001the board meeting to order at just barely 4 p.m. Um Britney, are you on the phone? I'm here. Can you go ahead with the role, please? Um, we'll start with Linda B. She's absent today. Uh, I am board member Britney Buchanan. I am present. Uh, Klet Chapman here. Michael Gordon, present. Duke Canel, present. Katie Sinko, present. and Earl Kerry present. Thank you. Moving on to agenda item 1.2. Call to the public on agenda items. First, I have Trish Ross. [Music] comments. Yes, you sure can. Hi, my name is Trish Ross. I teach here. You got to get a little closer. Thank you. My name is Trish Ross. I'm a teacher at the Phoenix Day School for the Deaf. Um, I'm going to comment on agenda item number 1.3 and 1.5. Um, good evening board members,
002administrators, and the ASDB community. Um, the ASDB association has been trying to get an H policy since October 2023. We came to the board meeting asking for your support. We want a place at the table, the institution where we pour our hearts out every day. On January 16th, there was a meeting where we understood that Maria Murphy and Superintendent Reichman were going to present about the H policy. Instead, the board went into executive session, then came out and announced that we did not need an H policy because, I quote, "ASDB has policies to address these issues and staff in place, including the embudsman, to address these issues issues. We want a chance to be heard, to be included, to share our ideas, to make this a better institution." During the meeting, we were told to
003huddle like Buffalo to protect the institution against the storm. We were left out of the huddle. That's how we feel. Thank you to the board member that did support us for believing in teachers and staff that provide direct services to our student. We very much appreciate you. 1.5. We've been told since the beginning of the budget shortfall that we will always be looking out for what's best for students. There are several decisions that have been made that don't align with that statement. I will mention just a few. Reducing the radius that we transport students from 30 miles to 30 miles from 50 miles. If a deaf child lives 31 miles away, they can't come to school here anymore. Even if it's the best educational pro placement, our biggest con concern should be for the three-year-olds.
004They get early intervention we provide and then we just drop them if they live 30 miles more than 30 miles away. Three-year-olds need language exposure. This is such a critical time for them. I worked at DVR as an itinerant teacher for six years. There are many students that can benefit from itinerant services, no doubt, but there are many that just can't. I don't believe I ever saw was ever in a situation where a preschooler was in the best served placement when they were in when I was an itinerant teacher. Preschool classes are large, loud, chaotic, typically cr cross categorical special ed taught by teachers that have no understanding of deaf children, hearing aids, hearing assisted devices or education. Education in the primary years is based on phonics in the in the uh mainstream rather than
005language-based instruction our students need. Superintendent Reichman sent us an email on March 14th to summarize the board meeting, including information about our consulting spending. We have six educational part-time consultants that we spend $300,000 a year to do work. Yet we are eliminating teacher leader positions that would have cost us maybe 50,000, not even that. Sorry, I forgot to do the math on that. We are not giving people salary grade advancements to people who spent their own money to get certifications and degrees to improve themselves because you asked them to. That's that great advancement is about $3,000 per person. And maybe we had 10 people that were getting going to get that this year. People have left the agency because of this decision. And we will spend more money finding, hiring, and training for those positions
006that we already had qualified people for. We need to spend money on people who are in the classroom working with students every day and providing direct instruction. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Next I have it looks like Ariel Patterson Bias. Hello, my name is Ariel Patterson Vayz, ELP teacher, Phoenix, Arizona. addressing item 4.1 financial report. ASDB board members and administration, I am one of the teachers leaving ASDB this year. I felt it was important to speak directly to the board to tell you why. Not just on my behalf, but on the voice of many educators who are feeling similarly. Harvard Business Business School published research identifying four main reasons why employees leave their jobs. One, lack of meaningful work. Two, insufficient support from leadership. three, limited opportunities for growth, and four, inadequate compensation.
