001National Hello. Good evening everyone. It is Wednesday, April 9th at 6:30. I call this meeting to order. Lisa, can you please call the role? Robert Downey, present. Patty Coutrey, present. Carolyn Lopez, present. Ben Owens, present. Shante Rothschild, present. Hello. We now move on to item 1 C, the pledge. And tonight, I think most were here for the cultural celebration. I see Miss Balt is uh dressed appropriately, so I ask her to lead us in the pledge. To the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. We now move on to item 1 D. Adoption of the agenda. Motion to approve as written. Second. Lisa. We have a motion to second. Shante Rosschild. I. Ben Owens. I.
002Carol Lopez. I. Patty Catra. I. Robert Downey. I. So moved. We now move on to item two, superintendent's report. Dr. Lopeman. Thank you, President Downey. Um, before I begin my report formally, I just want to um recognize that we do have our foreign national teachers in the audience from the Philippines and from India who just completed a very uh terrific performance and cultural celebration. So, um, let's give them a round of applause. And if you'd like to stand, stand up. Stand up. [Applause] uh your your performance was so wonderful. Thank you for inviting us into your culture um and your celebration uh and making us feel like one of you and um it was just wonderful. And then on with the rest of my report. Uh last month, Desert Sunrise High School celebrated the grand
003opening of its new state-of-the-art greenhouse, an exciting milestone milestone orchestrated by students in the Agra Science class and FAA club. FAA officers welcomed guests, led tours of the new facility, and highlighted key features of the greenhouse. Visitors planted seeds, made bineers, and even spent time with baby goats, all guided by the students. The event showcased more than a new space. It highlighted the knowledge, confidence, and leadership of the students who brought it to life. A proud moment for Desert Sunrise and a promising sign of what is in bloom. The turf on the Maricopa High School football field was recently replaced after reaching the end of its life cycle. The updated surface provides a safer, more reliable space for student athletes, the marching band, PE classes, and school events. The refreshed field features a Ram logo
004at the center, setting the stage for end of the year events this year and many athletic seasons to come. More than 20 MUSD foreign national teachers recently vis visited Monizuma Castle National Monument as part of a cultural exchange activity connected to their international teaching program. The visit offered a glimpse into the cultural and historical landscape of the region and helped teachers build a deeper understanding of life and learning in Arizona classrooms. It also strengthened the sense of community among teachers who are learning, growing, and navigating this experience together. MUSD representatives, including parents, board members, and staff participated in Parents Day at the Capitol, a day dedicated to public education. The event made time for meaningful conversations with lawmakers to bring attention to issues that matter most in our schools. Representatives Terresa Martinez and Chris Lopez
005led led a personal tour of the Capitol and the day ended with an introduction of MUSD from the House floor which is a very big deal. Moments like these help ensure that voices of our school communities are part of the conversation at the state level. Maricopa Unified School District celebrated parap paraprofessionals appreciation day and school librarian appreciation day. Both groups received MUSD tumblers and a small thank you for the important role they play in supporting our students and staff. Whether in classrooms or libraries, their efforts keep things moving and help create a positive place to learn and work. Desert students from Desert Sunrise and Maricopa High School brought Little Women the Musical to life with four performances over three days. Each one a reflection of the collaboration, preparation, and creative talent. From the heartfelt portrayals
006of the March Sisters to the thoughtful details in set design and lighting, the production honored the spirit of the classic story and reflected the care and creativity poured into every scene. It was a memorable experience that showcased what students can achieve when passion and teamwork take center stage. Congratulations to Maricopa High School senior Cynthia Se who earned first place in the banking and financial systems event at the FBLA state competition. Her performance showed focus, confidence, and a strong grasp of realworld skills. Next, Cynthia will represent Maricopa High School at the FBLA National Leadership Conference, carrying forward the drive and determination that earned her top honors at the state level. And then finally, good attendance is the foundation of success. Tonight, we're celebrating two schools whose extra efforts have paid off. Each school will receive a
007certificate and $250 that we hope will support the strategies that work best to promote good attendance. Principles, when I call your name, when I call your school name, please come to the dice and receive your certificate from President Downey. Congratulation goes to best third quarter attendance, Pimabute Elementary School. Come on [Applause] down. Runner up for best third quarter attendance, Santa Rosa Elementary School. Come on down. Most improved third quarter attendance, Saddleback Elementary [Applause] School. Congratulations. And then runner up for most improved third quarter attendance, Maricopa Wells Middle School. [Applause] Right on. And that's my report. President Downey. Thank you, Dr. Lman. We move everyone to item three, governing board members report. Member Rothschild. Good evening, everyone. Um just wanted to take an opportunity um to once again thank everyone who was responsible for uh scheduling
008the uh day at the capitol. It was quite um an adventure and opportunity again to just hear from not only our legislators but also uh the many educators and support staff that were there. So thank you again for um taking the time out of your busy day um to go down to the capitol and explore and find out about all of the work that we need to do to continue to to be public school proud. So, thank you, member. Thank you, President Downey. Uh, let's see here. So, a lot of my report revolves around my youngest daughter. Um, so she's part of Wintergard at Desert Sunrise. So, uh, March 29th, Saturday. Um, MHS and Desert Sunrise, both Winterguards were at state at Millennium High. uh both um showed up, did what they needed to do.
