one to one would be worth trying to maintain it sounds like k and one Maybe I haven't heard any negative feedback from Kay at all. I don't know if you guys have. So, I mean, it sounds like potentially Kay we can do without the one to five or, and that works. And maybe in first grade, you know, it was a three to one or four to one. If we did something like that, how. Would that be doable without a big hit or
062would we still need to probably get somewhere? It's hard to know exactly. I think it's manageable. I mean, the major expense is the device, which we already have the device. The longevity of that device is unknown. Obviously, the device management fee of $27 per unit, that's a consideration as well. But the major expense we already have, the longevity of that device is unknown. And eventually, it will reach a time where... It will no longer be warrantied if it's lost or damaged or stolen. We won't have the funds to replace it. So just all considerations. I don't know if that answers your question, but I think I could get with the team, too. But I believe that there may be a pathway where we could have some sort of phased approach for the coming year. to
063begin moving to where we we need to make these reductions because of the financial circumstances of the district uh let's say you know 40th day in october that's a great metric for us to determine what does our our counts look like obviously we're looking at them closely on day one and through but really start getting a good look at the true average daily membership at uh the 40th day which is october for us and maybe maybe that's on the upward trend and um you know DAA is prior year funded, not current year funded. So it's based on this year's numbers. We won't see that increase until the following year. So there's a little bit of a delay in how that works. But I think that they're, again, working with the team. There may be a
064pathway where we can have a phased approach so it's not such a sudden break that everyone is accustomed to saying, here's how we have to deliver instruction. Here's how we have to conduct assessments. Here's how we... whatever that looks like, whether that's a hybrid of some paper and some devices to move in that direction. I think those things can't be manageable. Again, we're just that the longevity of those, the resale of those, just considerations for the board, not saying that you can't do. So if it increases in paper, let's just say paper costs go up, I doubt the paper costs will go up by $100,000. Mercedes, how volatile is paper? I know you do a bid every six months. Are you seeing it's pretty stable right now? I did a bid in July for a
065little bit. I started in July and the other one was for January. And once the price is set, it's been pretty much set. But things might be changing as well. Sure. Petroleum is a key factor in that too. I guess what I'm getting at is like... How much? Would we anticipate a 20% increase in paper, a 25%, a 30%? I don't know. I mean, at some point, if it's going to be $100,000 in paper, we're in the same boat. I understand. So I guess I'll say this, is that as much as I want a one-to-one all the way through, I don't think that this should be funded at the teacher's financial detriment, right? Because that's where it's going to go. Like if we want these iPads, then we're going to have to go into M&O
066somehow. And I just don't feel that that's right. And so that being said, I think we need to accept the management's proposal. and trying to do the best that we can i don't i'm just a numbers guy and i just don't see the numbers adding up unfortunately mr moore if i could i think that the recommendation is all that we're able to do unless we are going to take money elsewhere in order to make that happen i agree i understand that i i think uh from my perspective uh yes one to five and then we supplement with existing devices if that's the will of the board to try to determine how we can best um meet those needs moving forward obviously can work with mrs haynes dr hoffman mrs doering others uh to see what
067does that look like rolling out um they'll so sorry go ahead mr coldy like a question about um the curriculum With the math curriculum that we adopted last year, does that have a lot of, or does it affect paper and pen type of work or not? I mean, I don't know. I know that there is a from Mrs. Allen, there's a within Amplify called Boost, which can provide additional intervention or assistance to a student. I don't know much about that. I don't know if Mrs. Haynes or Dr. Hoffman want to speak more to the to the electronic requirements for the curriculum. Jamie, would you be able to speak to that? So we have a digital component to all of our grade levels, but in kinder through second grade, all digital components are also offered on
068Uber. So there wouldn't be a trade-off of we could do this, but we can't do that because we don't have our devices. Okay. It's kind of along something you said, and Dale, I think you mentioned this too. I'm a little old-fashioned. I'm used to paper and pen and pencil. I'm curious as to with the devices, you know, sometimes when you use paper and pencil and you come up with a solution to a problem, you see a lot more of it and it goes in your brain. I think I had somebody explain this to me about a student they were watching that got the wrong answer. Try it again. Got another answer. Finally got the right answer. And he said, how did you get that answer? He said, I just put in a different number until
