001Good evening. I now call to order the regularly scheduled board meeting for the Lake Avis Unified School District for January 8th, 2026. Roll call, please. >> Michael K >> here. >> Evelyn Tinsley >> here. Roman >> here. >> Matthew Houston >> here. >> We will now have a moment of silent prayer and private reflection. Amen. Would you please stand for the pledge of >> allegiance? I aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> May be seated. >> All right. Good evening. Welcome to our first governing board meeting of the year. Welcome back to all of our students, teachers, and staff. Happy New Year. Thank you for being here this evening. Um, first item
002up, item 1.5, governing board elections for president and vice president. The current governing board or vice president shall conduct the elections of officers. Nominations for each office will be received separately with an election immediately following each nomination. At this time, we will first open up for a nomination for governing board president. >> At this time, I move to appoint David Rose as governing board president. >> We need a second. >> I will second. Although I'm going to change the language to elect instead of appoint. >> Thank you. >> All right. Is there any discussion before about >> I I just have to say I appreciate your energy. Um there's a lot that we have done this year and uh you know all the things that come up you answer your phone, you get after it.
003So I just want to say I appreciate you and your energies and the dedication that you gave to the position. >> And I will say for my part um our our political views are very different. Um but >> no, >> but I think we have left our personal politics at the door and just focused on getting school business done. Um and we have had some highs throughout the year and in those cases, President Rose has been willing to share credit and we've also had some low points and some mistakes and during those times, President Rose was willing to address the mistakes and fix them. There be is no other discussion. We will take a vote. Call for a motion. >> Yes. All right. At this time, I will take a nomination for vice president. >>
004I was hoping we could definitely keep it the same. Everything has flowed so nicely. So, I would like to put Matt's name out there. >> Okay. So, we have a nomination for Matt and I will second that. Um, any discussion? Okay. I will say that um, Vice President Houston has done a great job of um, giving input, helping um, with leadership, making sure that we have everything that we need um, working with the superintendent. As you know, he is a county prosecutor, so he is not available a lot during the day and like other board members are. And so the time that he has been able to put in we appreciate and um he has helped cast vision for the district and has given great input and has been a great asset. So anyone else.
005>> All right. At this time I will call for a vote. >> Michael K. >> Yes. >> Evelyn Hinsley. >> Yes. >> Lisa. >> Yes. >> Matthew Houston. >> Yes. >> David Rose. >> Yes. All right. All right. At this time item 2.1 governing board monthly awards. If the board will join me, >> I'm not that tall. All right. So, this month we're going to start out with our community member of the month. Every month we recognize a community, a community member who has partnered with the district and does great things for our students, teachers, and staff. And for the month of January, our Shabby Shack is our community member of the month. So, our Shabby Shack every year partners with the school district to find uh donors to help make sure that our teachers
006are equipped in the classroom with books, materials, and they are a great asset to the school district and to the Lake Absu community, and we're so thankful for them. Denise, thank you. >> Next up is our teacher of the month. This month it is Brian Zimatl. BRIAN MR. Zimatl has been with Lakehouse Unified School District for 28 years as a social studies teacher. He is also a club advisor for Closeup and for the TP uh Turning Point chapter, Club America, and takes his uh club to Washington DC every year for a civics educa education program. He is very active with our students and we are grateful for his service. CONGRATULATIONS. >> Next up is our support staff member of the month. This month it is Sue Blanchard from Thunderbolt Middle School. >> Sue has been
007with the Lake Havisu Unified School District for 35 years. Whenever you show up to Thunderbolt, she is the first smiling face that you get to see. She has been a pertinent part of our middle school as the staff assistant. We are grateful for all of her years of service. Sue, congratulations. And finally, last but not least, our administrator of the month, Christy Olsen. Christie has been with the Lake Havis Unified School District for 34 years. For the last six month months, Christy has diligently served the school district as our student achievement director, working diligently to improve student achievement, improve our morale in our schools, making sure that our teachers are equipped and our students are becoming successful. And we are so thankful for her years of service to the district and many more years to