009Uh MHS uh went back for finals. Uh I did not stay to watch that. Um but uh they uh they did uh did really really well. Um we got to see last night there was a combined uh winter guard um at Desert Sunrise where MHS and Desert Sunrise both performed their performances. Um, so that was kind of fun to see. It was I think only the second or third time that I'd seen uh MHS. Um, and both both just had a incredible um progression from the beginning of the year to uh to where they're at now. Uh, let's see here. Tomorrow night, uh, I will be at the Desert Sunrise Eco Audit proposal showcase. um posted. Uh it's uh it's a serious uh lesson in science uh math and English. So, um, having a daughter
010that went through the blended program or both daughters actually, um, really set them up for this, uh, for this project where they're actually presenting to a business to get funded to make a difference in, um, uh, in ecology and the way that the school operates and that kind of thing. from a from a science standpoint. Um, so I'll be there tomorrow night. Um, and then as we get to the end of the year, there's always lots of celebrations, uh, competitions, that kind of thing. I know that, uh, there's state math competitions, national competitions, that kind of thing, uh, coming up. So, good luck to, uh, to all those kids as well. That's all I have. Thank you. Member Lopez, I don't have anything to report. Thank you, Vice President Coutree. Thank you, President Downey. Um,
011so I was able to attend the greenhouse opening at Desert Sunrise and um, it was so impressive that greenhouse is probably better than some of the professional ones that I've even seen at like U of A Center. Um, it's amazing. Um, but I am waiting for another update on my seeds. I want to know how big my plants are now. So, I know Mr. Pugo's gonna get that. So, uh, and again, uh, kudos and thank you for every everybody that had a hand in planning that legislative day. Uh, wonderful conversations with Representative Martinez, um, and Lopez. And the one thing that we can take away from that is that email communications matter. and she could not stress enough on the reason this 347 project is moving forward um is because of the massive amount of
012emails that this community continues to send and it's not done yet and we can't put the brakes on yet. So I encourage you if you have not done so already to please go to 347facts.com and send an email regarding the five-year plan. We've got to get this road fixed. It's important for our families so that they can start spending family times together and that they can come to the celebrations, the competitions, and that they're not stuck on the road. Thank you. Thank you. Um I've actually been out of the country for five the last six weeks. We have nothing to report. Um and I'm your M4 work study specifically 4A information related to the 202526 assessment value interest rates and issuance of sale of school improvement bond. Mr. Harmon. All right. Good evening President Downey,
013members of the board and Dr. Lopeman. Um we're happy to have Mike Lavali with Steel Public Finance. There are underwriters for the bond to give us kind of an update on our property value numbers that came in as well as interest rates and a little bit about this bond issuance. It's a great time also to ask any questions that you may have for the upcoming action item later in the good evening president members of the board. Dr. Lman, pleasure to be back before you this evening. um for your first sale post election. Congrats on that. Um as uh Jacob mentioned, I'm here to talk to a couple slides here to walk through. I'll touch on property values first. District received their February estimates for next fiscal year and they are an estimate until the third.
