001Good evening everyone. We'd like to welcome you out and call tonight's meeting of the Deer Valley Governing Board to order at 7 PM. Let the role show that all board members are present. And Dr. Dr. McCusker, could you lead us in the pledge of allegiance followed by a moment of silence tonight? >> Thank you. to see. Do I have a motion for tonight's agenda? Okay. I move the governing board. I move that the governing board adopt the agenda. >> Thank you. All those in favor? >> Any opposed? Thank you, Mrs. Taylor. First item tonight's agenda, district report, early childhood. Dr. McCusker. [snorts] >> Good evening, governing board, uh, Mr. Carver, Dr. Finch, and community members. I am so honored to present uh this evening our early childhood programming and give you a report of all
002of our amazing supports we have in place for our Deer Valley families. I would like to introduce you to the amazing early childhood team that I am presenting with this evening. Robin Desar is sitting to the left. Janet Zeke is sitting also to my left. Michelle Martelli, principal of Sunrise Elementary to my right, and Mrs. Trisha Graham, director in student support services. And tonight, we are very excited to introduce you to all of the wonderful programs. So this evening we we will explore the early childhood programs in Deer Valley uh including the history and funding sources not only for our developmental preschool programs but also for our Head Start and Early Head Start programming. We will also review our responsibilities under IDA, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and Child Find, as well as specifically
003our three prongs for programming this evening. So, in Deer Valley Unified School District, if you have ever had the honor of witnessing some of our child fine procedures, uh we do on a monthly basis provide child fine screenings to our community. And that is something that we are obligated to do under the IDA. And so on a monthly basis, our parents bring their children, their young children that they feel may have a disability in order for us to locate and evaluate those students and if possible find them eligible under special education. Uh this is an informal screening process and it is handled right here in this room. We take all three rooms and we look at many and multiple domains. And so as we go through this evening, you will be able to see that
004our developmental preschool program actually provides what is referred to as early intervention. Early intervening services are another component and a requirement under IDA. And so our early childhood department works with our families and gets them scheduled. And it is our responsibility again to do our very best to get our students in by the age of three. So here are some exciting statistics. [music] Our child find numbers from 202425. So last school year we screened over 500 students. 501 to be exact. Uh the number of students that we then referred for evaluation was 422. So what that tells us is the data is supporting that parents in the community are bringing forward students who may have a suspected disability. That statistic and percentage is quite high. And 386 of those children then qualified for services under
005IDA. That is for special education service delivery for developmental preschool. All of our developmental preschool teachers are highly qualified. Each one holds a certificate in special education early childhood birth through twir third grade or a K12 crosscategorical special education certificate with an early childhood endorsement. Our Head Start teachers are also highly qualified and they have an early childhood certificate for birth to third grade. and our early Head Start classrooms. Those teachers hold a child development associate credential or an associates degree in early childhood that's specific to infant and toddlers. In our developmental preschool classrooms, students engage in activities that support all five areas of development throughout their school day, helping them build a strong foundation for kindergarten readiness skills. Each classroom includes children who have IEPs as well as tuition based peers, creating an inclusive
006and supportive learning environment. Since June, we've welcomed 18 new students with IEPs who have moved into Deer Valley and joined our developmental preschool classrooms. In addition, we currently have four students attending through open enrollment from other districts. Early childhood special education or developmental preschool serves childrens ages 3 through 5 years old who have developmental delays. Our district identifies them, evaluates them, and ensures they receive a free and appropriate public education. Developmental preschool gives every child, regardless of ability, the chance to learn, grow, and be part of our school community from the very start. The first teacher we'll spotlight is one of our wonderful developmental preschool teachers, Kelly Ford. She's been teaching developmental preschool for 29 years, 28 of them at Park Meadows Elementary School. She loves being part of the children's first school experience, watching
007them learn, making friends, and discovering new things. Kelly says there's never a boring day and or one without laughter. And that's why she's never wanted to teach anything else. All right, so back to me. Let's talk a little bit about the history of Head Start and Early Head Start. But before we do, uh, I do want to invite each one of our governing board members, if you have not yet had an opportunity, I highly recommend, and you will see the pictures in the presentation, I highly recommend you come and visit our early head start programming. Um, as I refer to the baby room, uh, it is the most wonderful place uh, where you get to spend time with babies, real babies, uh, and interact with them. and it is a wonderful, wonderful experience. All right,
008so I digress. Let's get into Head Start. So Head Start actually started back in 1965 under President Johnson's leadership and it really was the war on poverty. And so Sergeant Shriber, and that should sound familiar, uh, Kennedy Shriber, he was actually married to Ununice Kennedy Shrivever, who yes was the brother of uh, JFK. So as we look at the development of Head Start, it really was an intervention for our families that were living in poverty to ensure that students had the same chance and the same capacity and ability uh to make progress, meaningful progress before they entered kindergarten. And so the um onset of Head Start began under that leadership and it has expanded in 1994 as you will see on the slide under the Secretary of Health and Human Services and an advisory committee
009has been set forth to provide guidance for new programming and models under Head Start and Early Head Start. Early Head Start was officially created under President Clinton and has developed and by 1995 grants began to be issued to support fiscally uh the development of Head Start and Early Head Start programming. And this is to provide support for our Deer Valley families, our future uh kindergarteners and graduates in Deer Valley. So we are so blessed to get them from expectant mothers and families and so we truly can make an impact on our families from birth until graduation. The DBUSD Head Start program operates under a shared governance structure between DBUSD governing board and the Head Start parent policy committee. All items requiring approval, such as budgets and major program decisions, are reviewed and approved by governing
010entities to um to ensure collaborative oversight and compliance with Head Start requirements. Our Head Start Birth to Five is 100% grant-f funded and this year we received just under $3 million. Our Head Start program has almost doubled in size over the past three years. We have 10 Head Start teachers and 171 preschool age students. Our Head Start classrooms are located at Constitution, Espironza, Sunrise, and Village Meadows. DBUSD Head Start students enjoy a full day of learning with seven hours of daily instruction. Children receive comprehensive early childhood education that supports their growth, development, and love of learning. Head Start is so much more than preschool. It helps the children get ready for school by supporting their learning, social, and emotional growth. But it also supports families, connecting them to resources, helping with things like health and
