001Mhm. >> Mhm. >> Good evening. I now call the April 13th meeting of the Desert Governing Board to order. All members are present. Quorum is met. I ask the audience to rise for the pledge of allegiance. Motion to adopt the agenda is present. Second. Motion carries. Next item is address the governing board. Audience audience with individuals. This is the time for the public to comment. Members of the board may not discuss items that are not specifically identified on the agenda. Pursuant to ARS 38-431.018 action taken as a result of public comment will be limited to directing staff to study the matter, responding to any criticism or scheduling the matter for further consideration and decision at a later date. In order to facilitate accomplishing the business of the district in a timely manner, a time limit
002of 3 minutes will be imposed for each individual or group addressing the board. When you approach the podium, please state your name for the record. Hold on just a second. I don't think your mic's on. We'll reset your timer. Yeah, we'll reset it. You got it. There you go. Okay. Oh, I think that's better. Okay. I don't know if that goes lower. Okay. Sorry. Good evening, Dysart board members. My name is Natalie Bautista. I'm here today speaking on behalf of my family and countless City of Surprise and El Mirage residents. I'm sorry. Who are urging all community leaders to take action. I'm respectfully asking for everyone on this governing board to do everything you can to protect our students and our community from the ice detention facility in Surprise. At this time, we cannot solely
003rely on our local City of Surprise government. At the last April 7th City Council meeting, we learned that they returned from their meeting with DHS with no intentions of stopping the facility from opening and no intergovernmental agreement. Without a legally binding contract, the city of Surprise cannot enforce the policies and promises made by ICE and DHS. They have failed to create any new city policies or ordinances to protect us and it appears the mayor and council members are divided. So again, we cannot rely solely on the city of Surprise government. We need the combined action of all local leadership. Just last week, the state of Arizona performed an oversight visit to the ICE processing facility in Mesa, Arizona. They have documented findings of people being held far beyond the allowed time limits in overcrowded and
004inhumane conditions. People are forced to sleep on concrete floors and have inadequate access to basic necessities such as medical services and even something as simple as sanitary products for females. This is all happening as we speak about an hour away in the East Valley. It is about to become our reality right here in Surprise, 1 mile away from Dysart High School. I recognize the complexity of the situation and the limitations of the different boards and governing bodies. However, everybody has the ability to do something. So please, we urge you to take action. Enforce strict safeguards and staff trainings that are tailored to the unique dangers that ICE and DHS pose. Establish new policies and new protocols. Revise your crisis response plan. Expand student and family support services to help students who experience the detainment of
005loved ones by ICE, students that encounter these agents in the community, and students, family, and staff experiencing a mental health decline as a result of everything happening in our country and in our own backyard. This has already created so much fear and uncertainty. Please do everything in your power to help and tell us how we as community members can help as well. Thank you. That's all. Next item on the agenda, section C, item one, superintendent update. Thank you, Mr. President. Just a few updates today. Um, we have Dysart Heroes on the 22nd, we have our Dysart Education Foundation scholarships for our kids on the 23rd, our DSB Live Awards coming up on the 23rd. Um, we had a Purple Star celebration for Dysart with some share you'll hear from a few board members today. And,
006um, last but not least on the updates, all our certified contracts are in. Um, and we are proud to report that we have a 94% retention rate, um, on all our contracts. So, great job to HR. Thank you to all our certified staff. Um, and that's all I have on my update. Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Crothers. Next item is governing board updates. We'll start with board member Dastrup. Good evening. Today I was able to attend the Dysart High School, um, Purple Star ceremony. I really love seeing how the schools within the district are stepping up for these Purple Star ceremonies so that they can commit to the military families as they're transitioning into our school district. And I also was able to attend the Dysart A+ school luncheon. So, that's all. Thank you. No
007update. Ginger Lee Francis award ceremony to honor teachers and staff of the special needs schools or students, sorry. I also wanted to point out that in this um Connect community community Connect magazine they were talking about a Luke Elementary eighth graders uh get a STEM-fueled field trip and um they traveled to the Phoenix International Raceway to participate in Beyond the Finish Line. And um Phoenix Raceway Charities partnered with Larry Fitzgerald Foundation, Cox Communications, and NASCAR to put on the event. And Cox Communications gave each participant a uh computer. I just thought it was a good story. That's all I have. Good evening. Um I attended on April 8th the Ginger Lee Francia Award. I just want to congratulate um to all the teachers, the paraprofessional staff, and community members um for their awards. And I
008also want to thank Tracy Gardner for allowing us to attend. And then I also attended the Purple Star ceremony at Dysart High School today. Um it was an honor to be part of such a meaningful event recognizing and supporting our military-connected students and families. So, thank you for the opportunity. I attended the Vet Fest or Veteran Fest that City Surprise had over the weekend. Um, really nice to uh see the city do something like this where they also brought in the a replica of the Vietnam Wall. Um, really good educational experience for my children as well. And also ran into Mayor Sarter and uh Councilman Mountain there, which was uh good to see them out and about as well. That's all I had. We'll move to the next item. Motion to approve consent agenda. Motion
009carries. Next item we'll go to section F, action and discussion. Thank you, Mr. President. Uh Mr. Manley will take this item. Thank you, Dr. Croddy. Uh Mr. President, governing board members, it is a pleasure to share this next recommendation to you uh for the director of planning and development uh uh cabinet and administration specifically with Mary Dales uh help uh with a competitive application process and a very thorough interview process to find a very unique and special individual for this very unique and special job. Uh so it's my pleasure recommend to the governing board uh Christian uh Godoy. You certainly can stand up and you no speech necessary though. Um, but uh I will share with you uh this job is uh a singleton. It's unique and plays a very uh specific role for this