014So that far right two columns there, blue and red, are what you can expect for the next fiscal year and property value growth. Uh the blue bar is your net full cash assessed value. That one is more closely aligned with what's going on in your overall economy because it's unrestricted as to growth. Uh it and it also is used to calculate your bonding capacity. And I have a formula for statute here. Um the red bar is your net limited assess property. That's how you the district all of your primary and secondary and your general. Um and so I want to hone in on the red bar here. You you'll see that the most recent estimates for February here for next fiscal year you have a 9.6% growth over year on red which is really great
015um because that red is restricted as to formula as a as a reminder uh it's at an individual property owner level not the district level anybody who has a home for instance yearover year that grows at market value 10% their tax value up to 5% for any homeowner, any commercial property, the highest uh tax value. And so you're above 5%. Which tells me not only was it just homes, existing home, uh it was also new new homes, new commercial, which is great which is great for district. Um up at the top right up there uh you'll see the 10year average, fiveyear average. You go to the far right under the red column, the district's 10ear average is 8.46% for the net limited assessed property value. Um right above it, the 5year average is just over
01610% growth. For our projections, we're using We want to be more conservative than that. So we're projecting just under eight years. I'll show you that slide here shortly. That's your tax values. Um this is your outstanding bond debt service. Blue is principal, the red is interest. And so principal and interest equals debt service. It's like your mortgage. Um, you can see how it's going down over time. We're going to be with your action this evening if you approve going forward. We're going to be layering in such a way where we keep that debt service as level as possible. You can see there's room to layer in the new debt. Um, and then our goal is to try to maintain tax as we shown. I'll show you a slide on that before I do. Here's that
017bonding capacity calculation district. Your bonding capacity calculation is way higher than what you ask for. What that means though is you can sell all your bonds at once except we're trying to maintain a tax. But thankfully bonding capacity is not an issue. It was over the 25 years I've been working. the early 2000s you had needs of 10 or 15 million but your bonding capacity is four so that gets tough because then you can't fund all your projects uh but now your bonding capacity come third Monday in August 9 right it's estimated be about again you you didn't ask the voters you substantiers approved district. So this is the last slide. This is what we call a tax impact page. Uh it has several columns. I've labeled the columns up top. So column two is
018the district's projected assess valuation. You have the 2425 that's actual 11.3%. Uh then the next year 256 that's coming up. That's number that we just got for you. We don't expect that to change. 9.61% growth and then we project your growth there after. Again, we're using the 10ear historical growth average. And then we're going to back it off six for a couple years and then 2%. Now, we hope that you outperform every single one of those. So, if you get above 8.46, which you did the last three, four, five years, then it makes all the tax rates look better. Okay? All everything else being changed. So if you outperform column three, which is what we hope you do, then your tax rates on far right will start to trend down. Uh before I get to
019talk about column 11 just real quick. Columns four and five is your old debt service. You have like four years left on the old debt which makes it nice because the voters voted in a new 70 million layer in such a way to maintain that layering in process. six and seven is this upcoming bond sale which you have a resolution before you this evening action item uh to sell I think not to exceed 43 million but we're estimating 42750 principal amount um not to exceed 20 years Arizona is very conservative school districts can't borrow out to 30 school districts at But you're you're actually financing projects that are going to last probably 30 or 40 years a lot of right. So we we're going out the full 20 years because of that. Uh the useful
020life of all your projects would be way longer. Uh we do highlight some of the amounts in column six in orange. We just keep an eye on the first five years and total it at the bottom. That's an amount that can be used doesn't have to be can be used for furniture technology. So bonds that are used by computers for instance have to be repaid. So we just need to be cognizant that if you have a computer from bonds we want to make sure we pay off whatever let's say it's for $2 million we want to make sure we have million of that as well. We're estimating interest right now 4.75%. I am hoping. That's conservative. Hoping you're going to be between four and a quarter and four and a half%. The last several weeks
021interest rates have gone down 30 basis points, up 40 basis points, down 50. I mean, it's been it's been a rodeo ride last several weeks. Uh so but all in all that volatility hasn't really come out of a a little bit higher rates than the last previous four or five months but thankfully it's not just we see a lot of tariffs whatever's happened impacts the bond markets and stock markets but we are long story short we have placeholder 4.75% open we're uh with your permission tonight we'll move as quickly as as possible to get into the market lock in interest rates so you have no interest rate on those sales once you lock in rates then we will know what that interest rate is hopefully That's what we're targeting now. And then not knowing what
022rates are going to be a year or two out, we next sale. That's just a placeholder. That's in 2027, April, spring of 27. Two years out, you it doesn't have to be two years out. It can be a year and a half out. It can be three years out. I'm sure you want to sell as soon as possible to cost every year construction. Um, but anyway, so we we layer that in as well as an estimate that we can then give you the estimated tax. And so again, we're trying to target actually but you know given projections We're going to have one interest rate. In fact, timing wise, your permission tonight, we hope to lock in rates that we can deliver funds to your project. So that's when the funds we hope will be available.