011nutrition, and providing guidance so parents feel confident as their child's first teacher. It really, it's really about giving both children and families the tools they need to succeed. The next teacher we will spotlight is Lisa Subtle. She's in her 10th year of teaching Head Start at Constitution. She loves being part of Head Start because it supports not only the children, but their families as well. She values the collaborative environment at her school where teachers, assistants, case workers, and a coach work together to create meaningful learning experiences. Seeing her students grow socially, emotionally, and academically is what keeps her inspired. Each year, Head Start and Early Head Start host four family engagement nights. These are fun evenings where kids and their families do crafts and activities together, enjoy snacks, and make really special memories. Our early
012Head Start program is one of the newest additions to DBUSD. We launched it just this past year and it's already making a big difference. The program serves children starting as early as 8 weeks and supports them until their third birthday. It offers free full day child care which has been an incredible support for many of our DBUSD employees and their families. The program is located at Constitution and Sunrise. Early Head Start offers free highquality education for our youngest learners. We support the whole child focusing on physical, cognitive, social, and emotional growth. The program is designed to be accessible for lowincome families and helps working parents with a full day child care. It connects smoothly with DBUSD preschool programs so kids transition easily as they grow. Early Head Start doesn't just help children, it supports the
013whole family by strengthening partnering skills, parenting skills, and helping parents stay employed. Next, we'd like to spotlight one of our own DBUSD employees and parents, Mercedes Lopez. She shared that early Head Start made all the difference in her being able to return to work as a pair professional at Espironza. After having her baby, she was struggling to find child care and wasn't sure she could go back to work. With the help from City of Phoenix, we found a spot for her baby in our infant room, giving her space or peace of mind knowing her child was in loving care. Her older kids have thrived, too. Her son just entered kindergarten. He's confident and ready to learn, and her daughter also went to developmental preschool, and she now loves school. Mercedes says, "Programs like these don't
014just care for kids, they actually transform families." In Early Head Start, we focus on helping children grow in every area of development. When they play with small toys or stock stack blocks, they're actually building important skills. Fine motor play helps strengthen the muscles they'll use later for writing. Block play builds their thinking and problem solving skills, and dramatic play lets them practice social skills and cooperation. Every activity has a purpose, and it's all centered around helping children learn through play. Next, we're going to spotlight Early Head Start instructor Vicky Gardano. She's been with UD DBSD for four years, starting as a paraprofessional and later working in CTE. Observing preschool classrooms during her early childhood education classes sparked her passion for teaching young children. She is now an early Head Start instructor for the 18 to
01524month room and recently earned her associates degree in early childhood education. Vicki stated that she is living her dream of teaching young children every day. She is grateful for to DVOC for supporting educators like her in following their passion. Next, we're going to spotlight the principal from Sunrise Elementary, Michelle Martelli. Good evening, President Carver, members of the board, Dr. Finch, and colleagues. I'm Michelle Martelli, the proud principal of Sunrise Elementary, and I am honored to share how early childhood programs have made a tremendous impact on our school community. At Sunrise, we're fortunate to have all three Early Childhood programs on our campus, Early Head Start, Head Start, and Developmental Preschool. Having this full continuum creates a unique opportunity to support students from the very beginning of their child's educational journey all the way through sixth
016grade and beyond in our region schools. The benefits are truly remarkable. One of the benefits is increased enrollment and retention with smooth transitions. Families with infants, toddlers, and preschoolers often have older children enrolled in our K6 program. Once they experience the caring, connected environment of Sunrise, they want to stay. Our preschoolers enter kindergarten already familiar with the routines, the campus, and culture, ready to learn, confident, and connected. Another benefit is family engagement and continue con sorry con continuity. Because our youngest learners start their educational path here, families build long-term relationships with our staff. They already know our systems, our expectations, and our culture of pause. Really, we have the opportunity to serve a child here at Sunrise for 12 years. If you think about K6 being seven years and then add another five for early
017childhood, wow, 12 years. It also supports working family families. Many of our staff and community members are able to continue working because our Early Head Start and Head Start programs provide high quality full day care. That stability benefits not only families but also our district workforce and our community. Having all three programs in one place creates a true sense of community. You can see siblings waving to each other across the courtyard, parents walking babies in strollers alongside their kindergarteners, and teachers collaborating across grade levels to support families as a team. Early childhood isn't just the beginning of education. It's the foundation of everything that follows. At Sunrise, we see every day how investing in early leads to lasting success for students, families, and our community. Thank you for the opportunity to share our story and
018for your continued support of early childhood education in DVSD. As Sunrise theme says, together we rise. Thank you so much, Michelle, for your wonderful words and together we do rise. And governing board, Dr. Finch, Mr. Carver and community. Again, I'm going to invite you to come and visit the amazing work, professionals, and all of the growth that our families and our babies have made in Head Start and Early Head Start. Um, I would like to thank the leadership of Michelle and also the ear early childhood leadership team. Uh, without their diligence and their amazing grant writing, uh, with about $3 million in receipts, uh, we would not be able to do this for our community. and it is truly an honor uh to serve our community and to serve our families in this manner. Thank
019you so much. >> Before we go around with any questions or comments for Dr. McCusker, u for the community that's watching remotely, we are having some technical difficulties on the YouTube side, so we apologize if there's some issues with the audio. Uh that being said, any questions, comments, or concerns? Mr. Botfield, >> I want to compliment this program. I've seen it and it's sensational and that's all I have to say. >> Thank you, Mr. Black. MJ, >> thank you. First off, thank you so much for being here tonight and sharing this wonderful program with us. Um, as a parent who has gone through the process of of um having your child go through child find, it's it was very smooth and easy. Um, and it makes parents feel at ease, which is just something that