069the answer came up. So I think there's a lot involved in writing something and thinking as you do that. And we don't, there's not very much of that's done anymore. That is like you said about penmanship and don't say anything about my penmanship, but penmanship and being able to write and express yourself. in a written word or in written numbers. I'm not sure that we want to debate whether or not we should have the iPad because we definitely want them. No, I'm very interested in the iPad. I don't disagree with that. But I don't think I'm not sure that I see that there's going to be a tremendous loss there other than it'd be nice to do this, to be able to do it, but we are kind of responsible. For the amount of money
070we spend on things. You know, the committee that you've referred to, the team. Are there teachers on there? Are there primary teachers? I mean, what's the composition of that? Yeah, so the initial team was the management team. And so that comprised the principals, directors, the executive administration, and others just sitting in a room and saying, here's the resources, here are the needs, what do we want to do? It sounds like through this conversation, we may need to have a more in-depth team involving Mrs. Haynes, Dr. Hoffman, Mrs. Doering, maybe some principals, maybe some teachers as well, and saying, what does this look like moving forward? uh i'm sure mrs haynes has already brainstormed some of those components and ideas she sent me a lot of literature that i've yet to really dive into but she
071has provided a lot of that too so i think there may be a need to revisit that okay we need a decision yeah i i on the implementation i'm sorry yes I agree with Marcos that I don't think we have a choice but to go ahead with this contract. Even just missing the interest deadline is going to put us further in the hole. So we can't really afford to do that. assuming we go ahead with that i would like to charge all of you to i mean we've been real creative in the past i think we can do it again and come up with some solutions and suggestions that are workable for our k2 teachers i mean it we're in this environment we got to work with it um our community did not see that
072we needed more money to make these things happen. So this is what we have to deal with. We had some bad luck that we were in the middle of a government shutdown. It was unfortunate. There were multiple factors that went into that. I do have another question. So if we go ahead and we vote on this this evening, which it sounds like we're under time constraints, does that mean we automatically have to ship back all the iPads? So we can maybe wait a beat. We can vote on this. We can approve this so that we can get that 0%, which to your point, like we need all the money we can get right now. But maybe we can kind of get creative and take a pause and think about what that can look like for
073next year. Okay. Mrs. Garcia, just so I understand, when you're saying shipping the devices, what does that mean? Well, like the resale. So I'm thinking our current, old, like do we have to send them all in in order to get all the brand new ones? We do not. So those transactions are independent of one another. We can pursue with this transaction if the board permits, and then we can hold on any disposal of the existing assets that we have. until such a time when we developed or determine what is the best pathway forward and then we can make those decisions after that okay i feel good about that thank you so i mean i'm i'm good to make a motion yeah yeah yeah so i would move that we approve this agreement as presented with
074the understanding that there will be internal conversations regarding solutions to meet the needs of our educators and students for future years is there a second to that motion second okay it's been moved in seconded any further discussion or comments no okay all in favor of approving this contract say aye aye opposed or none okay motion carries then thank you So take a deep breath and move forward, right? Thank you very much. Next, we're going to move on to Agenda Item 9-1. This is a consideration of the gifts from the public. Okay. Crane Schools Governing Board Procedure 3-106B, Federal Grants and Other Funds Acceptance of Gifts and Donations, requires that gifts made to the district by individuals or organizations be reviewed and officially accepted by the Crane Governing Board. We have a list of donations this
075month. Gowan Science Academy received almost $500 from DonorsChoose and Centennial Middle School. received a bike donated by twisted spoke for 450 for a total of almost um a thousand dollars 9.45 is there a motion to adopt the gift from the public i move we adopt the agenda item with a lot of gratitude Can I? A nice second. Motion and a second. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? She carries. And as Mr. Moore said, we are always grateful for those who choose to share what they have with us. So thank you very much. Next, we have agenda item 9.2. This is the consideration. Sorry. Sorry, we have new iPads. Okay, 9.2, consideration of appointment of a preschool curriculum committee. Pursuant to a governing board policy 1-302, governing board meetings and open meeting law requirements, the district's administration
076is seeking to appoint a curriculum committee for the review and recommendation of a preschool curriculum and governing board action is required. Governing board policy 1-302, governing board meetings and open meeting law requirements defines the requirements of... an advisory committee or subcommittee of the governing board and is subject to the conditions of arizona's open meeting law the preschool curriculum committee formed pursuant to governing force policy 5-207 curriculum adoption chaired and administered by the director of curriculum and instruction will be responsible for presenting to the governing board recommendations for action based on work of the committee and shall be automatically dissolved upon completion of this assignment All meetings will take place in the governing boardroom so that the meetings may be live streamed for interested members of the public and meeting minutes will be maintained. A final