007When there is an imbalance in these areas, even highly committed employees begin to leave. For me, the first factor, meaningful work, has never been in question. I have loved this job deeply and have always found joy and purpose in serving this community. However, the second factor, support from leadership, has been an ongoing concern. Educators have repeatedly asked for more transparent communication and support. We've requested town halls, clearer policies, and a seat at the table to represent teachers when decisions are being made. These requests have gone unanswered. While the board discusses declining enrollment, it has not yet asked teachers for our insights. That's a missed opportunity. We are the ones with boots on the ground. We know the students, families, and needs of our schools and community. I'll tell you, it's not just birth rates. The
008final two factors, growth and compensation, go hand in hand for me. I began my ASDB journey as a deafb blind intervenor and quickly fell in love with the community. Over the past seven years, I've worked hard to grow professionally. I saw a critical gap in services for students with dual sensory loss and pursued a second master's degree to become a certified teacher of the visually impaired. I am now dual surf certified to serve students who both have both hearing and vision loss. students who often fall through the cracks due to the lack of overlapping expertise. Despite this, I was informed that due to budget constraints, I would not receive any salary increase for this upcoming year. I took on this additional training to do to serve our students better, and now I am left with
009student loan debt and no additional compensation to repay it. About a month ago, the staff received an email discussing recruitment efforts. If there's one message I hope you walk away with tonight, it is this. The issue is not recruitment. It is retention. When you retain experienced, passionate educators, students will follow. They will come. They are willing to come where the good education and educators are. But when you lose those educators, again, students will follow. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Next, we have Elizabeth Smith. Hello, my name is Elizabeth Smith. I'm here to talk on agenda item 1.5. I drove here from Tucson. I have three children that attend ASDB Tucson campus. I also am an ASDB employee and I'm also the president of the parent student organization. The reason I stand here before
010you as a mother and as an employee is because I have more inside knowledge of the budget shortfalls and I have a variety of concerns. I've been seeing and hearing from my co-workers, staff, teachers, administrators that they're feeling heartbroken. Many of them are leaving. They feel unsupported and unheard and I understand that this can be a legislative issue, but we currently do not feel supported from the board and from upper administration. I'm here because I would like an opportunity to feel heard. And as a mother, I know what it's like to feel this pain. And there's a lack of transparency with what's actually happening. Teachers are leaving. And I know the inside because I work here. And this is where it's important for me to express my opinions. And I'm seeking support as a parent.
011And I've spoken with many other parents who also feel the same way that they don't feel included in their child's education. They feel that the ch the school cares more about sending the students to ASDB but not continuing that connection. So, I ask that you please consider really discussing the budget deficit and different possibilities in how to engage parents, staff members, and other stakeholders. Thank you for your time. Thank you. I appreciate that. And did I miss one? All right. Next, I have Mary Pat. And I know I'm gonna brutally pronounce this. Mc Alvie. Oh, did Mary Pat. Oh, there she is. Okay. I speak for my so I'm such good speech because I'm quite confused. You gota get it really close. You got to get it like really really close to Can you hear
012me now? Yeah. Okay. Hi. Sorry I can't hear. So I can't tell. All right. Perfect. Um hello. Good afternoon. My name is Mary Pat Ley. I will be speaking on behalf of Arizona Association for the Dev. Um your touch spaces on both 4.1 and 5.2. Okay. Um, we deeply value ASDB's role in serving deb blind and heart students and we're here today to ask important question and offer partnership to ensure that these students receive the education they deserve, one that is equitable, culturally aligned and sustainable. We recognize that has access to several critical funding. These are the we we're questioning whether these resources are truly being utilized like your land trust endowment. That's just one example. We ask the board to share how the revenue is being managed and whether it directly benefit each student
013programs. We are also asking for clarity around the special education vouchure from the Arizona Department of Education. Are you receiving this funding based on enrollment and how is that money distributed between uh classroom instruction, transportation and administrative cost? Additionally, I believe that you might be eligible for proposition 3 301 classroom site funds. We would like to know how much was received this year and how these funds are being allocated. Are they supporting teacher capacity, curriculum development, or technology for students? Beyond funding, we're concerned about long-term sustainability and transparency as a state agency, not as a charter school or oversight system are in place to ensure accountability, especially as large amounts of bees spent on transportation. Will any cost-saving alternatives like collaborating with the Department of Education ever consider? Looking ahead, what long-term strategy exists to
014ensure the school for the dev can continue to provide high quality services even as costs increase. Finally, I want to highlight the importance of staff retention. Student sector innovation across the country. There's shortage of quality qualifying culturally top tech teachers and interpreters. What are you doing to retain these people at the school for the death? Would you be open to exploring community partnerships for after school programs, mentorship and culturally relevant services? of the state schools for the dev have created successful model using satellite program bilingual classroom and deaf le leadership tracks. Have you looked into those and closing our goals not just accountability and collaboration? Students need more than access. They need to belong. They need role models. They need schools that reflect their language identity and future. The Arizona Association of the Dev stand
015ready to support you, the school for the dev, through ever see partnership and share purpose. Thank you for your time and your commitment to the school. Thank you. Before we move on, I would just like to say that a lot of what was said tonight also needs to be said to your legislature. Um, these are issues that are not just internal to ASDB and the while we want to support as much as we can here internally as the board, a lot of this needs to be heard by the legislature as well. And I'll leave it at that. Moving on to agenda item uh 1.3, information item, the superintendence report. Superintendent Reichman. Good afternoon, President Kifel, members of the ASDB board, Acting Assistant Superintendent Orin Katchchoff, Assistant Superintendent Shaina Cooper, and our ASDB community. Welcome to