020is a gift when you're struggling already with your your child. not making their milestone. So, so thank you. Um, I have a couple questions and I apologize if this was mentioned. When was the So, we have to apply, you have to apply for this grant every 5 years. When was the last time that we applied you applied for it? President Carver, governing board members, Dr. Finch. Um, we actually applied two years ago in the fall and then we received our first year a year one grant was last year. So, this is year two. >> Okay. Okay. Um, do we have any concerns about the grant and the federal government and not receiving that? Not at this time. We do not at this time. Okay. Um, I also have been to Sunrise to to visit the
021school when it opened. It's beautiful. Uh, the baby room. I do need to go back because um I want to just have an opportunity to go see it with kids in it. When we went, we we got to see the beautiful rooms and walk around and that, but we didn't there weren't children in at the time when we cut the ribbon. So excited to see that. And just want to say again, thank you so much for all your hard work. I know this is um really important for our community and we are so grateful for you. Thank you. >> Just want to echo what I said. Thank you. Um I also appreciate that you spotlighted some of the teachers I know of and she's an amazing teacher. So excited for this and I will try
022to get to the baby room. >> Can Dr. Dr. McCusker, I I know because I was there last year, but for the community and those that that weren't here last year, we talked about the grant. Can can you clarify then that this entire um department as it were uh does not exist or feed off of the district's budget, off of the M. It's completely funded and managed by the grants that you all write and receive. Correct, >> Mr. Carver. Dr. Finch, governing board. That is correct. Uh Early Head Start and Head Start programming is subsidized with the grants uh that the amazing Janet Zeke uh she is quite a grant writer. Uh and we are able to afford all of the amenities that are provided to our families including the support of the dad's night
023and the mom's night. Uh so the community engagement and I know you have been to some of our Head Start picnics, Mr. Carver. Um that is all afforded through the monies in the grant. That is correct. >> And are all the grants federal or we have some partnerships with local? Correct. City of Phoenix. >> I will let Janet respond to that because there is some braiding. Uh so I will let Janet respond. Janet. >> Uh President Carver, governing board members, Dr. Finch. Uh the money actually comes from the federal level down to city of Phoenix via all the way down to uh Deer Valley. >> Okay. Thank you. Appreciate all the efforts that you guys put in to find and acquire those funds because you really have put something truly remarkable together. Thank you so
024much for everything. >> Mrs. for sure. I um just because I'm the old one on board, I just want to especially thank you because I don't think the community realizes and maybe that um the district well I know the district does but not everybody in the district does realize that if we fail to find someone even if they are a homeschool child or a charter child or a special whatever something else child that um it's us who are liable and um has hurt districts a lot. So I really appreciate the work you've done. it keeps the liability away from Deer Valley so we can apply money towards our students and not towards u you know so I do appreciate that and and of course you know um my son just shipped out of his 20
025something birthday and he still loves you guys all of you and uh I still love the part partnership we had to bring him to where he is and I think there's a lot of parents who need that and they need those supports um there's a lot more supports these days than there was 20 years ago, but um but they're still not adequate. And so I appreciate what you do to help those parents. >> Thank you, Mrs. Fisher. Next item, the on the agenda, item number three, Dr. P. I move that the governing board approve consent agenda items 3A through I. >> Is there a second? >> Second. All those in favor? >> I You need a pose. Thank you, Mrs. Taylor. Next item, item 4 a back. I move the governing board approve a resolution
026in support of a reclassification of tax assessment ratio for expansion per a foreign trade zone provision for AOR technology Arizona Inc. located on property in the Deer Valley Unified School District boundary. >> Thank you Mr. Dr. Fch. >> Thank you. Uh we have uh MCOR guests in the audience. We also have Chris McKay who came was here two weeks ago. Uh it happened to be a good uh time for her to come talk to us about our zone and some of the growth that is happening around TSMC. And uh she further uh took some time to talk about MCOR and talk about free trade zones. Uh MCOR is an Arizona company. it works really works on the the packaging side of um the chip manufacturing and uh so we uh did a little presentation little
027history put it in the Friday update as well we have them here if you want to ask any questions if you need any clarifications or something that I can't answer but uh the uh Heather Mock probably has a couple comments too getting some questions around it that might be good for the audience that's watching President Carver, Dr. Finch, and guests. Yes, this is our fourth uh foreign trade zone that we are presenting to the governing board. The first was in 2013 for Honeywell. The second was in 2020 for TSMC that has blossomed from one, not one but two, three, four fabs being constructed in three phases and up to $165 billion in capital investments in Deer Valley Unified School District. Uh the really fun part about that is that it is the largest um capital
028investment project in United States history and it's right here in Deer Valley. With that, we have had some questions or comments from the public about how that affects our budget. And the easy answer is it doesn't. Our budget is 100% determined based off of our student count or our average daily membership ADM. And so though these um developments such as TSMC or AMCOR being presented today um do feed into the net assessed value of the district. They won't help our budget, but they actually will become additional taxpayers that will help potentially ease the burden of the taxes that are spread throughout all of the Deer Valley Unified School District taxpayers. Um again I said this was the fourth uh foreign trade zone we're presenting. I [snorts] mentioned two. The third would be sunlit which was
029approved shortly after 2020. And the resolution that you see before you for Amcor is the exact same format and resolution same wording that we have used for those other three. And we appreciate your consideration and support for our economic growth. Any questions from the board that I can take a stab at or ask our officials? No, Mrs. Fischer, I actually um [clears throat] I am a little bit concerned, not because of of MCO, but um when we approved TSMC, we we gave them the tax breaks. It makes sense you give tax break. um they bring industry um and then we have citizen that is employed and employable and I I do know individuals who are employed at TSMC and it's been a very good for them. What concerned me was right after them that we
030started bringing in suppliers that could have been American suppliers and we gave them the similar attachment. Um then now Amcor which um all the research that I've looked at is also very positive but are we looking towards are we going to again have [clears throat] where we're getting the tax break to another subsidiary in the future? The reason I [clears throat] asked that because our tax base and our our financials absolutely depend on these companies. there the tax break and the tax assessment or assessed valuation most definitely can cause problems. Um the solar plant uh down in southern Arizona sued the state because their tax assessed valuation was they felt too high and was not correct. And so the result was every district that fell under that then had to take a huge cut. Um