008come. CONGRATULATIONS from All right. Item 2.2, student achievement recognition of our new national board certified teachers. Please welcome again Miss Olsen. President Rose, members of the governing board. Tonight we have the privilege of recognizing two educators who have achieved one of the highest professional distinctions in education. National Board Certification. National Board Certification is a rigorous, voluntary, and performance-based process that requires teachers to demonstrate accomplished practice through multiple components. Candidates submit standardsbased evidence of student learning, analyze their instructional decisions, reflect on their practice, and show how their teaching positively impacts students. This process is deeply aligned to the National Board's five core propositions and demands a high level of commitment, reflection, and professional growth. This evening, we are proud to celebrate these two teachers who have successfully completed this process by earning National Board Certification. They
009join 31 other national board certified teachers in our district. Please join me in celebrating the following teachers. Aldren Antonio High School AND right up here please. And Hannah Towns Havasupi Elementary School first grade. We are incredibly proud of these teachers and grateful for the expertise and leadership they bring to their classrooms and our district. And at this time, we would like to welcome representatives from the Lake Havsu Unified School District K12 Foundation to say a few words. The foundation has supported national board certification for over two decades and we greatly appreciate their ongoing commitment to teacher excellence and student success. >> Good evening and thank you board and audience. It's an honor here. I'm Carol Lenford with the K12 Foundation and I'd like to share a little story about the K12 Foundation which which was
010established in 2003 by local business leaders who were interested in supporting students and educators of the Lake Havsu Unified School District. our volunteer board which we have Jamie Hammer, Natalie Rogers and Amy and we are made up of eight other board members but we are a volunteer board made up of civic and business leaders that come from across the community. We are a nonprofit foundation that has supported programs and provided resources that are essential building blocks for the education of our kids and their future. Over the past 22 years, the K12 Foundation has raised close to $1 million. Each year, we have our one and only fundraiser, The Taste of Havsu, and we hope to see you all there October 22nd. This money has been used to support initiatives across the district, including recognizing excellent
011teachers through the Sherry Daily Golden Apple Award. Do we have anybody in here who's a Golden Apple Award? >> Love it. Thank you. We support peer-to-peer tutoring at the Lake Havsu High School. We fund STEM clubs and activities at the school. We put on the high school academic recognition dinner which recognizes the top students for the year. We celebrate staff at staff appreciation events. We provide funds to the principles to be used at their schools. We support new teachers during pre-ervice week. We recognize that excellent educators and providing funding for educators who work to become national board certified teachers. The K12 Foundation has provided financial support and tonight we are excited to support the two national board certified teachers. And I'd like to provide these checks to Aldren Antonio and Hannah Counts. Say your names.
012PERFECT. >> You want a quick picture with them? >> Oh, okay. I can't >> do one more. >> Thank you. All right, congratulations to our teachers. Also, now at this time, if you would please welcome Lake Absu City Education Association Director, President Carol Noacowski. All right. This evening will be short and sweet. Um I didn't realize it was so early because um last time I was here I said legislation would be um beginning. So good evening, President Rose, members of the board, Dr. Stone, directors, staff, students, and community. Congratulations to our national board of certified teachers. Um we are proud of you and are excited for you to join um our little um for the past several months we have been hearing about school closures around the state but we are extremely fortunate here at
013LHD to not be having these conversations. In fact we have two principles attending a principal academy and it was shared with them today that Lake Kawasu is ahead of the state in teacher retention. that has a lot to say about who we are and what we have to offer. So, thank you to the board, our superintendent, directors, staff, students, and our community. It's you who make this happen. As I said, January 12th, we'll begin our next legislative session. So, when I report back, we'll talk about bills that have been dropped. Right. Thank you. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> At this time, item 3.1, call to the public. >> There is no call to the public. What a great way to start off the year. >> Happy New Year. I'm just joking. >> Anybody? >>
