001I kept it from this. That's really short. This is just the front page. Wait till you get to the I just appreciate that Corv and Sarah have something to sit here. What's that? the events, you know, our monthly reports. Oh, mine's gonna be super fast this time. Eric only has 17. Yeah. Are you guys ready? Yep. All right. So, we're gonna start. All right. Could you please stand for the pledge? 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. Thank you. All right. 3.1 Celebration of Retirees. Yes. Good evening, President. Superintendent and the community. Uh tonight we gather to honor and celebrate 16 outstanding retirees from the Agraa High School District for the 2425
002school year. Trying to get this slide to come. There it is. These individuals have dedicated their life's work to serving our students, schools, and community. Together, they represent an incredible 166 years of combined service. We take this special moment to highlight, recognize, and present each one of our retirees who is here with us this evening to the governing board and give them a token of our appreciation. Joining us to honor their retirees will be our principles and directors who will share a few words and recognize their remarkable team members. And now to begin our celebration, please welcome Desert Edge High School's principal, Gretchen Pan. And we're bringing up Marcy. Thought I brought my glasses. Good evening, President Actton, members of the board, Superintendent and members of our community. Very excited here. It is my honor
003to recognize and celebrate the retirement of a very special member of Desert Edge family, Marcy Thrain. Marcy devoted many years to the success of our students, working tirelessly in remediation and math classrooms, supporting our AVID students, and most recently playing a vital role in our freshman experience and academy transformation. Every step of the way, Marcy's focus has remained constant, caring deeply about student learning, student involvement, and student growth. Marcy has also been a cornerstone in shaping the culture of Desert Edge. She was a key collaborator in building our STEM motto to guide the character and expectations of our student and staff. Beyond the classroom, Marcy extended her leadership into athletics, coaching Desert Edg's girls golf team for several years. Who was it? No. six six years um and excel to excel both on and off
004the course. Marcy's impact can be felt across so many areas of our campus from academic support to student leadership to school culture and her contributions will not be forgotten. Marcy, on behalf of our entire school community, thank you for your dedication, your passion, and your years of service. We wish you the best in your next chapter. Our next person I'm bringing up is No Corvales and she'll be recognizing Bazera from our HR department. Okay, good evening everyone. Um, good Debbie came to us from Union Elementary. So, she was with us for a short time, but she has dedicated over 22 years, about 22 years to public education. Um, and right away with Debbie came to us, um, she really brought an unmatched spirit to our department, always the first to cheer others on and lift
005mood with her humor and heart. Her presence brightened our days and her genuine care for staff and students left a lasting impression. I say she was our biggest cheerleader. Sorry, Julie, but she really was. She was she is our biggest cheerleader. Um, this is from Elsa, your manager. Debbie was not only a valued team player, but also a constant source of encouragement and positivity. She had a special gift for making everyone feel seen and supported. Always taking the time to connect with others in a genuine and personal way. With her quick wit, kindness, and thoughtful listening, Debbie brought warmth and laughter wherever she went. While we already feel her absence since her retirement in late March, we're happy for her as she begins this new and well-deserved chapter in her life. So, Debbie, it's not
006over yet. Your legacy is one of joy, connection, and unwavering support, the kind that doesn't fade with retirement. Though we miss her dearly, her impact will continue to echo through our halls, just like your chunkas did. Okay, hold it together this time. Um, so our I'm sorry, let me see. Her impact will continue to echo through our halls and hearts for years to come. Thank you, Debbie, for your 22 years of commitment to public education. [Applause] Next, I'll bring up Mr. Huffman. I'm here to talk a little bit about Quay Bolton military. And before I start, let me When I wrote this stuff here out, I thought some random MC was going to be reading this. So, I was very to the point succinct. I didn't know he's going to be standing next to Quay.