031even very small districts lost like $1.2 million when their total budget was 2 million. Um so do we have any asurances that I don't know how you can ensure that but do we have any subsidiaries that are being considered that you know of and um how does that tax well I guess we're already getting them break is there any possibility of them coming back again tax valuation is still too high and then we end up with a large withdrawal from our funding. >> President Carver, Dr. Finch, Mrs. Fischer. Um I did go back and review the presentations from 2020 and from October 14th from Miss Mackie. And if I remember correctly, this is um an Arizona specific um allowance that I believe it was the early 90s, maybe 1991, that reclassifies these manufacturers from a
032class one, which is assessed at 18% to a class 6, which is assessed at 5% on land that was previously not assessed at all. And as a reminder, since it doesn't affect our budget, you know, when you talk about the reassessment of a solar plant, and we've seen it in Maricopa County multiple times, um the board has previously approved a resolution for uh Transwestern Pipeline, which required some refunds to Transwestern Pipeline. What that does is take cash from the districts. It doesn't affect their budget. And so either the current year or the following year, the districts are then allowed to redistribute um that cash to make sure they collect it. It never affects the total budget capacity of the district. And that could potentially happen um whenever uh a county or assessor, you know, improperly
033or is challenged on their assessment from any property. And it wasn't the first time, but I don't believe those are related to the foreign trade zones. Those would be completely different. um appeals on those properties and the net assessed value. >> Thank you. >> And M court to use Arizona. >> Anyone else? >> Miss Mock. Uh can you explain the FTZ process? Um, I guess to the point that we are not the only taxing entity that either approves or disapproves in order for this to happen or not happen. We're just just a link in a chain in order to get this tax discount to them if if it passes. Correct. >> President Carver, members of the board and guest. Yes, thank you for the leading question. That is correct. um every taxing authority in which
034the um manufacturing property resides has to approve the foreign trade zone. And when we first began discussing um presenting this to the governing board, uh one of my first questions to the attorneys for Amcor was how many other taxing authorities have already approved it? And I believe we are one of the last. Maricopa County Community College District was also had it on their agenda for today. And then Maricopa County as a whole typically waits for all of the other taxing authorities to approve before they approve um having you know potentially rather not put it on the agenda if it's going to be denied by any of the other taxing authorities. >> And do we know if the city of Puria has already approved? >> President Carver, members of the board, Dr. Finch, I believe they
035have. I would have to defer to Amcor for sure, but when I asked um the last two other than us that I was told were Maropa County Community College District and Maricopa County as a whole, I believe city of Peoria um was one of the earlier approvers of the foreign trade zone. It is a huge city of Peoria project. They've got um that corridor, they've got lots of development planned and I think this is part of the heart of it. And so, so just to be clear when we're talking about numbers of dollars these companies are investing in this case with $7 billion to build a new facility when when we say things like I believe the statement we said was TSMC is spending $165 billion in Deer Valley Unified that the average person might
036hear that and think that they're actually spending that money on us. And just for clarification, they're spending that much money to build their facility. That has nothing to do with the taxes that they're going to pay when they finally get built or up and running or anything like that. Correct. This is how much money they're spending to build their infrastructure to exist inside Dur Unified. >> President Carver, Dr. Finch, members of the board. Yes, that is correct. That is just the capital investment to build the facility and then um it will be um the assessment will be at that class six or 5% And can you tell me and for everybody listening about how many years on average because I know that everything's a little bit different. Maybe you can go off of the past
037approvals from the time that an FTZ is approved to the time that an entity actually begins contributing to the tax base. Do we know what the lag is there? >> That President Carver, members of the board, that I don't know off the top of my head, but we could find that out and put it in the Friday update >> if you could please because I know a lot of folks in the community want to know. Great. they're here. When do they start contributing? So, I think >> I believe it's when they start selling. So, yeah, because really the FTZ the concept behind it is that they can import parts from around the world and that's that's the exemption side of it. And so once the part is assembled, then it goes out then they start
038contributing to the to the system. >> If you could confirm or deny that for us, we'd appreciate it. >> Absolutely. Thank you. >> Appreciate you. Anybody else from the board on this topic? Seeing none, all those in favor. >> Thank you, Mrs. Taylor. Next item on the agenda, item 4B, Dr. Pack. >> I move that the governing board approve and ratify all employee professional development out of state governing board policy GCC. >> We have a second. Any discussion? Hearing none. All those in favor? >> I. Any opposed? Thank you, Mrs. Taylor. Back item 4 C. >> I move that the governing board accept the administration's recommendation to pre-approve the agenda as presented. Is there a second? Any discussion? Mr. I remain concerned that there's um student activities in here still. Um I just really wish
039there was a way to come up with a solution to where the students have to say first because that's just the way the law is supposed to be. But M. >> Thank you, Mrs. Fisher. Mrs. Fisher, would you like Miss Mark to address that for the people at home? >> No, she's already this is the direction they gone. >> Okay, thank you. Any further discussion? Hearing none. All those in favor? >> It board the Dr. Pack. I move that the governing board approve next steps to hire outside legal counsel to facilitate open meeting law training as recommended by UDL Shamway LLC. >> Okay. So, this has been handed off to me to discuss. Um, thank you, Miss Sanche. At the last board meeting, we discussed uh I'll just read the executive summary here. At the
040October 14th board meeting governing board meeting, the board discussed recent open meeting law violation received from the attorney general's office findings against the curtain DVUSD board member. DVSD district attorney Ud Doll Shamwank confirmed findings against the individual board member with recommendation for the entire board to obtain additional open meeting law training to prevent future violations. During the last meeting, it was discussed that since members of this board have been through the training at least once, if not multiple times that uh it was kicked around a little bit that this next set of training should just take place inside of a regularly scheduled board meeting, 15 20 minute presentation from somebody other than Ud Doll Shamway as they've done the lion share of presenting in the past. Um and that's the motion that's before us tonight.