016our May 8th board meeting. Before I get serious here, I first wanted to mention that we are in the month of May and the month of May is certainly a time for celebrations and graduations. You recently got your graduation invitations from our PDSD students. So come May 20th please for their graduation and then our Tucson campus will be holding their graduation on May 22nd. I hope that all of you are able to come to both graduation ceremonies and recognize our senior class and their accomplishments. One of my favorite duties as a superintendent is that I have the privilege of standing next to their principal. And while the principal hands them their diploma, I then am able to shake their hand and congratulate each senior on their accomplishment of graduation. And I love that. I love
017to see the excitement, their trepidation and their families and that sense of accomplishment of all of the work that has taken them to finish 12th grade. And now as they get ready, they embark on life after school. It's really amazing. So, I first want to acknowledge that and I hope that you can come to both graduation ceremonies. And now to our more serious business. As you all know, ASDB is facing a unique challenge at this current time. There's been a lot of debate and discussion about the future of the agency, what to do, what's currently happening. And it just so happens that I did an email on the 15th of April. I sent out an email to our staff with a vlog. And that blog talked about what we learned from the joint legislative audit
018committee or JLAC. And it seems that that vlog has caused a little bit of a stir. This was not my intention. My intention was to share with our ASDB community, to be transparent, and to let them know that our state legislature has an interest in the work that we do here at ASDB. So, while we talk about the future, what we're doing with ASDB, with all of the things that are happening in our current context, I will share what I know. I would like to use the metaphor of a ship. ASDB is a ship. We have to have a clear direction. We need to know where we're going. We need to know where we're arriving. We need to be able to figure out our path on these waters in order to get there. We need
019to have a compass. Or maybe that's a little bit too old-fashioned. We need some GPS. And we would use GPS to tell us where and how to get to our final destination. We need a team. In order to work on a ship, we need a team working together in able and in order to be able to chart these waters to our final destination. When we see a storm approaching, what can we do with that information? As our sails start to blow and billow, we would bring them down, tie them down, and try to make safe choices in order to minimize damage to our ship. And that's how we would be able to face our storm. We would go through the waves and the waves would heave and hoe. We would go through the wind and
020have to navigate together in order to get through that oncoming storm to come out to come out the other side. That's what I know. We have to do that. If we panic and we try to turn around and sail away, the storm is likely quicker than our ship and it's going to catch up to us regardless and then we will capsize. We have to stay together. We have to stay the course. So what I know about our course is that we have an ASDB statutory purpose. That tells us our purpose. That tells us what we are supposed to be doing. We have to follow our statutory purpose. We have a vision. We have a mission and I again just reread our mission. We have four components. Education of students who are deaf and who are
021blind. Clearly this vision says that to provide leadership and services to collaborate. We just talked about how to improve our collaboration with school districts and that is in our mission collaboration with school districts, with families and with our community and then partnering with state agencies. Those four components are our mission and that is what we have to do. We also have a strategic plan with four pillars. I was recently asked that maybe we should pause potentially our strategic plan because of all of the things that are happening around us. And I look back at our strategic plan and our four pillars of excellent communication and relationship building, outstanding student development, superb organizational culture and effective resource management. Each and every one of those must remain. We don't need to change that. That again is our
022guiding light. We have to stay the course. Some of our objectives may change and probably will. That will likely happen. But those four pillars, we have this strategy. We have a clear direction. We have a shared purpose. Could we more clearly define our shared purpose? Likely. We likely could. We have already. We cannot simply leave those four pillars. We would be lost at sea. We must have a clear direction and we must stay this course. Our priorities remain our students. Simply I agree with our community that our priority must remain first and foremost our students. We have some difficult decisions that must be made but our students must remain our first priority. We must use researchbased best practices in our instruction and support of students. Period. How we do that is up for further discussion,
023but we also must look at long-term sustainability of this agency. And that means that we have to face this budget shortfall head on. We closed last year with a $1.5 million deficit. This year, as about six months ago, we started projecting that by the end of the year, we were anticipating having approximately a $2.6 million deficit. And so we started implementing cost-saving strategies. and we have thus far been successful. We have saved about $900,000. Our projected deficit is at about $1.7 million. And I'm hoping that this month and next month we're able to shorten that even more. Last year we had some cash that was able to cover the deficit. This year, we also have some cash reserves that were able to stay solvent. Next year, starting as of July 1st, 2025 until June 30th
024of 2026, we no longer have those cash reserves. We have to balance the budget. We have to reduce our spending. And we cannot stop outspending our income. We cannot continue this for a third year. And as you know, our facilities, our capital is a whole other discussion. We do not have adequate funding and have not had adequate funding for a long time. We need to figure out how to get the funding support for our facilities. Right now, the building that we are in, the AC, the air conditioning, has broken down simply because it's old and it should have been replaced several years ago. But we've been deferring that and not replacing the air conditioning because we didn't have adequate resources to pay for a replacement properly at the right time. So, that's what I know.