077recommendation is expected to be brought before the governing board at the regularly scheduled meeting in June 2026. This committee shall be automatically terminated upon the governing board approval of a recommended preschool curriculum. This agenda item is to appoint the Preschool Curriculum Committee, chaired and administered by the Director of Curriculum and Instruction, as outlined. Does anyone want to speak to that? I move we accept item 9-2 as presented. Second. Okay, it's been moved and seconded. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? That motion carries as well. Next we have agenda item 10-1. This is the personnel report. Consideration of approval for assessment. This is not the personnel report. This is... Sorry, this is a personnel issue. Consideration of approval for assessment of liquidated damages for certified staff. Board approval is needed in order for authorized Korean personnel to
078assess a fee of $1,500 in liquidated damages per signed contract stipulation to certified staff that resigned without receiving prior board approval. item 24 the teacher contract states that by entering into this contract employee agrees that the district in addition to any other remedies available to it by law may deduct all or any portion of the amount of liquidated damages from any money due and owing to the employee whether from an amortized salary from earned but unpaid performance pay from a prior year or from any other sources but not to exceed the amount which may be deducted under the federal wage garnishment The suggested action is to approve for crane personnel to pursue liquidated damages from Jose Manuel Terrazas. Lupe, do you have any comment? No. He's leaving to take another position. All right. Do we
079have a motion? I move that we accept the termination with liquidated damages. Okay. Moved by Jim and seconded by Kelly. Any further discussion? All in favor? Opposed? That motion carries. Thank you very much. Next we have agenda item 10.2, consideration of adoption of qualified evaluators. Qualified evaluators are designated by the current governing board. The following new staff member has completed the course required and needs to be added as a qualified evaluator. Maria Arias Santos, preschool coordinator. The action is to adopt Mrs. Maria Arias Santos as a qualified evaluator as presented. Is there a motion? I move to accept item 10-2 as written. Second. Seconded by Audrey. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Agenda item 11.1, presentation of possible discussion on the fiscal year 2025 Arizona School District Spending Report. Mr. Dale Ponder, Chief of Finance and
080Operations, will present, discuss information, and provide an analysis regarding the recently released. annual school district spending report for the fiscal year ended june 30th 2025. this information is collected and produced by the arizona office of the auditor general in march of each year for the preceding fiscal year like in prior fiscal years the arizona school district spending report was compiled through a web-based dashboard and accessible on the auditor general's website or by visiting trainschools.org and clicking on the district spending report icon and let's see you have seven minutes start the timer many times thank you thank you mr person madam chair members of the board uh thank you for the opportunity to share this uh as mentioned yes the office of the auditor general releases this report um every year since it was founded in
0812000 part of proposition 301 a saddle for two of the ars 51279.03 which does require the office of the auditor general to monitor school districts to determine the percentage of every dollar spent in the classroom. As stated, this is for FY25, so fiscal year ended June 30, 2025, so this past June, a year from now, we'll talk about FY26, which is the year that we are in now. As Mrs. Paulin stated, just like in prior years, it is an interactive web-based dashboard. Previous to that, it was a static PDF. Over the last three or four years, they've transitioned to an interactive dashboard. It does look at three primary peer groups as identified by the Office of the Auditor General, operational efficiency, academic, and transportation, and then also reviews factors such as average teacher salary, which
082includes years of experience, and some trend data. Some statewide highlights. Arizona school district spent 52.1% of available operating dollars on instruction down from 52.6% in the prior year. This is the third straight year in which the instructional spending in Arizona has declined. It's the lowest percentage since started monitoring this report in 2001. Excuse me, airline school business 68% on instruction, student support and instruction support down 0.6% from FY24. This is the category that I spoke to with regards to HCR 2007, where if we have a 60% threshold, it should include these three metrics of instruction, instruction support and student support as those three functions all support the students directly. And you can see here the pie chart. And the information on the right, the legend, shows classroom spending as defined to include those three groups.