041[music] any discussion? >> Well, I actually um first of all, I'm very surprised that it was discussed at the last meeting considering the administration uh was well aware that I would not be here long before this ever even came forward. They knew I had to be at work 200 plus miles away. Um and so I think it was an opportunity to provide information as I told the community that was not necessarily complete or accurate. Um I did uh and I also don't know that it should be in uh just a regular board meeting. Um I think that there has been enough issue and I know that the belief is that the issue is is myself. However, um I just emailed with the AG earlier this evening. Um and as I pointed out to him, uh
042I revealed nothing from an executive session. Another individual um did to his spouse. And um when you read his secondary letter, he says that it's the content uh because the subject was similar even though nothing was said from that meeting. It's the subject. So I think that brings a much greater question being is everything that we discuss the subject open meeting law and and if that's true I absolutely would love to know where that is in statute. Um we've had multiple cases, you know, the one from January where the AG said there was no violation even though um ARS38 clearly says all meetings of the body are are to be open meetings. Um, so I think there's not only should we have it in more extensive, I think we should invite our legislators so that
043this can be corrected if there's a problem. If it truly is the subject, they need to make sure that's verified. Any subject that's discussed in an executive session is forever considered an open meeting law violation if someone mentions the subject. And what is that going to look like? Um because we talk about a lot of things in executive session and even the admonishment that we read at the beginning of an executive session. Nowhere does it say that you can never talk about this subject ever again. It says you cannot reveal what's in that meeting which I didn't do. So we need real clarification on whether it is truly the subject or not. We need clarification. Can we have a meeting with the forum of the board, all administration, a lawyer to discuss people's positions and
044qualifications as a get to know each other. Is that okay? Because the attorney general has said it is, but 38 says it is not. Um, we have had an executive session that the administration told a non employee the contents of the AG came back and actually I think that was the county attorney that came back and said it's not a violation because the of uh 38431 2B but 2B references a uh elected official being aware of what was said in the executive session even though that individual wasn't there. And that's an an opinion. So, are those truly something that's real? because every lawyer that I have talked to at ASBA, NSBA, um, and private lawyers have all said those three things that I mentioned are clear violations and should not occur, but they occur regularly.
045And so, if they truly are not a violation, it's important for us to know that. If they are a violation, it's important for us to know that. And in this case, if simply referencing, simply telling someone that they should not have been told something was executive session, if that is a violation, we need to know that. And we need to know if a subject is forever um not able to talk about. So, I just think there's a lot more to it and I think it needs to be addressed and that needs to be uh those questions need to be answered. >> Thank you, Mrs. Fischer. So tonight we're just discussing the direction given to us by the attorney general regarding the one specific open meeting v open meeting law violation concern that was sent to
046them by a community member. Um in that letter from the attorney general that we rehashed in the meeting last time u which I believe you've got a copy all the board members did. There were two things that we were told to do in that letter which we were not we did not receive any direction in any of the previous letters when allegations were filed against the district. But this time we did. We received two points. The first one was that the contents of this violation and this letter need to be discussed in open meeting and made part of public record. So we did that. The second one was that they recommended that the board go through additional training. So, that's what we're discussing tonight because if we don't follow the direction of the attorney general
047and somebody goes off the reservation and we don't do the training, then we've got no recourse uh because we're basically thumbming our nose at the attorney general. So, I appreciate your viewpoint being different than the attorney general, but right now we're just discussing this specific letter. Um, is there anybody else that wants to contribute to the conversation? >> I just had a clarifying question. If we move forward with um additional training, assuming it'll be much like the original training that we sat through, will there be opportunities for a more of a Q&A type presentation rather than um a listen to presentation? >> Correct. Yep. That's usually how they handle it. Um what they'll probably tell you though is you'll you'll give them a specific situation. you know, on a Tuesday this happened, this person did
048this, and they're going to say, "Not here." So, they're going to be talking about structure and systems and laws and and but specific situations. Rarely do you get a lawyer to answer a question about a specific situation unless you're pay >> hypothetical situations, >> hypotheticals, etc. Um, but yeah, well, you see it at the ASBA conference as well. People give specific situations. They all say consult your district lawyer. So you can but they might talk about the concept that you're referring to versus the situation because they are going to protect themselves because if they tell you oh you know you should have done this or you should have done that and they didn't have all the information or maybe just your perspective of what occurred then that puts them on hook. So in general you
049can ask questions but specific incences they won't be able to answer. I just have a comment to make. We all make mistakes. The more we learn, the less mistakes we make. Let's >> Right. It sounds like we're all in agreement that we need to I'm sorry, Miss did you have something? >> Yeah, I just want to clarify that uh we will be paying an attorney to come and lead this. So again, this is money that, you know, knowing what we know, having the the training that we've had, we're now inviting somebody back. And I just want to put this on the record using taxpayer dollars to pay for an attorney because someone um isn't following the rules. Thank you. Actually, that being said, I do support, you know, I will I'll be in favor of
050the attorney general's recommendation. >> Thank you, Mr. Chair. All those in favor with the recommendation of moving forward. Thank you. Next item on the agenda is item 5A. Call to the public. Dr. Pack. The board invites public comment on the district's business in general and on any agenda item in specific. All speakers must observe rules of decorum. Speakers must fill out a card listing name, address, and topic and hand it to the board secretary prior to the president calling the meeting to order. Speakers must make their comments in no more than three minutes. If necessary to accommodate all speakers within the 30 minute overall limit, the board president may shorten each speaker's time. Constructive criticism is in order. Rudess, vulgarity, disruptive conduct, or remarks disrespecting personal dignity are not in order and will not be