014No complaints. We're good. All right. >> I know. Too soon. >> Yeah. Screw. >> There's next month. Anyway, I'm just All right. At this time, item 4.1, our consent agenda. At this time, I need a motion and a second to approve. >> I move to approve the consent agenda. >> I second. >> Michael Kern, >> yes. >> Evelyn Hinsley, >> yes. >> Roman, >> yes. >> Matthew Houston, >> yes. >> All right. At this time, Singage Big Ideas Math U Curriculum Expansion item 6.1. Please welcome Mrs. >> Are you coming? >> No, just Miss Olsson. They're coming. Okay. Okay. Uh, President Rose, members of the board, tonight I'm presenting a recommendation regarding the expansion of the Big Ideas Math and You curriculum to grades K through six. In 2022, the district adopted Big Ideas Math
015for grades 7 through algebra 2. Okay. Expanding Big Ideas Math and You to grades K through six creates a fully aligned math instructional system from kindergarten through algebra 2, ensuring consistency, coherence, and a shared instructional language across all grade levels. Go to the next one. This vertical alignment supports a deep understanding of mathematical domains and conceptual categories. Students experience a logical progression of skills and concepts year-toear while teachers benefit from consistent models, representations, and instructional practices. During the pilot phase, classrooms using big ideas math and you demonstrated strong results. Students in pilot classrooms showed an 11% higher projected proficiency as measured by fall AASA aligned assessments. These early results suggest positive impacts on both conceptual understanding and readiness for grade level standards. The curriculum is also designed to be familyfriendly with easily accessible video supports
016that provide clear explanations and worked examples. This allows families to better support student learning at home and strengthens the homeschool connection. Okay, one more. This K6 expansion includes comprehensive instructional supports, student materials in both print and digital formats, teacher resources in both print and digital formats, substantial embedded professional development to support high quality implementation. This professional learning ensures teachers are well supported in delivering instruction that emphasizes conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, and real world application. In summary, expanding big ideas math and you in grades K through six aligns math instruction from kindergarten through algebra 2 creates consistency and coherence across grade levels. Supports deep mathematical understanding, provides strong family engagement tools, includes robust professional development for teachers, and is supported by promising pilot data. We look forward to supporting strong math outcomes for all students. Thank
017you. All right, I am going to open up for the governing board at this time and I'm going to start off is I had the great opportunity to be part of this um committee and I was extremely impressed by the presentation um hearing from our teachers who have been pilot piloting this as as um in their classrooms. Um love it and uh their students love it, the parents love it and I think this would be a great addition um throughout the entire school district. So, and this gets us off of the Singapore math which is currently through our K through six. >> That is correct. >> And this aligns it all the way through. >> Correct. >> Okay. That Yeah, that's fantastic. I I definitely and I I really am excited to hear the family
018engagement, >> especially with math, doing your problems at home, being able to help your child do those problems at home. Um that that's something very important to me. So, I'm glad that you brought this to us. Thank you. That's why I love that it's parent friend friendly and it has those little QR codes to where it could help out if you need it. >> And so the QR code brings up how to and how to instruct. >> Yep. It brings up a quick little one minute to two minute video that shows the families exactly how the content was taught in the classroom so that they can support their student at home. >> Perfect. >> For the workbooks, um so each year the students will get a new workbook. >> That is correct. And that is
019included in the price. >> Okay. and >> and then how many hours of professional development? >> Okay, I totaled it up and I want to say I'm going back. It was close to probably 20 hours over the course of six years. >> Okay. Yeah. And and professional development doesn't just happen in year one. They continue in year two and year three with check-ins so that our teachers are completely comfortable with the online platform and the resources that are provided. >> And this has been run finance. >> Yes, sir. >> Green light. >> Okay. >> I uh >> any any other questions, comments at this time? I'll call for a vote on item 6.1. >> I think we had a motion. >> I need a motion. I'm calling for a motion and a second. I'll move
020to approve 6.1. >> I'll second. >> Yes. >> Evelyn, >> yes. >> Houston, >> yes. >> David, >> yes. >> Thank you. >> All right. Item 7.1. Please welcome Dr. Stone. Good evening. >> Good evening. I just want to say happy new year to everyone. Congratulations to our natural herb certified teachers. Um it's a tremendous accomplishment. It requires a great deal of extra work on their part. Um so we do appreciate the time that they've put into improving their craft and that helps their students in the long run. Um I also want to thank our student achievement team. Um putting this um expansion forward is also a lot of work and they did a great job in bringing that forward. Um congratulations to President Rose and Vice President again. Um, I look forward to this