025We have to stay the course. Going back to at this time at this juncture having a unique challenge we are facing extra scrutiny of ASDB. Last JLAC meeting that happened on March 28th. The JLAC committee members had a lot of questions about ASDB and they question our educational models. They are questioning whether we should be exploring potential other different and quote unquote better educational models. I spoke to our current educational models and informed them that we do have a robust itinerant services program, one of the best in the country and we serve about 85% of all students who are deaf or who are blind in their public schools with IEPs. We know that we have a really good system in place already. But JAC with their questions really informed us of their perspective and of
026their thoughts. I tried to share that information with my recent blog. Do I think that there are better educational models out there? I'm a little skeptical. I am very much in support of our campus-based programming. I understand and see the importance of peer interaction of direct instruction with teachers who are role models. I myself have that experience back in high school. I understand and empathize. At the same time, I also have to recognize the context in which we are in and our society is changing and our values are changing and how we're able to adapt to that and how we use our resources will continue to change in order to best meet the needs of our students. There is no simple answer for this. That is what I also know. That is the challenge ahead
027of us. I will wrap up my comments, but I did want to mention that Rosie Dea Cruz is finishing up her year with us. It is June next month and she will be leaving us. Her position will be available and the acting assistant superintendent Orin Catchoff will step into that position. He will assume direct responsibilities for both our Tucson campus and the Phoenix campus as well as Odd and CTE. I will be assuming direct responsibility for the other parts of the assistant superintendent duties. That includes our early learning program, itinerant services, special education department, deaf programs, and blind programs. That will be starting July 1st of 2025. That will give us a full year to figure out how we can restructure our educational programming for two years and it also is able to save the
028agency some money. I also want to express my appreciation for your work, your support and you have been attending meetings on a monthly basis. Last February, we had our work study session and we talked about our budget in depth. By the way, that is online. If you want that information, you can check what's called Diligent Community on our website. Go back to February 13th. There is a PowerPoint with many slides with a lot of information. We reviewed that with the board. And then again in April on April 10th, you all met again to look at our capital budget, our capital needs and predictions for the future. And again next month in June on June 10th, you will be meeting to discuss our strategic plan 2.0 which will be good for 2025 until 2030. We must
029have a strong strategic plan for the next five years. And again, that can be adjusted as new information arises, but we must remain steadfast to our four pillars and our shared purpose. So, thank you so much. Thank you. Any questions for Annette? I I would like to add to what you said, Annette, about what's online and what's available for the public. That includes the um budget meetings, the subcommittee meetings or finance committee meetings. That's the word I needed. Um that information is there as well. And I would strongly recommend that folks look at the JLAC um meetings. They're both close captioned from the December and the March meetings. I think that will give you some insight as to what um we're looking at and we're facing and some of the subtle intent that is behind
030the message that we're getting from the JAC. I think that would be very helpful as well. So, I would recommend that um folks take a look at that as well. But thank you. Moving on to um 1.4 information item, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction Report. Interim Assistant Superintendent Orin Catchoff. Good afternoon, Board President Kifel, Superintendent Reichman, Assistant Superintendent Cooper, members of the board, and members of the community. I looked back at my May board meeting report from two years ago before I started writing this one. And two years ago in May, I started out by saying that in America, the average person will spend about 90,000 hours or 1/4 of their adult life at work. Every year, the employees of ASDB do get to decide if they want to spend 1/4 of their adult
031life working at ASDB and helping us fulfill our mission and vision. Although our context is different now than two years ago, uh things like the budget shortage and JAC were not on my mind at that time. I would have not been able to answer what JAC stood for back then. But the vision of the agency does remain the same. As the superintendent mentioned, our vision is that we are committed to the excellence and innovation in education for all children through Arizona who are hardy hearing, deaf or have vision loss. Excellence and innovation in leadership. Excellence and innovation in collaborations with families, school districts, and the community and excellence and innovation in partnering with other agencies. In a nutshell, the heart of this vision statement is really simple. Uh we are to provide the best possible
032education to every student we serve statewide. And although that promise remains unchanged, the context in which we deliver on that promise is changing and it will continue to do so. We are all witnessing rapid shifts in educational needs driven by technology, driven by politics, driven by these deteriorating infrastructures, driven by the changing expectations of our students, our families, and our communities. And while these changes will bring new opportunities, they also compel us to critically examine our current structures, programs, and methods. Right now is the time for all of us, including the board and including the community, to ask difficult but necessary questions. For example, are we really organized in ways that truly serve our students best? Are our resources aligned with the outcomes that matter most? And are we adapting quickly enough to our surroundings?