007And so, I'd like to say a couple things personally about how special Quay has been to me over these last few years and what a trusted colleague she is. So, thank you for that. Um, what makes Quay special is how much she cares. And when she looks at numbers in her department, and there's a lot of numbers in her department, those numbers for her, she thinks about how can she use those resources to affect the lives of our kids and to help our life better for our teachers. So, I just wanted to say that. And with that, on behalf of the finance department, the operations team, and the offer unit high school district, we'd like to extend our heartfelt thanks and appreciation for your dedicated service and exceptional contributions over the past five years. As
008you retire from your role as executive director of finance, we celebrate not only your professional accomplishments, but also the lasting impact you've made on the district community. Your commitment to students, colleagues, and your work has been evident in every aspect of your service. Whether working behind the scenes to ensure financial responsibility or supporting teams across our schools, you have always approached your role with integ integrity, care, and a deep sense of purpose. You've been a trusted and valued colleague to many known not only for your expertise, but also for your warmth, encouragement, and willingness to collaborate. Your dedication to lifelong learning is an inspiration to all of us. Returning to school midcareer to complete your degree is a powerful example of your personal drive and your belief in growth. You have modeled for our entire
009community what it means to keep learning and striving to be your best. While we are sad to see you go, we're thrilled for the new chapter that awaits you in your special new home south of the valley. Please know that you leave behind a legacy of excellence and that you'll be greatly missed. Congratulations. [Applause] Miss. Good evening, board members and community and superintendent. Hopefully I can see this. Uh Kirby Warner came to our district 25 years ago. 25 years ago. Born of a century. You're getting old, man. And but I was before him so I won't say too much on that but he came to us in 99 prior to joining the district he worked in private industry and as he was hired here at the district he started as the district electrician at that
010time we had two schools for south and north which is millennium and at that time we had approximately 3500 students and now as everyone knows we have over 10,000 and during that time Kirby has kept up with all the electrical needs always out looking for the best product for our district, the best price, energy efficient. So, he's he's more than just, you know, fixing a light switch. He's he does everything. Um he's always the first one to help a lending hand. Matter of fact, he was here at 3:00 this morning setting up this area for the meeting before he went to his work orders. Um again, he's always been willing to give the extra helping hand day or night, weekends, every Sunday, whatever. Uh he's always been dedicated to us, helping his fellow workers, helping
011out the students that campus needs, and I just really want to congratulate you on your next venture in life. And he'll really be missed. And congratulations, Sparky. [Applause] All right, our next uh would be Miss Bundy. Good evening everyone. Um, tonight I have the honor and pleasure of recognizing Miss Regina Wilkerson. Um, I have the same sentiments as Tom, thinking that someone behind the scenes was going to be reading this. So anyway, after 29 years in education, 10 of them with the Awafer School District at Millennium, um Regina is excited to officially retire from her career in education. She's had the privilege of working alongside incredible colleagues who care deeply about students and learning. One of her greatest joys is her time here helping students succeed in AP government. Seeing them rise to the challenge
012and earn increasing scores year after year has been a personal and professional highlight of hers. She is also grateful for the opportunity to be part of the leadership cadre. That experience has allowed her to grow in new ways and develop a broader perspective on education and service. She has spent time coaching boys and girls basketball and sponsoring the Black Student Union. Um they've been equally meaningful and it's been inspiring to her to support students as they have found their voices, built community, and took on leadership roles in many different areas. While she's excited for what's ahead, whether that means more time with family, travel, or exploring new passions, she'll carry those relationships, lessons, and memories built her. We are definitely going to miss this young lady. Um, if you've ever seen her in the classroom
013and in the tea building, this smile is a daily a daily thing. And her students and colleagues love her and we are going to miss her. Miss Overtick. And we're gonna bring What are we doing here? I don't retiring I hope. Um, good evening. So, I have the pleasure of presenting two employees from the transportation department. Our first employee, Mr. John Payne. Mr. Payne began began his employment with Algafria Union High School Transportation Department on July 31st, 2007 and throughout his tenure has served the students and families of our school district without waiver. He has driven thousands of miles throughout the years, providing route coverage, servicing field trips, all while maintaining student safety. Mr. Payne has mentored many employees in our department, and his dedication and support of the department's leadership team is unmatched. As
014you prepare to embark on your retirement, John, we want to express how grateful we are for the years of service you have given to the transportation department. Your dedication and reliability have been invaluable to us. The positive attitude and genuine care you have shown over the years for those you have serviced and also worked with have made a lasting impression on all of us. You will be missed, but we wish you the best in the next chapter in your life. Thank you. [Applause] Thank you. Uh my apologies. I forgot to introduce our transportation supervisor, Christina Sals, who supervises these two fine gentlemen, or did anyway. Oh, thank you. So, Mr. Dennis Johnson began his employment with Iowa Free Union High School Transportation Department on June 16th, 2012. He spent 13 years servicing the students and
015families of our district, driving bus routes and field trips while supporting our transportation team day in and day out with a smile on his face and an infectious personality. Dennis, your dedication and reliability have been invaluable to us and we are grateful for the years of service you have given to the transportation department. It has been an absolute pleasure working with you and we wish you safe travels and all the best in your retirement. Thanks, Dennis. [Applause] Can I have Mr. Thomas? Come on up. You ready, Kron? Yes, I'm ready. Good evening, President Actton, Agafria board, Superintendent East, and the Agafria community. I'm honored to be speaking on behalf of Francesca Krunk. In my world, just Krunk. If you know Krunk, you know she is an delight to be around and is absolutely hilarious. Um,