021year and I would echo what member Raman said that this board has been able to put aside differences and really work together to accomplish some very positive things for both students and staff. Um, I appreciate this board's focus on improving all students achievement and your recognition that teachers in our classrooms are really the boots on the ground. So, your commitment to increasing teacher pay and providing excellent benefits is really to be commended and I know that our staff is appreciative of that. Um, that being said, we are approaching the next year's budget season. Um, so we will begin to look at contracts, staffing, and benefits for the upcoming school year. Um, I'm looking forward to presenting a more robust benefit package to you next month along with um, discussions regarding class size reduction and other
022priorities that the board could consider as part of this process. And I also want to thank our education association because they have been an integral part of bringing things forward that our staff really need. um to do a great job for our kids. Um so some of what I bring forward will be part of working with them as well and I just want to thank them for that as well. >> Thank you. All right. Item 7.2 governing board members. I will um start us off by saying thank you to this board for uh finding confidence in me to reelect me as your governing board president. Um it has been a great honor to serve the school district and this community this year. And um to mimic what member Roman said, we have been able to
023set aside agendas um ideas uh philosophies and really focus on what's important, our teachers, students, and staff um which are the heart of this district and making sure that every student becomes successful. And uh so thank you for that. And and I said this when uh her and I everyone thought um that we were going to kill each other. And that's just not who I am. We we've got to learn that we can be on different sides of the aisle politically and still care about one another, still respect one another, and still be in relationship. And I very much appreciate member Roman and the relationship uh working together that we have built. It has been an amazing school year. Um we've had amazing successes and some things that we've had to work through and and
024look back and we will not do those things again. But um you learn from mistakes and you move on. And um but I'm very proud of this governing board and the example that we've been able to set of what um governing can look like across the state, across the nation. Um despite what your political opinion may be, if we just would sit down and have a conversation and hear one another out, I think that we could really make a difference. And uh so again, thank you for that. And then yes, since I I've appreciated your counterbalance and your you brought a lot of experience to us and educated us through this year. So I very much appreciated that. Um and echoing what you had said at the last board meeting on we had said you're
025going to go to each of the schools. I talked with Dr. Stone. She's going to be looking at um kind of setting that up maybe one special session at each school a month and we kind of get through the schools um so that we can make good on that promise that we're going to go there. And again, you brought that up. So, I just want to commend you and thank you for your support. And I know you're going to be not running again this year. So, I just wanted to say thank you for being the counterbalance, being the um experience on this board. We we it has been a great year >> for for the next Well, thank first of all, thank you both for um your kind remarks. I do appreciate that and I
026do um I I am appreciative of the um compromises and the collaboration that we've been able to forge. So um for the oh one um touchback at the end of the last meeting I asked for um some updates on how the Affordable Care Act subsidies and their possible repeal might impact our district and um the health benefits that we offer to staff. Um although the ACA seems like it's still up in the air u as far as what happens with that. I did hear from Dr. Stone that the NABT is not planning any changes or any premium increases for the next year. >> I'm sorry. >> What's the acronym stand for? >> Um Northern Arizona Employee Benefits Trust. Yes. So they're the ones who provide our staff's uh health insurance. Um, and then the other
027item that I was hoping to discuss in the future, um, so the city in general is at a loss for usable fields for practices. And one of the limiting factors is being able to light the fields at night. We have the fields, but not really the money to provide the lighting, but the city might have the money to provide the lighting, even though they don't have the field space. So, I'm hoping to build some collaboration um over the next couple of months um or at least get that conversation started. >> Yeah, think that's a great idea. >> Yeah, absolutely. >> I would like to go in with you on that a little bit. I do have some information because I did dig down that little rabbit hole a little bit, but I didn't get too