051allowed. Under the Arizona Open Meeting Law, the governing board cannot discuss or act on any items not listed on the agenda. Board members may respond to criticism made by a speaker, ask staff to review a matter, or ask that a matter be put on a future agenda. Ask Jeff retay to approach the microphone please and to state your name when you start speaking board members. One year ago today, I stood this uh behind this very microphone and related an incident in which I passed out subbing in a classroom at Mountain Ridge High School. The cause was hypoglycemia or low blood sugar. I was hospitalized three days before this with a seizure and should have canceled the assignment. The nurse was not called because the administrators assumed I had dozed off. My primary care physician at
052the VA later called this a medical emergency. I was literally thrown out into the streets. The next morning at 7:00 a.m. I was fired by district administrator Mrs. Bushnell. Mrs. Fischer was the only board member that offered support. She related that she was also diabetic and has many challenges in the workplace. Her pleas for other board members to help me get reinstated fell on deaf ears. Shortly thereafter, the bond and old ride were soundly defeated by the voters and the board president finished sixth in the voting. She was literally thrown out of office. The person that finished first was none other than Mrs. Fisher truly the people's choice. Then Mr. Carver, can you explain to the voters why every time I've come to this meeting, the senior member and top vote getter is always sitting
053at the far end of the table. Mrs. Fiser was absent for the last board meeting. You people took the opportunity to denigrate and criticize her. She had no chance to defend her actions. Board members even demanded that she pay for everyone's training in the district's legal fees. Dr. Finch has made several attempts to get me reinstated as a sub. Has been brushed off by my employer and he hears nothing but crickets from board members. Mr. Carver, you and your board friends have thrown me, a disabled veteran, under the bus. You threw one of an elite group of superintendents in this part of the country under the bus, and you threw board member Mrs. Fiser under the bus. Other than Mrs. Fiser, the no board members have shown any concern for the safety of the kids
054and staff. And now you expect the voters to hand over tens of millions of dollars to you next week. Good luck. On another subject, why is this microphone still in the very back of the room? Do you know how disrespectful this is to the parents and public who bring their concerns to the board? Plus, you deliberately schedule the public comments at the very end of the meeting. We have to be here at the beginning to sign in, then wait over two hours that board members can crack a few jokes and adjourn the meeting. The voters are looking for leadership and resolve. and I am looking for the board to help Dr. Finch get me reinstated. I am now wearing a Dexcom which monitors my blood sugar, preventing any chance of relapse. Thank you for the
055consideration. >> Governing board reports. Mr. Mek, >> before I do, I just like to ask that the administration find out if a letter of support or something from the board possibly would happen. Um, as a diabetic, I can't say that it's not an invalid possibility of what occurred. So just if you could find out it may not do any good anyway but if you could find out it would be nice for us at least. Yeah, it's not that's only one part of the puzzle. Yes, we've had multiple interactions with ESI our sub reporter our sub system and they're not successful. >> That's why the PD find out if they support from us >> would help. It might not, but >> we put it in private update kind of the plan what's happened. I think I've
056done it a couple of times. I could do it again. >> Dr. C check. >> Thank you. I I really don't have very much to report tonight. Um also though that I I do sit on the very end here um and was also the top vote getter uh in 2022. Uh that being said, I am a strong supporter for the override. Um, I had the pleasure of knocking doors. Oh, there talking to voters about the importance of this override. It again funds full day kindergarten. We had a wonderful presentation tonight um from early childhood development. And just so you know, what makes that really special is that currently those kiddos get to go right into full day kindergarten. And without the override, we will not be able to offer that service to our community. It's
057essential for the growth of our community. These are the students who are going to be taking care of you as we age. Um, and it's really important that we take the time to educate them just as there were ones before us who educated us and now serve in this community. It's something really important to remember. Uh, also that this will help with um property value. Some people ask, why should I care about the override? I don't have kids in the district or my kids are grown. Um, our our schools are the very heart of our community. And when our schools are thriving, our communities are thriving. So, I want to remind people of that. Uh, today was the last day to mail your ballot. However, if you did not mail it, you can come right
058here to the district office and cast your ballot in the ballot box um during hours. And I believe it goes, is it 9 to 5 or 8:30 to 4:30? late one of them >> 4:30. Okay. Uh uh during those hours and come down here. You got a couple days to do that. So please please please come out and um vote for the override. I I also last thing I want to say is I I want to um publicly apologize to San Okana High School um for not attending the homecoming parade. I had RSVP. Yes. Um, and then I had double booked myself and completely uh in uh call them and apologize that I wouldn't be there and so I did not show up and I want to apologize for that. Um really proud of all
059of our schools. I hear the homecoming parades and the games were a blast. So thank you and um I I think that's it. Thanks. >> Thank you, Miss S. Fisher. Um, it's been a I guess an interesting month for me having done this for I don't know 10 years um as a board member. Well, not all of them were as board member but working in the industry and whatnot. I struggle because I know that our community relies on their board. Um, as these employees sit before the board and and seek wise decision making, I I I've sat before several boards. I do twice a month at least sit before a board and have to answer to um multiple questions. Um but I will say that the community is very much dependent on the board to
060make wise decisions and to um ensure accountability. Um that's one of the biggest things I hear and I have been bombarded with um concerns about accountability, concerns about continuation of bullying. Um, I think we all got one about bullying. Um, and I think that wasn't the first email we got about bullying uh from that individual. Um, employees being bullied um and black ballalled and and whatnot. And we continue to get um things that I have an issue like maybe two or three um being served with another lawsuit. Um these kind of things come down to accountability and and I think it's really important that we start taking them seriously. Uh we still do not receive an update on any of these legal matters that were were given um the way we historically were. We could
061at least know that it was being taken care of. And while we cannot tell our community, hey, this is this is what's happening. Well, we can say I can assure you it's been addressed. I' I've received updates that um it is in process or things of that nature. Um it it just concerns me and and I will tell you I got calls non-stop from the last coordinator. Did you know this? I said you know what an irresponsible thing when they knew I wouldn't be there to even put it on the agenda. It's game play. It's gameplay. We have Democrat versus Republican game play. I I I got that all the way home last night, too. Uh about the secret vote ballot taken to uh be counted in private to determine whether I'll be censured. Um