016I met Krunk when I was at a I remember it probably much better than she does, but I was at a uh we were at a clinic together and I was an administrator and at Millennium and she was at Verado and I didn't know her all that well yet, but she was cracking me up. She made great insightful points. She was very well spoken. She knew her stuff and I'm honored that I got the chance to work with her these last couple years. She worked in the district now 17 years and has had an immeasurable impact. um her classroom management. She's a passion pass passionate educator. Her classroom management is top-notch. The kids love her at senior honors night recently. Um students who she brought up, she knows them deeply and um nearly tears and
017as they come up and give her a hug and it's it's a special relationship that she built with those students. So, um aside from all that, I have a quick story. Krunk, aside from being a fantastic teacher, has a wonderful sense of humor. Um, Kron did a a really thoughtful thing. I'm a lifelong Bears fan and I have a big Bears flag in my office and Kron went on a short trip and she came back and she had a nice Packers mug for me that so I have um yeah, she gives me a hard time. I just as I met her husband earlier, she was like he's a Bears fan. So, she judges. But um all that said, I got a small gift from now. It's challenge time. Yeah. So, when when the Bears play
018the Packers, notice which team I stated first. When they do, whoever wins, the opponent must drink their favorite coffee or beverage out of the mug and send a picture. All right. So, jokes aside, Kron is a fantastic person. She deserves every bit of the celebration ahead, filled with relaxation, joy, and excitement. We are grateful for all she has given to our community, and we wish her the very best in this next chapter. Thank you, Frank. [Applause] So, just So, just once again, a big thank you to all of our retirees for all of the wonderful years they've dedicated to our district, to their schools, and to their students. I know they've impacted so many lives in such a positive way. I know many of them worked with many of them and it's such a joyouish
019time but at the same time so bittersweet to uh send them on their way and I think some of us are just a little bit jealous as well. So um for all those who are here tonight and also a big thank you to your families for all the time and sacrifice as we know as educators that we devote to to our kids. Um thank you. You're part of that as well. And so once again, congratulations to all of our retirees and we wish them the best of luck. Thank you so much and congratulations to all of you. Um 4.1 strategic plan brief. Good evening, President Actton, members of the board, Superintendent East, and our awesome community. Uh this month we have the amazing Ashley Bazio. One minute. We'll just give everyone time to step out
020and take pictures and enjoy the festivities. Yeah, I think so. So, this month we have the amazing Ashley Bazio. She is the data scientist here in the innovative solutions department and she finished her second year of our leadership cadre this year and she's going to talk to you about one of the um recent goals we finished in our strategic plan. Thanks. Good evening, President Actton, members of the board, Superintendent Eless, and the Aquafria community. Today, I'm going to provide you with an update of our strategic plan focusing on our tenant of resource stewardship, specifically looking at our action step item of improving the fiscal transparency website to write clearer, more accessible financial data and updates. Now, while there's numerous uh resources on our district website, uh I'm going to highlight three specific that we get
021a lot of questions about and have received an facelift or an update. Um so first of all what we have displayed here is our budget website which uh its purpose is to enhance transparency for stakeholders uh by clearly presenting how district funds are allocated and spent as well as demonstrating our ongoing on ongoing commitment to fiscal responsibility and resource stewardship. The next one that we get a lot of questions about at our school sites has to do with gifts and donations and being able to support our academic and enrichment programs. Um, so we have two websites that sort of address this in different capacities. The first one is more gifts and donations for very specific clubs or after school activities uh where you can donate funds and support those things that you are passionate about
022in becoming a partner in education. And then our tax credit donation which has recently got a base lift. So this is very new um in terms of ease of use and clarity of communication. Arizona taxpayers can contribute directly to the public school of their choose choice excuse me and receive a dollar for dollar estate tax credit. And then the last page I'm going to highlight today is our bid and contracts opportunities. And this is more of an effort for us to develop a partnership with our local businesses and support our surrounding community and economy. And so this is basically a streamlined way to become an approved vendor with our district. So that way if we need to purchase items for our schools that we can look to our neighboring community. Thank you. Um 5.1 requests
023to address the governing board and we have one. Um so if Miss Angela Martinez you can come forward please. Hello good evening um board superintendent. My name is Angela Martinez and I was discharged from the district uh two weeks ago on the 17th um from the transportation department. I believe I was it was unfair. Um I sent all of you a packet this morning outlining policy and procedures. Uh for one, I was never um given an evaluation. Um your policy says 90day and then a yearly. I've never received any reviews. I did have a recommend written recommend in January. That's the only recommend I ever had. And then I was given a contract in the middle of March and it was signed and approved March I mean on April 1 which I do have a
024copy. So my question is if there was so many performance issues why was I given a contract because I they clearly wasn't giving any reviews. Um, my situation, I believe my situation mirrors the events that took place in 2015 in which an African-American superintendent at the time alleged that two of the board members wanted to hire a Hispanic superintendent. The board indeed did hire a Hispanic male that served about six years. Currently, the director of transportation has moved an African-American woman into the dispatch office as this was the plan while I was still employed. This person is also currently a bus driver. I started having um issues with the other dispatcher last June um in which he followed me to my car and when I realized he was verbally attacking me, I rolled the window
025and I left. I notified the director right away. Um I also went to HR. That led to me having harassing behavior with his who also works there. Um the director did try to intervene at times with his family and it just continued to get worse. Um it then turned into more harassing from her assistant. Um I did report that to HR. Um it happened the second time in the director's office and I've never I've never seen any kind of investigation. Nothing's ever been done. So through all this, I've continued to be positive, be professional. I've never engaged in any kind of argument with any of them. So, my concerns are [Music] um there's cameras in the building to show the discrimination that's going on, to show the harassment that's going on. And there's also Miss