083And for our district, it's 64.1%. And then non-classroom spending, that's the sum of each of those non-classroom categories, such as administration, plant operations, food service, and transportation. So instruction spending increased by 0.2% for us, so relatively flat. from 48.8% to 49% and then in those three categories of instruction, instruction support and student support decreased by 0.2% to 64.1%. This is a breakdown of how the current year compares to the prior year and the highest fiscal year and the lowest fiscal year of the district. I put that graphically so you can see that a little bit better. Crane is the bottom line or the dark blue and the state is the light blue line with those same measurements that were listed on the previous slide. So you can see that both 2017 and 2024 that marked
084the district's lowest amount of classroom spending at 48.8, whereas the state is currently at its lowest for FY25 at 52.1 and also the same marks for the highest. So the district actually had a higher percentage in 2002. than the state. We were at 59.4% compared to 58.2%. So the percentage change in spending, this is a five-year trend, so not just this year or this reporting period to the last reporting period, but the trend over the last five years. So instructional spend has declined by 4.2% over that period of time, whereas student support has increased by 1.8% and instruction support relatively flat. And you can see the administration relatively flat, minor decrease there, increase in plant operations, food service, and a slight increase in transportation over that five-year trend. Primarily, the greatest factor in driving classroom
085spending is teacher salary. And so when you have less experienced teachers coming in to replace experienced teachers, that changes how the pie works. So that is one of the single greatest factors in driving classroom spending is the teacher salary. So we'll talk a little bit about the teacher salary. This is the district's average, $64,449. The amount at that time from the classroom site fund, nearly $10,000. And we are nearly $1,200 below the state average at that mark of $64,000. Our average years of experience, 8.1, down slightly from the prior year. So we're bringing in less experienced teachers over time, which then, again, if salaries and benefits that are associated with that. are one of the single greatest drivers of instructional spending, then as we have less experienced teachers coming in, as this trend shows, that
086impacts our classroom spending. That's also an area where we have more turnover is within teachers. We stay relatively stable with administrators, stay relatively stable with all of our support groups, but the teacher area is the area that turns over the most, which then also, I think... maybe what's the right term probably shows this in a more negative light than what it really is because if there's stability in all the other areas but the turnover is happening within teachers and the spending is going down because they demand a lower salary then all that impacts classroom spending As you can see that 34% of our teachers are in the first three years and what that salary is on the average and then fourth year and later 66% of our teachers fall within that category and are nearly
087$55,000. This is a chart that the Office of the Auditor General puts together, shows from 2017 to 25, really takes a look at the amount that is driven from the classroom site fund and then all the others, and then see how we compare the statewide average. Again, we're about $1,200 behind what the statewide average shows. Operational efficiency. This is an area that we pay special attention to as well. You can see that from administrative on per pupil spend, we're very low compared to our peers. And in a few slides, you'll be able to see who our peer districts are. Conversely, very high. I'm sorry, high, not very high. There is a metric for very high, but we're high in plant operations, comparable in food service, and very low in transportation. And then the spending patterns,
088those are one-year comparisons in the table on the left. It really shows 25 compared to 24. So plant operations, we are high in that category. These are statewide numbers. So the state spends $1.2 million. So this is all school districts combined within plant operations and how those are broken down within those various objects. So salaries and benefits, utilities, contracting services, insurance supplies, and others, which may be an indicator of why are our costs higher than perhaps our peers. This is our district information. So we spend nearly $7 million in plant operations and how it's broken down. So 52% of our plant operations are in salaries and benefits. We mirror the statement when it comes to utilities. We are less in contracted services, about the same in insurance, and a little bit more in supplies and
089others. I think a lot of that is driven by our staffing model. We in Yuma... may not have access to the type of contracted services that our peers in Phoenix do. And so we self-perform a lot of that work. And so that, because we do that, we compensate staff members. Our salary and benefits are higher than our peers, but the contracted services are far less because we self-perform a lot of that work, which then also drives supplies and other costs too, because we need the materials in order to do that. So just a comparison between us compared to the state. And I'll be showing a little bit more about how we compare to our peers. Enrollment, as you know, where that trend has been, this looks at FY16 compared to 25. And then the one-year
090change and five-year change accordingly. We know that you all are well aware of what's happening there at 3.1% and 25. And then over the last five-year period, we're down 8.4% in our enrollment. Student achievement. We did move. So a little bit about this. You can see the district compared to the peer group and then the statewide. Again, a screenshot taken directly from the dashboard. But we were moved into a different academic peer group. Previously, we were the highest performing school district within that peer group. I did reach out to the team at the Office of the Auditor General to learn a little bit more why. the the grouping that we were in previously uh remember the peer number let's let's say it was pure nine uh we were right at the threshold of almost not