023A pause the lot. What happens if we don't pay the bonds within this time? Well, so your bond the bonds uh are basically an IOU. Once they're sold, the board doesn't have once you take action tonight. issue the debt it will get repaid. The county will raise tax rate every year to levy for debt service. So they'll they'll levy the tax rate taxes throughout the year each of the debt payments. And so if if some people say don't pay their taxes, is that what you're asking? Um then the county always adds a delinquency factor on top of that three four% above the amount they actually need to make because then there could be 2% delinquencies% dely so they have a they look at historical data county say oh in the Maricopa area you're running two%
024people that are so we're going set. We're gonna overlevy, if you will, and so that way every year the paid never want to have credit. Um, just so I can understand when we look at our tax bill and there's line items, right? So there will be two, one for the previous bond and one for the upcoming or are they going to get put together on one lineup? I believe counties put them together because they're all being paid for the same cost. They're all being paid. So, right, but it'll show um it'll it'll be separate from any overrides or your primary fund. It'll be a separate line item, but I believe the new debt service is added to whatever. Okay. Yes. And that old debt in four years is paid off. Correct. Yep. In July 1,
0252029. Okay. Thank you. So, I have a slightly technical question. Oh, we take out the um we take the bond. We approved the bond tonight for 43 million. Get it at the end of May. If we don't use it for several years, we still have to make these payments and we still charge the interest rate. Okay. Um but when you we have a what we call due diligence call every bond deal we do required purposes and the district has to tell us it not be lawyers um that you reasonably spend the money three years. Whatever amount you're taking down this year, not all your 70 million, just the first sale that you intend to spend it within three years. If you don't, it's not like you lose the money. You just need to call your
026bond lawyer or me to just make sure that you're following regulations after most districts get all their every once in a while. They can't spend it by that deadline. I've never had a real problem. Things change, projects change, delays happen, supply issues, whatever. They really want you spending at least 85% of that 43 million. It was actually in preparation, but since you've gone down the path for Mr. Harmon later on saying that we're actually taking on a very aggressive full set of projects over the next two or three years to use this 43 million and I'm going to be asking them can we actually spend it and need it so in preparation um and so I just you don't have to answer now later on whenever we come to the the real one about voting
027for permission um but it's really nice also that we're staying at 79 cents um I would like to see it a little bit lower so we have a little bit of buff buffer but I see you've got 5% interest rate for outgoing At the moment that seems pretty high and pretty comfortable. Um, but we did promise I like to say what I'll do and do what I say and we promise no rate increase for the community and that's the 79. Focus and manage expectations by votervation property valuation projections and then hopefully we end valuation more building% that really helps Thank you very much. Thank you. Mr. Ar, have you finished? Did you have something to wrap up? Okay. So, let me move on to the next item. Now, I move on to item five, call
028the public. Lisa, I don't have any cards, so we can skip that. Now, move on to item six, consent agenda. Motion to approve as written. Second. Lisa, we have a motion to second. Shante Rothchild, I. Ben Owens. Hi. Carolyn Lopez. Hi. Eddie Coutrey. Hi. Robert Downey. I so move. We now move on to item seven, action items. Specifically 7A, discussion and possible approval of the personnel schedule. Mr. Beckett. Thank you, President Downey. Members of the governing board. Dr. Wman. You have a busy personnel schedule in front of you tonight. I'll take any questions. Good evening, Mr. Becket. So, where are we at with open teaching positions? Because I see a lot of new hires. Unfortunately, I see also a lot of people leaving. So, at this point in time, couple figures on Monday 25 gen
029edition still open about a dozen special education. That was on Monday. We continue to have new higher paperwork coming through consistent basis. We're still very very optimistic before start and do we did we get all of our contracts returned? Yes, I was able to share some information with cabinet a 92% retention rate this year. contracts. That's up about 87% last year. So very excited about that total related service providers 95% council that we were 93%. So very excited about those figures that reflects well on the district board's commitment to finding good salaries and good working conditions for our very positive that is that very Good accomplishment. I think that's great. Mr. Becket, do you have any idea or uh inkling what other districts may look like? I'm just curious. I have just anecdotal information from