026Martinez, I'm so sorry, but your three minutes are up. Okay. Okay. Thank you very much for coming. Okay. Thank you. Um 6.1 public hearing convene public hearing pursuant to ARS 15-948 C and D and 15905D to review revision number one to the expenditure budget including the maintenance and operations and district additional assistance budget for fiscal year 2025. Good evening, President Actton, members of the board, Superintendent East, and the free community. Um, the public hearing tonight is for our May revision to our fiscal 25 budget or our current year budget. Um, statute allows school districts to revise their budget up through um May 15th. Um, so we're taking this opportunity tonight to do our uh first last and only budget revision to this year. Um, attached to the agenda item is the the budget files in
027in their entirety. Um, and also just some highlights of some of the major changes of this revision. Um, some of the board may remember that when we first brought this budget to the school board last June as a proposed budget, uh, the state of Arizona had not yet adopted a state budget. And as such, we we kind of built our budget on some draft forms. Those were using the LA prior year's uh base support level for kind of the per pupil allocation. Um and we knew at some point we would need to revise that budget um to account for the current year amounts. Um so that is probably the biggest adjustment in this is that we're moving uh that increase in the $9829 per pupil. Um that's a 2% increase from the prior year. We
028anticipated that was going to be um the increase when we when we proposed the budget. Uh but this is just kind of um accounting for it completely in in our uh in our revised budget. Um some other changes is when we proposed that budget in June, we're really projecting what we think our student enrollment is and projecting that ADM amount. And now in May, we're kind of through our well past our hundth day and have actual numbers. So, we're revising those ADM numbers to real actual numbers, which um is a slight adjustment up of just over 13 uh students or for ADM. Um in addition to that, there's some additional weights provided um for specific student uh populations. A lot of our ESS students receive additional waiting uh based on um their specific needs. Um
029so all of those totaled up um was an adjustment of another additional 142 ADM in our budget. Um and so that all of these changes resulted in about a an increase of $2.2 million in our maintenance and operation budget from what the board adopted um at the beginning of the year. Um Another adjustment you'll see there is you're going to see our general budget limit uh for our maintenance and operations um increase. You'll also see our district additional assistance budget decrease. Um that is uh districts are allowed to kind of shift monies between those two. Um and with uh successful with the support of our community and and passing bonds in the last couple of years uh we're comfortable with uh our needs being met and satisfied through some of those bond fundings. It allows
030us to shift some of those uh dollars over into maintenance and operations. Um allowing us to kind of get ready to open a new school next year and some of the addition additional staffing requirements for opening a new school and again building a fund balance um as we look ahead to our Hilltop school opening um the year after. So, we're really taking that opportunity to to better position maintenance and operation budget for some of these upcoming needs. Um, with that, I'm happy to answer any questions or or any comments on the budget revision. Um, since we convene the public hearing, um, without objection, do I have a motion to resolve public hearing? So, thank you. Um 7.1 approval of minutes from our April 9th study session, regular board meeting, public hearing in executive session. Do
031I have a motion? So moved. Thank you. Second, not yet. I abain Colton. Yes. Land is yes. Yes. 8.1. Consideration of approval of revision number one to the expenditure budget including maintenance and operations and district additional assistance budget for fiscal year 2025. It resolved. The governing board approve addition number one to the expenditure budget including maintenance and operation and district additional assistance budgets for fiscal year 2025 as presented. Second yes. Yes. Colton yes act. Yes. 8.2 consideration of approval for the GMP number two for Hilltop school for the arts. Good evening, President Actton, members of the board, Superintendent East, and members of our community. I'm happy to stand up here and talk about the next steps for our Hilltop School for the Arts. Um, this is just the next formal step and many formal steps
032that you've taken along the way. It began back in March of 24 where you allowed administration to go out for an RFP to hire a construction manager uh at or to find a construction manager at risk. Um we came back with the results of that and you approved hiring u McCarthy Building Companies as our construction manager in risk of May of 24 and then this past December um you approved a pre-construction contract as well as GMP or guaranteed maximum price one. At that time those funds were largely for very long lead time items things like elevators and it was a smaller dollar amount. We're here with GMP number two. That allows us to continue moving forward on the project while we're finishing up just those last few items of design to where we get to
033be 100% there. Uh we do expect to come back to the board in July with our final GMP. Um and I I know that many of you were at the groundbreaking last week. Probably the next big thing you will see there is uh we're looking forward to Lisfield um approving our mass grading plans. at their May 21st board meeting. So hopefully by the morning of May 22nd, you'll see a lot of activity at the site and from that point on going forward. Happy to entertain any questions. Be resolved. The governing board approves the guaranteed maximum price for the Hilltop School for the Arts Building Company as presented. Yes. Colton. Yes. Yes. Acting. Yes. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Moving on to the consent agenda. Is there anything anyone um would like questions, discussions, or
034um Okay. Resolved. The governing board approves. Thank you. Resulting board approves the items for the consent agenda as presented. I second. Yes. Taylor. Yes. Colton. Yes. Yes. Captain. Yes. Hello. Good evening, President Actton, members of the building board, Superintendent East, and the Awa community. Um, this is a great day. Um, we got to see some veteran, long-standing members of our district and the education community uh go into their next stage of their life and we wish them the best. And we also have the opportunity to introduce and uh welcome some new members to our owl family. So, uh, with that being said, uh, we have a few new administrators that were just approved and I'm going to invite the principles up to uh or the leaders up to discuss that. So, first I'm going to