033In the midst of this evolution, clarity of our purpose must be our guide. As the superintendent mentioned, we do have a strategic plan that is there to help us through these changing times. And as she mentioned, we're also working on the next strategic plan, which will guide ASDB through the next 5 years. I urge all of us who have committed to working at ASDB to continue to use this plan as our compass. We are not here to preserve tradition for its own sake or to resist change out of habit. We are here to serve students. Now more than ever, we must be honest about what works at ASDB. This means letting go of what does not work and being unified in our commitment to student success. As we adapt to the future, we must respond
034to change with intention and not fear. We also need to respond with a sense of urgency. As we and the board engage in upcoming planning, strategic discussions, and possible reconfigurations, we need to do so grounded in our shared mission, which is studentbased and student- centered decision-making, academic excellence, and equity. Those don't have to just be buzzwords. Those could be our pathway. So to all the leaders and educators who signed their contracts and are coming back, thank you for your continued commitment to ASDB and offering more of your 90,000 career hours, helping us help our students. Remember that we are here to provide the best education and services. What that looks like may change, but why we do it never should. If all of us, including the community and the board, remain true to our vision
035and remain true to being a team, we will not only adapt to these upcoming changes, but we could possibly lead these changes. In conclusion, I do want to thank as well Rosie Dea Cruz for being with us the last year. I've learned a lot from her and it's been a pleasure working with her. I also want to thank Jill Voit for leading PTSD the last two and a half years and jumping in to lead that school during a tough time. Jill has made the decision to return to the classroom where she can see firsthand every day the impact that she's making on students and I commend and appreciate that decision. So again, I I want to thank you both for your your service and your hard work. Thank you, Orin. Any questions or comments for
036Orin? Moving on to agenda item 1.5, information item, Assistant Superintendent of Agency Operations and Support Services Report, Assistant Superintendent Shaina Cooper. Thank you. Good afternoon, board president Kenifel, Superintendent Reichman, acting assistant superintendent catchoff, members of the board, ASDB community and staff members. With approximately 6 to eight weeks remaining in the fiscal year, the operations and support services team is very busy supporting each of the educational program areas as they close out the academic year and in support of ASB strategic priorities which most of the work we do is tied to pillar three superb organizational culture and pillar four effective resource management. Each of the directors have provided to you their departmental reports and in that report you'll notice that all the teams are gathering and gearing up for year end and providing operational and support
037service resources to the educational teams as they are quickly and fastly approaching with the end of the school year. The teams are also working on closing out the fiscal year, planning for the new year, and working on pulling the requested information for the forensic and performance auditors. for all of this. This year has not come without its challenges and some of the most difficult challenges facing the agency as we strive to improve the academic daily living skills and employment outcomes for all of our students includes managing our resources which consist of our facilities, personnel, technology and our finances. We are making every effort to carefully manage these resources and on putting in place the necessary structure and accountability needed to ensure the agency operates in a fiscally sound manner. And as Superintendent Reichman already mentioned,
038through a combination of cost reduction measures, operational efficiencies, resource allocation, and the strategic use of grants and reserve funds, approximately a million dollars of the original 2.6 million shortfall has been addressed. However, a funding gap remains of a little less than $1.7 million based on the most recent estimated budget projections. Um, I continue to say that amount can fluctuate. So, that means it can continue to increase or decrease. Um, but keeping in that keeping that in mind, I do want to explain how that million dollar reduction has been addressed. That is primarily due to additional revenue that has come in through the institutional vouchers from our itinerant program students coming in a little higher than anticipated due to a review of the students and their funding determinations. Additionally, contracted student transportation and the cash match