030the valley. A lot of the districts were actually reducing staff and of course not offering the raise% I've heard anywhere. So again 5% aggressive raise for our people and again we we are seeing people here. Good deal. Yes, Mr. It's nice to be at this place. I was in this position when that was not the case. Saw attrition rates in the 20s%. This is very exciting for us. There's no other questions or discussion. So again, congratulations on the retrition. Um with that, is there survey or anything that would give specific details on why we were able to retain so many um educators and support staff this year? Well, as terms of surveying, we were still working through our exit surveys. Maybe that's the negative portion of why people are staying, but at least we're getting
031an idea of the reasons why. There's some specific reasons related to family retirements. We we always have number of those situations, but we're not salary. That's the reason we're not seeing, you know, poor working conditions. It's just been encouraging to see. But again, we're continuing to survey before. Well, congratulations again. Thank you. And Mr. Becket, I just I just want to make a comment. It's sort of similar to what Miss Luff child just discussed. I want to just highlight it's not just salary. I think that's bringing people here and I want this district to be a district where people run to and not run out of. Um it's also the working conditions. It's also the education and training which is pretty significant and it's things like we have not increased our health care costs to
032the employee a lot of employees this year. There's a lot of stuff going on. So I just want to well done to the board for not just focusing on one thing but a package um for the for the school district and it seems to be working. I mean 92 93% retention rate I think anywhere is pretty high year over year. Now I motion to approve. I motion that we approve the HR agenda. At least we have a motion second. Ros, Ben Owens. Hi, Carol Lopez. Hi, Patty Kra. Hi, Robert Downey. Hi. So moved. Mr. Becker, I believe you have another announcement. Yes, a couple of introductions to make. I'd like to start out with Kevin Stomayor, our new high school principal at Maropa High [Applause] School. It's great to have him here. And a familiar
033face. Usually he's stuck behind that window back there, but Christine Dickinson will be our Butterfield Elementary principal for next year. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Becket. And I move on M7B to consider and if deemed advisable and to adopt the resolution authorizing the insurance of a sale of school improvement bond for the district. Mr. Harmon. Thanks again, President Downey, members of the board, and Dr. Lopeman. Um, we're able to hear from Mr. Lavali and have some questions answered. If you have any other questions, I'm happy to answer them, but we're seeking approval for the resolution authorize our bond sale. Mr. Harmon, originally when we we had talked about this, we talked about doing three iterations of bond sales. So, can you share with the public because I kind of know why we're doing this, but
034I think it's important for them to hear why we've gone from a three to now selling twice. Yeah, I think what was in the uh voter information pamphlet was kind of an example of of what could happen. When we look closely at our projects, we are breaking ground on the K8 and the Sarrento development this uh this upcoming month of May. But we're also, it's time for us to start our project for the Maropa High School workforce development project. Um, if that project breaks ground a year from now, we we need to have some of those funds available for a year planning start. So, accelerating that and made a call to to Stifel to make sure that that was possible and looking at the tax rates and the growth. It's possible for us to do
035the full 43 million which is the amount we need for those two projects have ready to go. Thank you. What happens if we wait? I mean, do we do we need to sell now or is it something that we could wait a year on and see, you know, maybe market settle down a little bit, you know, some of the volatility kind of comes out. Um, because right now, as Mr. Valley said, we're in a very, you know, it's it's a very uncertain market right now. The uh the funds that we need for the STO project, um, we can delay those because our project's going Um, we don't need the full $20 million right now for the Maropa High School project. Um, what I'll say about interest rates in the future, um, it could get worse