035start alphabetically with Ala High School. So, I'm going to invite principal Autumn Daniels to come up and introduce her new team member. Thank you. Good evening, President Actton, fabulous members of the board, our great superintendent, our district leadership and community. Um I would love to invite Olivia Al. So Miss Olivia Alress is an owl through and through. She had dedicated 10 years at Alfria High School as an exceptional math teacher, basketball coach, bad mitten coach, an avid tutor, key club and interact sponsor and a fabulous instructional coach. As an instructional coach, she actually worked with me when I was an instructional coach. I had 3 two teachers in the mentor program and it was not humanly possible to observe and coach that many. So I brought on two new owls and she was one of
036two that helped mentor so many of our new teachers and the following year she got to inherit that role and continued in that for the next six years. I saw a leader in Olympia very early on and in those six years as instructional coach she helped not only new teachers but also veteran teachers. She got us through um Zoom during COVID um and digital meetings and kept the culture and community and high expectations in those PLC meetings for our campus. Um while also coaching the new teachers, she offered excellent feedback and advice on instruction, but also a listening ear and inspiring leader and person. Um culture and community is so important that we started a new teacher graduation and continued that tradition and it still stands today. Uh Olivia is someone that you know uh
037is so detailed, efficient, and has a how can I help attitude. She is one that has a to-do list, a checklist, a progress tracker for all projects and events. And you know that when Olivia does something, she's going to do it with 100% and perfection. She does things so well and with intention that um when she follows through, it's so good that you can just create the things that she started and do over and over again. She has last has a lasting imprint on our Fria even though she was not with us this year. Uh we continue things that she started such as the ACT hype assembly, the actioners committee game day. She also advocates and late start she was a person who did the research and footwork on that and hallelujah we are late
038start next year. Um she also helped uh creating a data walk with myself and that is now our pop and form across the district. Um she also started the academic potluck which is probably the most powerful PD that I've seen on a campus and has also um sparked districtwide. Olivia is a fierce instructional leader. She's a passionate person for teaching and learning and she's a dream to work with for PD. Um, she helps me with my instructional leadership meetings and both her and I really love an icebreaker. So, she can give you tips on that. Olivia leads with her heart. She, uh, does things such as personalized notes, personalized pictures for all of her teachers or players. Uh, and she's also the cookie queen. So, if you need a personalized cookie, she's your girl. Um,
039we have a phrase at Owafria. Once an owl, always an owl. And with Olivia's high expectations, positivity. We're so excited for you to come back home to the [Applause] Thank you. Thank you. Just want to say you can't keep me away from the nest. We're really excited to be back. Thank you everybody for this opportunity. Welcome back. Next, with your approval tonight, you approved uh Mr. Matt Lee as our interimm principal at Verado High School. Uh Mr. Lease has been with us for seven years at Verado High School and we're excited about his leadership there. Uh providing some consistency and continuity, um knowing that community very well, working with those students and teachers and there was an amazing ovation for him uh when we announced it. So, we're excited for his leadership and and we're
040definitely here to support you and everything that you do. With that, kind of the first one of the first tasks that we did together is go through a process of hiring assistant principles which you approved tonight. So, I'm going to let Mr. Le kind of introduce our two new assistant principles to the Fria family. All right. President Actton, members of the board, Superintendent East community. I feel as my first uh thing here, I get to follow Miss Daniels. So, it's a new guy. Uh, I feel like this was on purpose, but I've been following Miss Daniels for a while, so I do want to shout her out. She's awesome. But I do want to bring up uh two new assistant principles. So, I want to bring up Mr. Jared Austin and Mr. Matthew Gilbert up
041here with me, please. So, when we uh started this process, myself, Mr. now and to look for people to help me uh lead the school. The thing that was really important to me was people who value what Verado is about, who have a deep love for Verado in the community. I think we found that with Mr. Austin, Mr. Gilbert. Mr. Austin uh was the uh middle school principal of Brad Middle School. He's coached at the school. He understands what VR is all about. He loves the community um and understands Roto High School. Mr. Gilbert uh was a teacher and staff member as well, coached at Vado High School and knows what one VR is all about. So, I'm excited about the team we're building and what we're doing at VR High School. So, thank you
042guys for giving me this opportunity. Appreciate it. All right. And and last for me is I want to invite uh Miss Kristen Tiffany up. Um as Miss Kristen Tiffany comes up is uh um you know unique story about me and Kristen. Uh we've both been in the district for a long time and we were assistant principles together both coming to Verado at the same time. Um and you know one of the things that uh I really enjoyed is and and Julie Jones was with us and that was our team under Tom and one of the things I really enjoyed is just the opportunity for us to talk about teaching and learning and things that we're doing and going through the experiences together. She also really appreciated that my TV dinners um because our offices were
043right next to each other. So both Julie and Kristen got to smell my food that I ate three or four times a day. So um you're welcome for that. But I'm truly excited today. Kristen um Kristen, anybody who knows Kristen knows that she's passionate about education. She's been an instructional coach. She's been a teacher. Um she was a AD for one year. Not going to tell you what happened to that program. Doesn't exist anymore, but not me. But um you know, Kristen, she's not only and all three will tell you Kristen's a great teammate. Um she's all about positive culture. She's all about uh kids and you can see that and it's it's infectious when you're around her. And so, um, having the opportunity to bring Kristen up here to the district office and work
044with us, um, she truly knows teaching and learning and, uh, assessment and what we're doing in the classroom with our students. Um, that's her jam. And so, I'm I'm excited to add another piece to our team that we can talk about teaching and learning and we continue to move our our district forward. She's also has a wealth of experience in CTE. And so, as we do our academy transformation, she's truly going to have a piece of that. And I think that's kind of how I got the hook to get her to leave the site because she loves kids. Um, but we're really excited to have you a part of the team and uh glad to be working with you again. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Yes. Oh, I have one more. Sorry. One more.