062none of this should in fact these kids. None of them. They don't really care about our adult squables. Um they care that they can graduate out of grade to read and write. hopefully have some technical skills. Those that are collegebound want to make sure that they have the foreign language they need and everything they need. They want to make sure their master schedule is set sound. They want to make sure that we're managing our money. You know, one of the biggest questions I get is the use of district resources to influence the outcome of an election. Um, and I got to tell the community, I don't know. I don't know if it's not legal for Miss Simichek to say it or or any one of us to say from this point. I I don't know
063that answer. I don't know when teachers are being interviewed from a Deer Valley location if that is considered use of district resources or media putting that put out by specific board members. I I don't know those answers and honestly the community at this point when it comes to the election they aren't going to have to make the decision that they that they want to make. But I will say whatever decision our community makes, I hope that they stop being silent and out on their keyboards or or even in the little click groups. Get involved. Come here. and and if it passes, be here to hold everybody accountable. Your board, your administration, your teachers, and I will say as of lately, your students, because I've dealt with some students recently who just, you know, that happens,
064too. It's all the way around. Be involved, not just when it's time to vote, but when it's time to oppose. um hold us all accountable, but you can't do it if you're not here. So that's my stance right now. >> Thank you, Mrs. Fisher. Mr. Bfield, this is another section of the good, the bad, and the ugly. Let me start with the good. I had the opportunity of looking at two schools with gifted programs this last week. Boulder Creek and uh uh Canyon Springs. Uh they were incredible programs. At Canyon Springs, a seven-year-old came to the office and dragged me to her classroom. I loved it. In the Boulder Creek High School, these kids weren't in an AP program. They were in a Spanish immersion program. Now, everybody says, "Oh, wow. They must all speak
065Spanish. They must all come from Hispanic backgrounds." They don't. It was brilliant. And the teacher had them sit at desks and talk to each other. Wow. Number two on the good is the override. I agree with Miss Simichek on the importance of this override. Now to the bad. There are some idiots out there who are lying about the override. It's going to raise taxes $6,000. That's if you've got a $15 million house, maybe. But the thing that bothers me most is that they tore down some signs. Now, this isn't about left or right. This is about right and wrong. And we need to pay attention to where we're going. One other thing on the on the bad. I apologize to the gentleman who spoke because I didn't know and I apologize for not having done
066anything. But I will talk to Miss Fischer and see what I can do. And finally, the ugly. As usual, it's me. >> Thank you, Mr. Bachville. Dr. Back, first of all, I'd like to apologize for not attending the marching band. I love marching band and music. I was sick that evening, but uh in years past, I've been to Deer Valley Rally March, and they are amazing. So, I saw all the posts and things and um it it sounded like it was amazing. I'm sure it was, but don't get sick often, but I was sick. Um, I also misspoke at the last board meeting when I said I was going to attend a training. I thought I'd already attended it. The training I attended before was the Arizona Department of Education training. The training I attended
067this uh last what was it last weekend when the three of us were there. It was nice. Was the Maricopa County uh sup school superintendent training and it was the first time they put that training on was quite a large crowd. It was uh as I say always when I go to these trainings, it's nice to be able to hear even if you've heard it before, hear uh topics. It's nice to be able to talk to other board members uh because you're in the same you have the same common ground. You're not uh you know on the same board so you're not having that open meeting worry. You can just talk about topics in general and and how schoolboard life is going for them. Um and it was it was enlightening. there was some interesting
068facts and whenever you hear interesting whenever you hear data you take it for what it's worth and you add it to what other other knowledge you have. So um whether people agreed with some of the presentations or not I thought it was worthwhile venture um for for us to be there. So thank you for fellow board members that went um also I wanted to let the public know um when I review uh different publications that are updated. I love flipping through the the handbooks and seeing what's been updated. Um, our district does have a class added for financial math applications and AP business principles and personal finance. I've had community members tell me in the past, we need to have our kids know how to do do this stuff. We do. So, we have those.
069Those have been added and updated. So, that's pretty exciting. Didn't have that when I went to high school here. Um, also I wanted to um let the community know people that emailed me and I responded. I hear you. I understand. And um we as a board are concerned about our student safety. We're concerned about our our employee safety. And so I hear you. Um just to wrap up, I would ask Miss Moffett if if in general if you could give us um some clarification on what are the protocols for classified versus certified situations with resation, termination, and whatnot for future reference. That would be helpful. that uh tomorrow is National Cat Day, so don't take a catnap. Get your ballot filled out and turn it in so your vote can be heard. Thank you. >>
070Thank you, Dr. Pack. Um having served in the United States Marine Corps and being classified as a disabled vet, I receive a regular invitation to the Southwest Veterans Foundation ball. And this year they acknowledge the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War. It was quite a moving experience. The room was filled with brothers and sisters that served well before I did. Uh the Veterans Foundation is an organization that helps put need in touch with resource so that uh service members and women that have returned a little bit less than what they were when they left can receive the helps that they need, whether those are service dogs or prosthetics or counseling. And uh it's it's always a hard evening to keep a dry eye, but um I was surrounded by fellow service members and it was
071an amazing evening uh filled with patriotism and service. I was also able to attend the local uh LEAP gala, the first annual and LEAP stands for law enforcement advocacy that is started by a local uh wife and her husband who serves on the Phoenix PD. And it's an organization developed to try to help bring the concept of family unity back to uh police officers and their family. Uh back in the day, they used to have that common bond and they would look out for each other and support each other. And as our society has changed, um they've kind of drifted apart from that and some of the folks that have been around for a minute have realized that that's missing. And so, uh, this LEAP organization has been developed to try to help raise funds