010district in success of a student enrollment, staffing, and budgeting. So uh we're excited to have Christian join the uh district office with us to help us be successful and we know he's going to do a fantastic job under uh the last thing I will say, under your approval for his uh hiring. Thank you. All right, motion to approve the appointment of Christian Cadoray as director of planning and development for the 2025-2026 school year. Second. Motion carries. Congratulations. >> Congratulations. Congratulations. We move to the next item, recommendation to adoption of resolution ordering a call for a special bond election. Thank you, Mr. President. Um, as requested, we put this item on for discussion on calling for a special bond election. Um, and I will turn it over to you. So so we can get into any
011discussion needed, I will take I'm going to motion to adopt the resolution ordering for ordering and calling for a bond election in the amount of $71,400,000. Second. I open it up to discussion from the floor. Based on our last conversation at our last board meeting with this agenda item, I know it was just a discussion item at that time, but did you get the impression that the board was supportive of the bond? I I think we could have some good support from them for it, yeah. Okay. >> Now, I did uh I did create a a I guess you can call it a speech, but a discussion as well. So, I wanted to put it out there that a small, precise school bond is the most valuable or viable path to victory because it transforms
012a generic tax request into a transparent, community-driven investment by surgically targeting only the most critical repairs, infrastructure, and safety upgrades. This proposal respects the taxpayers' wallet while directing directly addressing specific concerns voiced during the last two failed attempts. This lean approach eliminates the percentage or perception of bloat that often triggers skepticism, replacing it with a high accountability roadmap that residents can see reflected in their own neighborhoods. Some key advantages I want to point out is a maximized voter trust by moving away from a blank what what some would consider a blank request um blank check request and focusing on a shorter, specific project list, the district builds the credibility needed to secure yes votes from fiscally conservative residents. Another item I would like to point out is direct impact, minimal friction. Data has shown that
013referendums and bonds focusing on tangible fixes rather than vague growth tend to see significantly higher approval rates. Voters easily connect their contribution to visible improvements in student safety and learning. Um I did want to point out over the past couple months talking to community members um community feedback on this refined approach has been overwhelmingly positive during my discussions. However, I've been informed that Dysart is um already losing some students up in the Asante area um to homeschooling and to the Peoria Unified School District. Uh parents in the Asante area are opting out simply because they don't want their children on long bus rides um which further impacts the the need for another elementary up there. Um the lack of in infrastructure in North Surprise is creating a what I would consider a domino effect that
014could be impacting our district's enrollment instability in that area. So, that's why I I I support this bond. So, I'd like to ask you said that this is bond is reduced for critical infrastructures. Correct. So, why is the um concession stands at our high school considered critical? Well, if you uh ever go to a game and have to use the bathroom and for handicapped people, it's pretty difficult for them to get to those bathrooms on a timely fashion. A concession stand is not necessarily the bathrooms. That should have been clearly defined. Okay. As uh Dr. Croto mentioned at the last meeting, I think we're really um I think we're a little late in this game for this year uh to do a bond. I I know that we still have significant needs within this district,
015but I don't think that the timing is right. Um we're coming up really close to up to deadlines. We don't have a pack formed. Um we've not formed any committees on this. And with gas at $6 a gallon, I don't think that this would be responsible for our community at this time. Don't the concession stands bring in income for the I saw school district? There's a possibility that they could have a return of investment over time by selling goods, but that would probably go to I can't speak to it properly, but that would probably go back to into the sports system. So, we took the buses out, right? We don't have buses on this. I'm trying to remember. Sorry. >> No, if you read, there's actually transportation in there. Okay, cool. And it was for
016HVAC, correct? For 11 different schools within there. That's another item on the on the issues. 11 HVAC systems, yes. And it's half the amount as in the pre- previous bond. Not exactly half the amount, about 60 million less. Oh, no. Okay. Yeah, about about Yeah, 56 million less. And do we honestly think that the voters are going to vote it? I mean, we've been through this several times. Well, the two times were the exact same bond, and the second time was the exact same bond that failed the year prior. This is something different. This is something more fiscally conservative. This is something that we can easily communicate, in my opinion, to the voters. And I think, in my opinion, has a better chance of of getting a yes vote. I I hear you on the
017communication, but again, we don't really have a lot of time, right? We're very within our time frame to file the paperwork and get it on the ballot and be able to communicate during the summer and in the fall. And you're pretty confident that this will go. I am pretty confident, yes. >> Okay. I know we've just mentioned the last two bonds, but just worth mentioning, we have not been able to to successfully have a bond pass in 20 years. Something to consider. I mean, I personally would love to see a bond go. I just keep thinking we're throwing money out the door trying to get them. And it's very frustrating. I hear you, but did you have that feeling last year, too, or no? I was concerned then, too. That's why we voted hoping that
018with the L and M and the bond, everything we've asked for is necessary and needed. So, now we're cutting back things that we do need that we're still going to try for the schools. I'm not questioning that. But at the same time, we're still reducing items that we needed that were critical, as well. Oh, we did Sorry to interrupt. We did do public session where we did for capital spending and there was a 5-year and a majority of those items of now all of them were part of the original bond. So, there's a road map for 5 years. >> at cuz I'm sorry, I don't recall a meeting on when you're saying that there was a meeting on this. We had a study session. Study sessions. >> Yes, you're right. Okay, my bad. I'm sorry.
019I'm mentally all here. Okay, you know, got you. All right, hearing no hearing no further discussion, place the item for a vote. Motion carries. We move to the next item, action or section G, item one, request for future agenda items. Hearing none, we uh section H, motion to adjourn the meeting. Second. Motion carries, meeting adjourned. Thank you.