045Okay. Sorry, Tom. Sit down. I got a lot of people. I need a lot of people. So Nate's not here. I'm standing in for Nate, uh, Mr. Showman. So, I have one more team member that's a part of our team. And so, actually, um, before I met this team member, I actually met her father and he retired tonight. And, uh, he drove three of my four kids on those buses. And so, um, it was amazing to have develop a relationship with him. And then he would tell me things. He's like, I got to talk to you about my daughter. And so, he would tell me about his daughter. And that that was before she was in the district. And then she came to our district and was an amazing assistant principal at Millennium High School
046and then she left. She moved out of state. U but similar to Olivia, you know what? We got her to come back and so Latoya Dus, I'd like to invite you up here, please. So, Latoya, um I it I really had this year in the position that she was here at the district office, I got a really opportunity to get to know Latoya a little bit deeper and I can say I've just had some amazing conversations and she's got an amazing skill set and one of the things that she really did for us this year um in the academics team is not only helped Tammy with the things that she was doing but she's been a great teammate to go to schools, she's helped the principles immensely. She's had tough student and parent conversations and
047she navigates it so smoothly that they walk out of the room like they just gained a friend even though she just told them, hey, you know, we're not going to budge because this is what we need to do. And so she's able to deliver that information in a way that people can really truly respect. Um, and I appreciate that about her. But also she has a passion around systems and structures and she's done a really great job of working with Dan at Cold Water Learning Center and some of our students who have had experiences but are still getting given that opportunity to be successful. And so um it is with great pleasure that we're able to um have Latoya in our CT department as a director of this is something our four team has told
048us that you need to have that support there because it will continue to get bigger and bigger and um Latoya has helped us this year in our CT department. She's helped us in a wealth of different areas and so I'm just excited to have her on her team and I know Nate was here, he'd he'd tell you how excited we was and we were crossing our fingers that she was really going to um come and help us. And and uh we're really appreciative of the work that you're going to do. We know you're going to do amazing work and me and they already have a long list of meetings and opportunities for you to continue to help us grow in this transformation. So I just want to say thank you Latoya and thank you for
049uh uh providing an opportunity for Latoya to help us as a director of every Gabby, Todd, Rosa, come on up. Good evening again. Um, we're all excited for Quay as she moves on to retirement and super excited for Julie as she moves on to be principal at Hilltop School for the Arts. But that creates an opportunity and kind of a challenge for us to take a look operationally and structurally what we're doing within our departments. And uh, the individuals you see up here tonight represent what we're looking at going forward. And I'm super excited to introduce these this team. Uh, let's start in HR. So, Todd Stevens is uh played a super important role in accountability and assessment these last few years and he's played a really important role in what's gone on in the
050district to make sure we earn this a a level a label as a district. So we're excited that Todd's coming to us in HR as a director too in human resources. Um along with Todd in human resources we've got Gabby Mcan coming to be our director of human resources. Um Gabby Mcan uh has been a crucial super important part of Mr. Nan's team both at Canyon View and here at the district office and we're excited to steal her away from Philip and uh to be able to lead in a new way in our human resources department. Also, we have no Nomy Cabales up here. No is going to be moving over to the finance department as a director too. Part of that restructuring is is currently our payroll department is housed in human resources. We're
051going to be moving that over to the finance department along with No. Nomi has done just an incredible job and is a valued and trusted partner to me in human resources and I'm sure she's going to be the same with Mike in in finance. And Rosa Ramirez. Rose has been a manager in our uh in business services and uh now she's going to be our new director of business services. and this just really represents kind of the outstanding job and the extra responsibility she continues to take on to ensure that uh we're doing everything we need to financially in the district. So, I'd like to welcome this team. [Applause] Good evening again. I'd like to invite Melinda Mar. Okay. What can I say? Um, first of all, she has been an absolute joy to work
052with. She has been in our district for eight years now in various departments from the sites here to district office. Um, I've always gotten a chance to work with her on small projects from afar. Uh, and we totally geek out over lists and trackers and all of the things that we get to be so excited about. her attention to detail, her quality of work, and just her passion for our community and the people and the staff. It has just been instrumental in so many ways. A huge piece of what she's doing now specifically um in CTE is the crucial role she's played in our partnerships. She has been the lead in so many different projects we have had, you've seen districtwide from signature events like Veterans Day and uh Friday Night Lights and all of
053those amazing that she has been a leader on. Then she's also led many, many initiatives within the district such as our fabulous senior to senior program that has been so crucial in getting our kids and our community together in a way that they never got to experience before. She works with Rotary, she works with the Chamber of Commerce, she's on our powerful partnership team, she leads internship nights, she actually put together the process and the tracker for internships and how we're going to do that for this academy transformation. The list goes on and on and on truly. Um, and that is why she was such an amazing candidate as our director of communications and community initiatives. And I'm so excited now I get to work with her daily instead of afar. So, welcome Melinda. [Applause]