072and awareness to help bring that sense of family and sense of commonality back to our, uh, law enforcement folks. And so, that was another evening filled with, uh, some pretty amazing stories and an opportunity to really, uh, get involved in the community and and do things that make a difference. Uh, school district-wise, I was able to attend two parades uh, for homecoming, Mountain Ridge and Sander Day. And again, you guys have heard me say this for the last couple meetings. If you haven't witnessed a parade uh for our homecoming, for our high schools, they all now venture out into the community so that the feeder schools can have an opportunity to see the marching bands and the clubs and the sports march by. And um and you can just walk right out of your house
073or I saw some people watching it from their backyard and it's it's awesome. There's candy handed out and music played and and very colorful floats. I was also able to attend the Mountain Ridge High School homecoming game and the Sander Day O'Connor uh game. Both of those games were very tough games and uh I posted updates about that on Facebook. You guys really need to try to get out and see. I tell you what, Saturday uh their marching band is absolutely huge and it was alumni night because it was homecoming. So, uh, prior folks that had played in the band and kids that were coming up that would soon play in the band were all there. And so, this band was absolutely, uh, enormous. And when they would play, it was, uh, it just changed
074the entire atmosphere in the stadium. Uh, the kids stayed on their feet the entire time, the ones in the stand in the in the uh, cage area as some schools refer to it. And there's just a whole lot of school spirit and a lot of a lot of great things happening there. I was able to also attend the DVSD band invitational. Uh that is a marching band program that the district puts on for our five high schools to come together and practice what it is that they plan on taking off to the other invitationals where by the way all of our bands have won some sort of award so far this year for the different divisions they're in. So again, quite a spectacle to see. I was able to attend the pop lunchon for those
075of you that don't know what that is. um the presidents of the local PTSAs, PTO's uh come in sometimes with or without their school president uh principles and get a download on everything going on in the district and ways that they can help and share with us challenges that they might have so that we can all work together for the common benefit of the children. I was able to be a fly on the wall for the summer camp meeting, the planning meeting for the Taiwanese summer camp that goes on every summer and uh got to hear some of the challenges that they face and some of the things that we need to work towards in order to try to accommodate that continued success. And as Dr. Pack alluded to, I was able to attend the
076uh county superintendent uh training that they had available for any school board members in the county that wanted to come. Uh the three of us were there and hey, guess what? what we talked about open meeting law among other things. Uh so it was it was a good two-day event, lots of good stuff and it was able to be presented from a different point of view than what we usually get uh going to the asthma meetings and and other conferences such as that. So that's all that Dr. Finch, just a reminder to the public that's watching the YouTube has been in and out on us. So we'll we'll upload the um recording and match it tomorrow. make sure make the audio matches with the video. So stay tuned. Uh we'll get those matched up for
077us. Sometimes technology doesn't do what it's supposed to do. We do have besides the district office here uh for a place to drop your ballot, there's a a place up north in the Anthem area and down in the foothills area, you can go to the Maricopa County website and find out where they're at. About 9% of our parents voted in the last mailin. uh ballot. I call it the good Samaritan syndrome. Everybody thought they need my vote. Um I'm sure this won't pass. This will pass. So don't worry about whether I vote or not. And so we want to obviously we want your voice, parents, because you're the ones that have the uh the most impact in our community. And as Miss Simek alluded to, the research says three things happen when your schools public
078schools thrive. and that is your property value goes up, crime goes down and you train the next generation workforce and that is true throughout the country. Uh if you croc that or Google that or ask chat GDP they will give you that answer and so um we continue to lead the state academically fine arts and athletics and we want to continue on that path. the Deer Valley swim championships are going or just happened I think or it's going to be happening soon. Uh but all of the things that are uh all the sports championships are now coming up uh from the fall. Football's just ending, volleyball, badminton, all those. I think bad minton was in states today. We had some teams and individuals in that. So keep an eye on social media. That's usually where
079we put it to keep uh tabs on that. And yes, we usually do win a couple things. Couple state titles usually come from that those adventures. Just a reminder, October, we're quickly closing up October, but it's principal month, national principal month for October. And I, you've heard from me before, I think the principal principal is the most important person in a school system. So, um, they get it from all angles. It's a tough gig and, uh, the the staff that have good principles, they stick around. And so we want to we want to say thanks to our principles uh this month. We put I put a lot of value in that chair and um make sure we have the best and we do have great administrators in Deer Valley. That's something we hang our hat
080on and the results speak for themselves. The as A as A as A as A as A as A as A as A as A as A as ASA the national or the state superintendent conference was today. I just got back from it. Again, when we go to these conferences, we're looking usually we're looking for one or two things that we can borrow and bring back to help uh fine our craft and uh help us get better. Um many of the sessions we help others as well. This week, I believe, or next week, I'll I put in the Friday update if you want to come check it out. But TSMC, I think I alluded to it in the last Friday update, is going to be presenting a check to us for $15,000 to go to
081Deer or to Desert Sky Middle School. And it's going to be to help um with their um career center feeder program that they do there. It's module based and so kids can get their fingers in different things like plumbing, uh carpentry, etc., electricity. And so, um, they're they offered to help support that because obviously they are looking for workers, uh, down the trail, um, of kids that were interested in working at their companies, um, in particular TSMC. So, we want to, um, they want to write the check. So, that'd be great. And so, they're going to be a little presentation. Had a NEC superintendent meeting this, uh, last week. Just a reminder to the board, that's Peoria, PB, Scottsdale, Daart K. Um, who else is there? Natabberg's in there. Um, but of those of the
082nine years I've been here, in those eight districts, there's been 21 superintendent in the last one. That's how much turnover is in the superintendent chair in our zone. That's not good for kids. It's not good for continuity. It's not good for results. And so, um, as community members and board members, like that's something that we always need to think about is continuity. Continuity brings results. That's what the research says. So, um, keep up great work, governing board. We can do this together. Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Finch. Future board meetings are listed on the Deer Valley website. And can I have a motion to adjourn? >> So move. >> A second. >> Second. >> All those in favor? Any opposed? Thank you everybody. Drive safe.