039obligations for our Arizona Department of Economic Security grants have come in a little bit lower than what we originally projected. In addition to that, we have continued with the headcount cap and reducing staffing levels through natural right sizing has also helped. In the last two board work study sessions, each of you as board members heard about the resources within our operating and capital budgets. And during those discussions, I hope each of you have a better understanding of the fiscal position we are in and given our constrained resources with the trend of our declining student counts, the need to secure funding for our aging infrastructure. And in order for us to ensure financial sustainability, as already mentioned, we need to make substantial changes to how we operate and utilize our resources. And as we pursue the
040evaluations of our programs and service delivery models, that may mean reimagining ASDB and our strategic focus, which does include making sure we continue with our strategic plan, but that may mean, as we've talked about, implementing new priorities, which will require us to reallocate our funds to those priorities. That's how a budget is built. The budget does not build the strategic plan. The strategic plan builds the budget. With all that said, we will need to continue to reduce our expenditures since they are outpacing our revenues. And I'm hopeful within the next upcoming year. With these changes, we'll see some significant impacts to the budget as we look at realigning. Although the year has not come without its challenges, I do want to thank everyone for their ongoing commitment as we do our best to respond and
041in the best interest of our students with less than two weeks left to close out the year. And as we look to graduation, I want to extend my congratulations to the class of 2025 and also thank all of our teachers and staff who supported our students and schools each day. We don't want to lose sight of that. I know we are pulling together to rethink how we operate and this past year has provided us with the opportunity to think and do things a little differently. That wraps up my report and I don't have any other information to provide at this time. Thank you, Shaina. Any questions or comments for Shaina? Okay, moving on to agenda item um two um or 2.1. There's an action item, approval of the consent agenda consistent with board policy to
042include items 3.1 renewal of district agreements, 5.1 BPAC agreements, 6.1 salary schedule changes, 6.2 teacher contracts, 7.2 donations, and 7.3 meeting minutes. Um, I am open to a motion. I have a motion. Do I have a second? I second. Thank you. All those in favor say I. I opposed. We have one opposition. Um, motion still carries. Thank you. Moving on to agenda item 4.1 information item finance report Kim Bitrich director. Good afternoon board president Kifo Superintendent Reichman. Assistant Superintendent Cooper, Acting Assistant Superintendent Katchoff, members of the board and ASDB community. You have been provided our most recent board report that covers financial data for March 2024 and 2025. The data was covered in more detail at our most recent finance committee meeting held on Wednesday, April 30th with board president Kifel and board member Gordon.
043Also in attendance were Superintendent Reichman, assistant superintendent Cooper, statewide director of itinerant programs Jason Lily, and director of region 1 and distance Greer Martin Parish. Jason Lily presented an overview of the itinerant services program staffing and student enrollment. The total student count provided in the board report for April 1st, 2025 shows 1,887 students compared to 2,178 students as of July 1st, 2023, a total decrease of 291 students. When comparing the April 1st 2025 student count to March 1st of 2025 of 1865, there is an increase of 2020 22 students, sorry. All areas have an increase while preschool decreased by one in the itinerant program. As of April 1st, we had 501 full-time equivalent position, which includes 8.5 FTE at Foundation for Blind Children. At that time, we employed 700 staff. There were 52 vacancies across
044the agency at that time, which included 19 teachers, seven instructional assistants, four interpreters, 10 drivers, and 12 support staff. the positions are opened that are required by student IEPs, those needed to reduce contracted staff or to maintain continuity of operations. The highlights of the March 2025 financial report shows the total revenue of 41.4 million was 214,000 higher than the March 2024 revenue of 41.1 million. The major difference is the decrease in the general fund expenditures offset by an increase in the voucher revenue, the classroom site fund, and the fee for service revenue. The vouchering the students and invoicing districts for services has occurred earlier in the year than last year. The budget fiscal year 2024 obligated expenditures of 48.2 million were 2.4 million less than budget fiscal year 2025. the obligated expenditures of 50.6 million.