054All right. Congratulations everyone. So welld deserved. Um, moving on to 10.1. comments and or information from Superintendent East and or cabinet. President Actton, members of the board, Awa Fria uh community, thank you so much. First of all, uh governing board, I really want to extend a sincere uh thank you um gratitude for recognizing that our district is always looking for the best. And uh one of the things that we've done uh today is show that um um we've welcomed some new uh people from outside of the district into our family. And then we've also promoted some people that have been interviewing for promotions every single day at work. And as they have have have carried themselves and how they have been loyal and uh uh servant leaders to our uh community and to our school
055district. Uh, I want to tell you about one in particular person that that you uh uh promoted today and that's Rosa. Rosa recently um was married and Rosa recently uh bought a home and uh about two weeks after that uh Mr. Huffman went to Rosa and asked her if she would please uh take the role of being promoted to director uh from manager during HR. But uh I love to say that story because that's what we believe in in this district. We believe in each other. we believe in in helping um people grow and that's just one great example of that and uh to everybody that has uh was promoted and uh is playing new roles. Thank you so much for taking that on. I want to extend appreciation to my executive cabinet for recognizing
056the talent that we have from within and to nurture that. We do have a leadership cadre and we pay lots of attention uh to again uh picking the best people and putting them in the best spots to be um to be successful. There's so many stories out there from the people that you promoted um that uh uh that are really really neat to hear. So again, thank you so much for recognizing that. Um I don't know if you noticed this, but next Monday we have graduation. Um, I uh totally did not realize that until I was on campus at Desert Edge the other day when we were feeding the um the beautiful staff over there uh lunch from executive cabinet and uh right before they came by to get their pizza and their drinks and
057their salads, uh they were uh told to go get their cap and gown or their gowns for the graduation and it finally hit me. So, we will be at uh the Coyote Stadium. Is it what do they call that? Desert Diamond Arena. Desert Diamond Arena. Do not show up to the casino. Do not No confusion with the casino. We will be at Desert Diamond Arena on on Monday. Thank you to Mr. Huffman and those uh Robert and uh uh Philip, those of you that went uh over to find us a new venue when we had to uh pivot and find another place. But I think we're going to find out that this uh is going to be another great night for for all of us. I think our first graduation is at 9:00 and then
058our last one starts at around 7 or 7:30. So, uh that's going to be a wonderful day. Uh this also marks the last um sort of board meeting before the end of the school year. I think we'll be back in June for another meeting, but um it's been another great year in our school district. Um our students have done a great job of of caring for each other as as as classmates. Our teachers have been wonderful, especially with all the transformation and everything that we're doing throughout the district. Um, our leaders continue to work on on our service leadership and try to provide uh put the students and the teachers to be in the best su um position to be successful. So, as we wind down the year at least for the students, um I
059can't tell you how how proud I am of everyone and everyone's effort and everything that we're doing. And again, thank you very much because uh we Often many of us that work in in leadership in this district or whatever role we play, we recognize the kind of governing board that we have as compared to other people, we recognize that you hold us accountable and that you support us and we recognize that how important community is to you as a governing board and that's not um uh the case in a lot of places and we're lucky to have you. So with that, President Actton and that's my report. Thank you. 2 board member member summary of events. Okay. Um so first I just want to say that I really appreciate that we recognize our retirees not
060just because they provided so much service to our district but the fact that they chose to commit and dedicate their time to education. So I commend anyone and everyone who chooses to put their time and effort into that. So I just want to say thank you again to all of our current staff and retired staff. Um, I just have a tiny little bit. Apparently, it was a busy month. So, um, I want to thank, um, Mike Shepard. Thank you so much for sitting down with me and educating me on all things finance and budget and answering all of my questions, which probably won't stop there, but thank you very much. And then also, I was able to attend the teacher appreciation at Blooding High School today, and it was really um, endearing to see how
061how many um district staff were there to show appreciation and just mingle and talk with the teachers and and show them that they're doing a great job and we really do appreciate them. So, I want to thank our leadership team for taking their time and doing that for them. I also got to see some old friends, old students. So, it was really fun to see um I had the opportunity to go walk through uh Goodyear High School and and get to see it after Um it's kind of progressed um in the building process with Superintendent Eis and Mr. Lynn. Really excited to to be at that uh ribbon cutting in August. It's coming along nicely. Uh and then the groundbreaking at Hilltop Julie was awesome to get to see your uh your vision coming to