091being in that group meaning our poverty level was such to where we teetered back and forth well now our poverty has adjusted which put us in a to a different peer group which more aligns to those that are a little bit more affluent than our school district because we were right on the cusp in previous years so it did move us into a different category you can see i'm not sure why union is in bold Is that bold? That looks bold. There's nothing to it. I don't know why Union is there. But these are the peer districts we have for student achievement. We are pretty much average in comparison to our peer districts here and continue to move forward excited with a lot of the information we have for curricular needs. Mr. Moore. Is the
092biggest driving factor as to what peer group you're in, is it socioeconomic? Correct, yes. So we're right up there with Litchfield, huh? Correct. Avondale. Madison. Right. It's not an exact science, right? I mean, there's so many school districts within Arizona and for the, I think for the Office of the Auditor General to try to find the right metrics can be, I'm sure, very taxing and challenging. Obviously, I like the other peer group more, but I think it's more reflective of our true demographics, our prior peer districts, such as Yuma Elementary being in that as well. I mean, they're right here within our community. I thought that peer group more aligned with us, but I can understand those thresholds that they have to wrestle with as well. And they were responsive in providing the information. I
093drove by Kyrene school just two days ago. In Tempe? Yeah, it's nothing like Avenue C. But anyways, I digress. Go ahead. uh and then this is a graphically uh where we compare to our peers in the the different subject areas again this is measuring proficiency in math ela and science uh compared to our academic peers moving into operational peers uh this is sorted high to low based on actual instruction spin so not the uh not the combination of instruction instruction support and student support but just instruction uh so liberty at 55.5 percent fits the most dollars of our operational peer group into the classroom riverside at 41.5 and you can see crane at 48.9 we are above the pure average of the 17 within the peer group A lot of colors here. Let me explain
094a little bit about them. So the top where the title of the district is, if that is, we'll call it gold or yellow, then that means those school districts have M&O overrides. So they have additional resources beyond what we have. Those that are shaded with a blue also have the segregation funding, which provides them additional resources. And you can see that. four school districts within our peer group have both of those so they have both an m o override and desegregation funding which affords them additional resources but even so we are number nine in our peer group when it comes to the amount of dollars that we're putting into the classroom through instructional spin Then each of the colors under administration, plan operations, food service, and transportation reflect the metrics that they had for being
095very low, low, comparable, high, or very high compared to their peers, which is us in this case. And then the bottom one shows the trend over the last five years on attending students. So Liberty is seeing an 18% increase over that five-year period. Buckeye, 13% increase. Avondale, 4%. whereas Osborne is down 14%, we're down 8%, Union down 12%. So you see a majority of our peers are in decline, and there's only three of our peers that are seeing an increase in student enrollment. There's a saying within school business officials, growth solves everything. And so those three school districts that are growing, they have the additional resources because of growth. At the same time, some may have desegregation dollars and an M&O override, which can also help to provide them with more resources. But again, I
096think it's not so much where the dollars are going, but how the dollar is going. And so this next one shows the top performing. So not our academic peers, but of those in our operational peer group. who are the highest performing academically. Madison is number one, Liberty is number two, Avondale number three, and Crane is number four academically within this Operation Fear group, which I think more closely aligns to... academic measures. These are our peers operationally. This is where the dollars are. While poverty is a factor for academics, and I can understand why the Office of the Auditor General uses that as a metric, this is how we're measured. We're measured on our operational efficiency compared to these peers. I want to take a look and say, based on these peers, how are we performing
097academically comparatively? You can see that we're the fourth highest performing school district within our operational peer group. So Dale, with the Aboriginal peer group, is that based off like enrollment size? There's a, enrollment is a factor. The type of school district, so elementary school district in cities and suburban areas, there are some different characteristics that group those together. I don't understand why we would be in two different. I think because so much of academics is driven based on zip code. And so I think that's why the Office of the Auditor General uses that as a metric to really see what is the socioeconomic influence about how those school districts are performing. And knowing that those school districts are in that like group, how do those within that same likeness operate or perform academically? Whereas this
098one is how we're measured across operational efficiency. So our admin costs compared to other admin costs and plant operations and food service, et cetera. And then really saying, well, this is where the money is going. What is that output coming? So Madison, you know, has a comparable administration plant operation expense and very high, but they're the top performing academically within that, within that group. And ironically, they're also in our academic group. Does that answer your question? yeah This maybe there is this shows the same information, but instead of it being on that colorful chart more in a table form, so you could really follow what the changes from the prior year. Avondale, you know, showed a decline in the average and that's the average proficiency in those three subjects of math, ELA, and science. So