045The increases are in payroll and employee related expenditures of 4.2 million. This is partially due to salary increases given to staff as well as step increases for teachers and related services staff to match their years of service. This is offset by a decrease in all other expenditure categories. Travel and equipment are decreased as part of the budget cuts and food service is down as a result of fewer students. The financial statements for March 2025 show our total fund balance is 2.1 million lower as of March 25 than it was on March 20 24. This concludes my report of the agency financial status status and I am available to answer any questions in the information provided. Thank you Kim. Any questions or comments for Kim? Thank you. Thank you Kim. Moving on to agenda item 5.2
046action item approval of use of state trust lands. Albert Duff director of operations. President Suitcase Eiffel Knifel. Sorry for that one. Used to that one, I'm sure. Um, board members, ASB board members, Superintendent Reichman, and Assistant Superintendent Catchoff and Cooper. Um, before you is the state land trust uh proposal, and I am available to answer any questions you have. Do you have any questions regarding the land trust for Albert? If not, I will take a motion. I have a motion and a second from um board member um Terry and board member Sienko. Um all those in favor of passing or accepting the trust, please say I. I. I I I opposed. Seeing none, motion carries. Thank you, Albert. Thank you. Okay, moving on to agenda item 7.1, information and discussion item, introduction and possible discussion
047of policies A AAA AC AA A D GB and J III. Maria Murphy, director of policy and government relations. Good afternoon, board president, members of the board, superintendent Reichman, assistant superintendent, ASDB staff, and ASDB community. You have before you the red lines that have been proposed. Uh I have not received any public comment in regards to that. That having been said, I do need some uh assistance and some direction from the ASDB board and I'm hoping to start a conversation with you board members. Um so you may have noticed that there are a lot of changes uh in the red lines this uh this month and part of that is because four of the policies specifically ACA GBK and J III are in response to changes at both the federal and the state levels specifically
048in regards to um Title 9 discrimination. However, the other policies, policy A, ABA, ABAA, and um AD are the result of an Arizona school boards association comprehensive policy review that they have rece uh recently decided to undertake. So we did our own comprehensive policy review starting in 2015 and now the school boards association is starting their own comprehensive policy review and I have been receiving um advisories they're coming fast and furious uh from ASBA since February and um these particular policies they're not anything that I think that the ASDB board has to adopt. um ASBA is making these recommendations, but it's not something that is required of us as it would be when we're talking about federal or state uh legislation. So because these advisories are coming so quickly, my concern is that uh I
049could be asking you board to make some revisions to some policies and then five or six months down the line we have to backtrack and revise a policy again because of new advisories that are coming out. So my hope is that perhaps we can table some of these policies and wait until all of the advisories come in so that you as a board and the assistant attorney general and I can take a look at these policy changes holistically and try to figure out what makes sense for ASDB. um what we are legally required to do and what we think we want to keep the same. So um that having been said, uh I would love to get some direction from the board on what you uh how you would like me to move forward for
050the future. Thank you, Maria. Um, I will say that other than the ones that have been um changed because of statute, because of legislation, um I am all in favor of waiting and looking at more of the big picture as as the as ASBA finishes their review um and continues to send you advisories, it would be nice if you could present to us in um and I'm open to other suggestions as Well, if you could pre present to us what um you would recommend for the board to look at and adopt and what we don't really need to consider. I think it would be better served if we used your subject matter expertise in that area than for us to try and weed through all of it. Do you need us to vote on that
051or is our direction enough? I am not certain. I would hope that the direction would be enough. I I mean it's not listed as an action item, so I'm assuming we could just direct you as the board. Does anybody want to add to that? I do. This This is Mike Gordon. Um thank you, Maria. Um, as I've tried to weed through the 150 pages of the one advisory and then realizing that there's still advisories coming, I would very much recommend a table until we have everything at hand and then we can work on that because it's a it's a lot of work already and to go back and try to do it again. It just seems it's uh it's just not in the proper order. So, I saw Earl. Yes, this is board member Terry.
052I do agree with Mike Gordon. Um there are some things that were just changed from March 2025. Um so I think we should wait um until we get to that point. Commissioner Senko, yes, I agree. I would like to say that I would ask Maria to come to the board for further guidance as we receive more advice is a very smart move. It looks pretty unanimous to me. I think we will table that until we have a more holistic look at what might change in the future. Thank you, members of the board. Um, I will plan at the July board meeting to move for a second read the policies that need to be moved in response to federal and state legislative changes. Excellent. Thank you, Maria. Thank you. All right, let me see where um
053moving on to agenda item 8.1. Um call to the public on non-aggenda items. I do have one Jessica Andredy Daddy sorry with the with the name I should be like very well. Can everyone see me? Okay. Yes. All right. Thank you so much for having me here to speak tonight. My name is Jessica Andrade. I work for the agency professionally, but tonight I'm here in a different capacity. I'm here as a parent and an alumni of PTSD. I'm a graduate of the class of 2009. So, I am here with deep personal experience both as someone who's benefited from this school and as a parent who wants the same opportunity for my children and others. Before I came to PTSD as a student, I struggled with my identity. I was mainstreamed growing up. I didn't feel