062life even uh in in the early stages. So excited to continue to watch that to develop. Um, again, like Sarah said, uh, very heartwarming hearing you guys share, um, your passionate words about the colleagues that you've worked with. Um, so thank you for honoring them tonight and for all the dedication they've had to education. And then, um, I would be remiss if I didn't mention I have a child graduating, my second child graduating from the Alfria High School District uh, on Monday. U my oldest son when he was getting ready to enroll in uh Verado High School could have gone anywhere and excelled anywhere in the state and I'd be honest I was pushing for Brophy. Um he told me my community school is the perfect place for me to go uh to get the
063balance of sports and academics and social and all the things that I want out of high school. So, I let him go with his uh with his gut and um both of my boys graduated or are graduating having loved their high school story. Absolutely loved it. Um and they both got into colleges that have less than 10% acceptance rates, which is a humble brag for me, but also on you guys. Um and I just want you to know that I know that it's the dedication of the people in this room um that I have to thank for that. Uh Mr. Thomas and Mr. police and all the Verado um um staff, but also um everyone in this room for the heart and the headaches that you pour into our schools uh to make them a
064place that kids can go to school in their community and be proud to be from. So, thank you so much for that from all the graduating moments. And Austin, you're getting my Libby back. So, good luck with that. Well, it's been a great month. Um, I think as a sentimental person, uh, teacher and principal over the years, this was always kind of the happiest time, but also some might say one of the saddest times. Happiest because we celebrate graduation. Seeing the success of students, just kind of a culmination of months upon months of dedication and hard work. Um, as a teacher, I found it, uh, in many, many cases each year to be a sad time of the year because when you invest and pour your heart and life into your students and also work
065with the parents, um, to see them go is hard. U, but, you know, a great adventure happens for them. So, I'm excited about graduation. It's going to be my third one. Um, I love that day. It's nice to as we all are out in our schools, um we meet kids, we see them on the athletic fields, on the stage, theater, um CTE events, all these different types of things. So, I'm so excited for them. Congratulations to all of our seniors. Uh it's a big deal. We'll be excited to celebrate that with them on Monday. Um just a variety of different events that have gone on this month. I will um discuss them, but it's been neat to see each of our schools and all of the culminating events from dance to drama to all kinds
066of things. So, that's been wonderful. Um, as was already mentioned, congratulations to our retirees. When people think about coming to work for a school district, I think in many cases, they have no idea everything that they'll experience. So, um, I appreciate everything that they've done across all their different areas of responsibility. Um, the groundbreaking at the Arts Academy uh on the Hilltop was an excellent experience. Um, to see an idea and a vision of something many years before come to fruition is exciting. I look forward to seeing just across the street from where I live, uh, all of this develop and build as well. great community theater uh that will not just support our school but bring some incredible venues to our community. I'd like to also um I know I kind of mentioned this
067briefly, but to um all of our staff, teachers, administration of all of our campuses, thank you so much for your dedication. Um to know when you wake up in the morning uh and when you go to bed at night that you have put an incredible effort into the lives of people who will become our next community leaders, our next parents, employees. Um thank you so much. Sincerely appreciate it. I will just highlight one event that um I was invited to be a part of. Um I got to go to Evville Elementary School District and see the third graders from Michael Anderson get a full ride offering um and have parents and kids walk through the line and um it seemed like a few people understood appreciated because they had siblings through but it's a it's
068a big surprise for a lot of these kids and um it was just exciting to see and also you know some of the not really having an idea of what doors will open for all of these opportunities. So, I really appreciate the opportunity to experience that. And then I will just wish everyone a happy teacher appreciation week. Um, you spend more times I think than uh with my child than I do there. You know, I leave for work and he goes to school and sometimes I'm in bed before he gets back. So, I appreciate that and everything that you do to not only teach but for him and all of our students. So, uh, thank you for for being you and happy teacher appreciation week. Um, everything that they have addressed, I want to also
069um this Hilltop um, school for the arts groundbreaking was beautiful, Julie. I am so excited to see that that um, continue to progress and everybody involved in that. Um, I know you all are beyond exhausted. We see the schedule. Um, but I am going to take just one moment to you all from one mother. My last is graduating so we will be done with the all free districts as parents. um the impact that you've placed on these kids um the potential that he has and the opportunities is all because of you and whether or not you touched my son um personally in his life at at you you did that with another student and um I can't thank you all enough because these kids' future are so bright because of all of your hard work
070and dedication and so I just want to take a minute to say thank you because I can and I appate everything you do. All right. Any future uh agenda items? I have one. Um I would like some information on student parking, exactly what that looks like as far as costs, where that money goes, and what we can do to other options. Well, I would like to see if we can either lower that cost or remove it if it's possible. I'd like to know. Thank you. Um, okay. We 12.1, we need to go into executive session. Can I have a motion? We resolve the governing board convene an executive session as presented. Second. Yes. Yes. Colton. Yes. Actton. Yes. Landis. Yes. Acting. Yes. Um be it resolved. We adjourn the governing board meeting for May 7th.
071Land is second. Yes. Yes. Land is yes. Why are you looking at me? Acting. Yes.