028crazy far because of electrical. Okay, >> I will tell you I've already discussed it quite a bit with President Rose, but if you send whatever information you want to to Superintendent Stone, she can distribute that as she sees fit and it wouldn't be a violation of open media law. >> No, that's perfect. >> Okay, >> awesome. And we will be reaching out to the city to begin to have that conversation. >> Um, and we think that partnership is extremely important. We want to be able to support our sports teams in this community and our fields uh be able to to have use. Also this evening, I would like to take a moment to recognize our football coach who is in the room who has announced his retirement. Coach Carl Thompson has been an amazing asset
029uh to the school district. So coach, um just know you are going to be greatly missed on the football field and we just thank you for your years of service to the school district and to the young men that you have coached all these years. And uh you're going to be missed on this field and uh go Knights. OH, >> and you are leaving on a high note. You're uh leaving with the golden shovel in its rightful home. So, >> so I can tell you um that our uh new athletic director along with Mr. Becker, the superintendent, and human resources are working very diligently. Uh, Coach Thompson has big shoes to fill and uh they want to make sure that we have a a coach that can step right into that place and continue to
030to build um where he is is leading off. So again, um we will have updates on that um here soon and we're very thankful for our admin team and uh and doing that. Any other anything else from the governing board? Anything else? So this year as we come into 2026, we we've accomplished a lot of great things in in 2025 and we're very thankful for that. Um very thankful for the partnership that this board has um with the teacher Lake Havsu teachers association um with Carol and Joel. They are amazing and they bring a lot of things to the table and we're able to work through things and there's some things that we push back on say we're not able to do that yet but we're able to meet in the middle and have honest
031conversations and those types of relationships are what make this district so strong and we're very thankful for them. Um and some of the things we're going to be working on this year um through some of those conversations are benefits um that you were going to see presented in one of the very soon upcoming meetings. Um, also school safety. We're continuing on on our school safety audit. We will have an update for that. Smaller classroom sizes. Uh, we are going to set the standard for the state of what it can look like to successfully have smaller classroom sizes and to invest into our district. And then one of the things um I've had this conversation um with our superintendent also with member Raman so I've not been able to share this with other uh board members
032but I I can this evening is um look I I've found out that our school district can take ESA funds and in doing so um I'm looking very diligently at starting a homeschool program for the students who are not attending our school district and we would be able to provide services classes to them um as an option. For example, students um that are homeschooled could use our school district to take fine arts classes, they could take band, they could take our our language classes, they could do our Cte program. So, there's a lot of opportunity uh to be able to partner and offer things into our school district for our homeschool community and for the school district to be able to take ESA funds for that. So we will have more information on that in
033the upcoming months and we're very excited about that. >> Just one more thing. You know we um there has been a lot going on. We are obviously working and understand you guys are the boots on the ground. There is coming up as finance will say is the bond and override funds. We're using them. we are putting them to the district and I just want you guys to continue those efforts working with with student improvement and get us that data so that when it come time come comes time to come to the community and say look this is what we've done with your funds we have improved your district we've improved the student outcomes we've had teacher retention this is how a school should function you give us that data you guys have been working so
034hard and we're so thankful for that so that we can go out to the community and say hey continue to support us so that we can continue to support you. So, I just as we're going this year, continue all your hard work. I thank you for all your hard work and I look forward to continue to working with you. >> All right. If there's nothing else from the governing board, um item 8.1, a motion to adjurnn and a second. >> I move to adjurnn. >> And a second. >> Michael Kern, >> yes. >> Evelyn Hson, >> yes. >> Roman, >> yes. >> Mike Houston, >> yes. David. >> Yes. Have a great evening. L mission of structures.