036if we wait. If it gets better and it's significant, we can always do what's called a refunding similar to like a mortgage refinance. There's a cost of issuance there. But we've done refundings in Dr. Loven's tenure. We've done a refunding whenever um we analyze our our interest rates and and it's worth doing a resale at a lower rate for a a tax savings. So that's always an option for us. Um but the future's very uncertain. We don't know if waiting is beneficial or not. Um when we go to market if the markets are really volatile um will will advise us to to delay maybe weeks or days or or um you know whatever that duration that we're allowed to to hold on the markets are really volatile. But outside of that um I think the
037best the best course. So just because we approve it tonight doesn't mean it goes to market until you said the 28th or May 5th, right? This resolution triggers a number of events. We have calls with rating agencies to determine our our rating and then they want to as soon as possible to really see where the rates are lock as he mentioned below 4.75%. Okay. Thank you. So that particular rate is there something in place to where if we um are offered a rate higher than that then that would put a hold on things or what happens if there's anything outside of what you're expecting? Uh it's a great question. We'll work closely with with the experts with our underwriter and obviously with Dr. make sure that this is what we need to do as long
038as we're within our our tax rate 79 tax rate is really what we're holding that commitment. Thank you. Mr. Arman sort of alluded to the question actually state slightly differently. Um but it's good to hear about the refunding. I hadn't heard about that option. Um, so picking up on member Owens, two major projects. We're a growing district. There's a lot going on. Um, I want the community to hear that you and maybe Dr. Lman will have a comment that you've seriously thought about the amount of work you're taking on for the next two to three years. Um, and just I'll leave that there. Can you make a comment? So the we're not going to this for the sake of getting money having money in the bank and not being able to use it because we're
039lack resources or skills or whatever. Yeah, we have the resources and the skills to take these on. We're very confident that we can uh run these two projects at the same time. This is our first goound. We're a little bit better with Sunrise. I would add that we've selected a familiar team with a proven track record and we know that the students are coming and we have the demand is there. So we've um obviously we're confident in our construction partners and our architect. And then we have a great team in the district office uh and at the schools in terms of the leadership and administration and the you know we're about interest rates and the price of glass um and timelines. Uh we leave that conversation and join the reading conversation and the math conversation
040and the athletics conversation because it never misses a beat at the district and school level ever. So I'm I'm confident in our external partners because They have the best internal team around. Yeah. And I I just I'll just add and this isn't our first rodeo. I want to go back to delivering Desert Sunrise High School. In fact, delivering more than what we promised to deliver in 15 months with Desert Sunrise High School for the amount of the money that we promised. I want to say in the middle of co certainly the early part of that project was very much when co was going on it was delivered and I want to just reinforce that the team that we're bringing in the external resources consultants etc are the same that we use for that project and
041there's two projects instead of one but we feel very confident in them their competency and we've got a good working relationship not just us to them but them with them around the different architects and the builders and suppliers and procurement etc. So, it's it's going to be challenging. I think you got your work cut out. Let's see what happens. We're growing and that those are good challenges. Um, if there's no other comments, I will make a motion to authorize the issuance and sale of school improvement bonds for the district. I'll second. At least we have a motion to second. Shante Rothchild. I Ben Owens. Hi, Carolyn Lopez. Hi, Patty Catra. Hi, Robert Down. I so moved. Thank you, Mr. Harmon. And I move on to item 7 C. Approve to adjourn to executive session pursuing
042to ARS58431.03A7. The governing bailor may vote to convene executive session for discussion regarding land. President, is it possible to motion um to approve both items 7 C and D since we will be going into executive session for both? I actually asked someone about that. We can. Okay. So, I would like to make a motion that we adjourn into executive session for items 7 C and 7 D. Second. Le motion to second. Shante Rothschild. I Ben Owens. Hi Carol Lopez. Hi Patty Coutrey. Hi Robert Downey. I so moved. Just want to say to people these are the last two action items on the agenda. The last thing we have is a journ and uh I don't think you want to sit around for 45 minutes an hour just to hear us a journ. Thank you very
043much. Not chasing you out. You can stay if you want but uh that's all we have. German.