054fully accepted. I felt lost and transferred here to PDSD sophomore year. That was the turning point in my life. I was exposed to a rich community of deaf culture and language and I learned not only academics but confidence, connection and pride. I made friends with those who understood me and for the first time I truly felt like I belonged. PDSD has helped me become the person I am today. Now, as a parent, I see my children walking a similar path. They are thriving because they are in an environment that supports their language, their identity, and their full potential. But I also worry I'm very concerned about the future of ASDB and PDSD. If you choose to close or reduce support for this school, you will be taking away more than just classrooms. You will be
055taking away language, culture, and opportunity for so many deaf and heart of hearing children. Not every family has the resources or support to advocate or provide language access at home. Many deaf children live in homes where communication is already a struggle. For them, school is the only place where they are truly understood, where they can grow in both language and academics. If that is taken away, they may lose their voice. They may lose their connection. And that is something we cannot allow to happen. Yes, I feel incredibly lucky and privileged that my children are deaf. Not because it's easy, but because we are a part of a strong community with access to resources like PTSD. But I also feel a deep sadness for other children. children in other districts where few deaf programs exist, where
056there are not enough interpreters, where schools are not equipped to meet their needs. I just had an IEP meeting recently with one such school district and they told me flat out they had no deaf programs where I live and barely enough interpreters. That's not an learning environment. That's isolation. So, I urge you to see what this school represents. Again, not just a place to learn, but a lifeline, a future, a community. Please don't take that away from our children. They deserve to grow up with language, culture, and the chance to thrive just like I did starting sophomore year. Thank you for your time and your attention and your commitment to truly listening to the voices of the deaf community. Thank you. Thank you. And again, I'd like to encourage you to share that with your
057legislature legislators. Um, one more. I've got Elizabeth Brow and Libby. I'm sorry that was stuck together. So, I know you wouldn't try to ignore me. Hello. I thought maybe I'm learning pregnancy brain is real, so I thought maybe I actually did not turn in a paper. Anyway, hello. My name is Elizabeth Browse. I am a preschool teacher here at PDSD and the president of the Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind Educator Association. Hello, Assistant Superintendent Catchoff, Assistant Superintendent Cooper, Superintendent Reichman, Board President Kifel, and board members. Um, thank you for the time to be here in front of you today. I was commenting on agenda item 1.3, excellent communication and relationships. And to my fellow educators, happy teacher appreciation week. Yay. This week has really had me thinking about my time here at um
058ASDB and as an educator. I've been teaching for 13 years now. Um, I'm reminded of my colleagues from DVR region 2 when I was an itinerate teacher. We would meet in the office after our long drive back. We would review student data. We'd discuss access for our students in their general ed classrooms. We would workshop IEP goals for our students. We were data centered and access focused. I think about one of my colleagues in the preschool, Stephanie Voss, who at the drop of a hat could rework a schedule to cover for two absent teachers and one absent instructional assistant to maintain the integrity of our program and the learning a safe learning environment for our students. She's a problem solver. I think about the zero to three providers and the deaf mentors that I work
059with. They travel great distances in this state. They go into famil family's homes. They work with parents in the most vulnerable life moments. They often provide the first look through the window into the deaf community. They know how to build trust with families. I'm reminded of the aiologists that I've worked with like Carol Ist in DVR region 2. She knows the dispensing aiologists in the Phoenix area. She knows the other services like the ear foundation. She's created partnerships and navigates using community resources. She knows how to build community connection and support. These are the perspectives that have been shut out of direct conversations, planning, problem solving, and relationship building with the board and with leadership. In that January meeting that my colleague Trish pointed out, the board chose to close a door on developing that
060relationship and tapping into the expertise and the experience of those people's perspectives, those educators perspectives. ASDBEA is still here. During this pivotal moment for our agency, now is the time to work directly with the educators that I mentioned. We're not just looking for a place to complain. We are looking to be part of the solution in a formal way. And you mention that yes, let's contact our legislators. I watch the JLAC JLAC. I watched that whole thing. I watch those things. I reach out to my legislators as a Arizona resident. ASBA is asking the board, partner with us. We're asking Superintendent Reichman, take us with you. Maria Murphy, take us with you. We want to go to the legislators. We want to work with you to do that. We need an H policy in order
061to work with you. We are not just looking to submit complaints through an abbuds person. We're not looking to do that. We are looking to have meaningful partnership and relationship so that we can be the problem solvers. Thank you for your time. Thank you, Libby. Moving on to agenda item 8.2, discussion and possible action items. Agenda items for the next regular board meeting scheduled for July 10th, 2025 in Tucson. Um, Annette, I would like to add a followup with our AH regarding the personnel um issue that is that we are currently dealing with. That's the one thing I want to make sure that's on there. If anybody else have anything to add for the July meeting. Okay. Um you can always contact myself or um Superintendent Reichman to add something before the board meeting. We
062also I'm going to move on to 8.3. Information item board work study is scheduled on June 12th. I'd like that will be here at um at PDSD. Um I'd like to make sure that we can have as full of a board as possible um for that. So please make sure you put it on your calendar, circle it in red, do something so we we have a full board here. Um and then moving on to 9.1 action item for adjournment. Do I have a motion? I have a motion by board member Sienko. Do I have a second? I second. I have a second from board member Terry. Thank you. All those in favor say I. I. I. I. Motion carries. Thank you all. The meeting is adjourned at 5:13 p.m. I need your signature. I need
063your signature, too.