099I averaged those together that create event changes from the prior year. Riverside up 5%. which was great for them. The fire-eater went down six, so they essentially recovered from whatever challenge that they had there. This is that same graphically so you can see how our district performs compared to our peer group average and the statewide. So in our operational peer group where the average is 20%, our district's at 27%. Still behind the state, which is something we attain to at least meet or exceed the state. Same in ELA and science. We're nearly neck and neck with the state there. This is taking a look at the Yuma County school districts, how we perform. Same information arranged high to low based on the instructional spend and down and then the average. So arranged very similarly. Welton
100is the only school district that is providing more in Yuma County than Crane. They're a small school district, have different challenges than we do. And the Office of the Auditor General doesn't have the authority to review charter spend. And so what I like to do is take the information from the SAFR, which is the Superintendent Annual Financial Report that is published by the Arizona Department of Education. So the superintendent being the Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Horn. So they take all of the information from all the annual financial reports of all LEAs, so charters and school districts, and compile an annual report. And in that report, it shows classroom spend, it shows admin spend, it shows support services, and then others. And then I can use that. apples to apples so using the same
101information How do we compare to our charter peers on spending? And so that's what this shows. Desert View Academy putting almost 52% of their classroom spend from the Safford into the classroom. And you can see how our district performs accordingly. Steady, a little bit of an outlier based on their CTED designation. The CTEDs are not, or the Career Technical Education Districts are not reviewed annually by the Office of the Auditor General. They are quite unique in how they're made up. I did include them for the sake of this report. So this includes our charter peers within Yuma County and the larger school districts within Yuma County as well and see how we compare to the average and then the peers within the city. But Mr. Ponder, it's is it really apples to apples, though? Because
102there's things they can do that we can't like. That is fair. Like we were talking about paper this just. minutes ago. That assessment is fair. I guess what I mean by that is it's all coming from the same report. So it's all coming from the staffer itself, but I can understand and appreciate where they may have some flexibilities in spending comparatively to school districts. Can I make a request next time we get this? For the Achievement Peer Group, can the average spend per student be included? Because that would maybe give some insight into those numbers. Because like we said, it's it's we're in a different group right which, like we said, is potentially not reflective of our economic circumstances, and that might, I think, help us put that into some different context. That's a great
103to get Friday report data set right there. We are required from soon to ARS 411279.03a9 to publish this on our website. So if you visit crane schools.org, you'll see this icon, click on this and it will take them, take the user to the Office of the Auditor General's dashboard where they have that information. At our business and finance webpage, we do a static printout. It's every year that the files are rewritten. and so the office of the auditor general reaches out says hey we're about to publish this if you want to keep your last year data now's the time to grab that and so we grab that information and then have that historical information on our website both for reference and then for members of the community to also review What to expect for FY26.
104So this year we did have a base salary increase to the classroom site fund, increasing that to $15,000. So again, if the biggest factor that we have in classroom spending is driven by salaries and benefits of teachers, we could be able to see some movement in that area. We still are seeing less experienced teachers coming into our district. I believe we're maybe the only one that really... weights experience a little bit more and how we have our placement schedule arranged and so we are enticing more experienced teachers to come to crane we believe that is incredibly important and if that changes if that trend changes where we do see more experienced teachers on the average coming to the district we should see an upward trend with the classroom spending report and the instructional spending area
105we do have the fair wages and healthy family act which is proposition 206 to also contend with so those are mandatory adjustments that we have to make every year and they went last year from 15 i'm sorry 14.70 per hour to 15.15 uh and one in parentheses matches our district's minimum wage so we near the states uh next year projecting that to increase about fifteen dollars and sixty cents so we'll have these positions here as a summary and you can see um the different functional categories that they are reflected in will be adjusted accordingly, which could have an adverse impact on the classroom spending percentage because it's mad. Any questions? I think I was at six minutes and 40 seconds. Any questions? Mr. Ponder, that's not exactly correct. Slight exaggeration. Any questions? I have none.
106No. Thank you very much. Okay. The next agenda item we have is an executive session to receive a status update on the district's performance audit. Is there a motion to go? So moved. It's been moved and seconded. All in favor? aye aye opposed that motion carries okay i think that we should take a five minute break yes and then we'll be moving into the uh yes there is so move i second all in favor aye aye opposed we are adjourned