001Good evening. Today is February 23rd, 2026. I call the meeting to order for Daart Governing Board. Let it be note that board member Jennifer Drake is absent. [snorts] And I ask the audience to rise for the pledge of allegiance. Dr. Croto, would you like to introduce who's uh going to lead us? >> Thank you, Mr. President. Yes, tonight we have some special guests. We have the Pledge of Allegiance uh led by the kindergarten students from Mountain View Elementary School. So, we can't wait. I pledge allegiance 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. [applause] >> Very nicely done. Great job. Thank you, Mountain View. Let's give him a round of applause again. [applause] >> [applause]
002>> Next up, we have the adoption of the agenda. I motion to adopt the agenda as presented. >> Second. Yes. Sorry. >> Should I sign out? >> Motion pass. >> Yeah. Dr. Croto, I hand it over to you for recognitions. >> Thank you, Mr. President. Tonight we have some very special guests from Valley Vista High School and Mr. Musei will introduce our guest. >> Thank you, Dr. Croto, Mr. President, President, members of the board, and our audience here tonight. Uh we are very uh fortunate uh to have the Valley Vista High School choir here to perform and they are under the direction of Mr. Preston McDonald. So, Mr. McDonald. [applause] >> Thank you guys so much for having us. Uh, it's always such a great joy to be here and perform for you guys. Uh,
003this is my top show choir group, Hogal Thunder. And over the weekend, they competed for the first time this year and, uh, earned second place overall their competition. They worked really, really hard, lots of hours to prepare these shows. Um, and as you see them right now, they're in car shirt and jeans. But if you want to see the full version of this show with uh sweeping costumes and skirts and set pieces and all the things, uh we are performing at Festival of the Arts as well as hosting a show competition in two weeks uh the weekend leading into spring break at Valley Vesta. It's called Monster Madness. And then obviously we have our our concerts coming up in April as well. Uh we'll take these groups uh this group and my other shark groups
004also compete in California multiple times this semester. So uh just lots of great work by these students and I'm very proud of them. So I hope that you enjoy. Thanks. Feeling [applause] confined to this [music] place to discover [singing] a space. [music] [music and singing] He took a one man. [singing] Oh w [singing] I'm ready for it all to start to follow [singing and music] your star [singing] [music] night. [singing] God in the [music] >> in the dark made a bow [singing] to follow his own bright sun. [singing and music] Keep shining for me. Shine. He dream to explore the bottomless [singing] blue. Mysterious [music] below. >> [music] [music and singing] >> Chrisby [singing] [music] said he failed. We try the salt on [music] your skin and the [singing] wind in your hair and the
005waves as they e [music] down toward the depths toward the bottomless blue to mysterious [singing] [music] below. >> Bright star. Bright [singing] star [music] shine on and see me through. [singing] >> He took a homemade one [singing and music] summer ride. One day [singing and music] I'll shine. [applause] Very impressive. Thank you. Thank you very much. Great job. All right. Continuing on, Mr. President and board tonight, um, we have a very special A- label recognation. recognition. Um, recognition. Can't say that word. Um, each year the Arizona Department of Education develops an annual achievement profile for every public school in this state based on an A through F scale. Uh, the system measures uh two-year student academic growth proficiency on English language arts, math, and science. Um, I'm pleased to share that all Desaert Unified School
006District schools earned an A or B rating, which I shared before in the state. So, all 20 of our schools are A and B's. Uh, with 19 of them uh reaching A's and five reaching B's. So, that is a great accomplishment for this school. Uh, also the district itself for the third straight year in a row is celebrating its A rating. So we are very very proud of that. Uh great things are happening in Daart and today we want to celebrate and call our principles up as well as our governing board because it takes everybody um in this district to do that. So we want to say thank you. We've gone around to all these schools and had a celebrations and we want to celebrate our principles and our governing board tonight. So as I
007call your name, uh come forward. We have a special little A for you to take back and and put in your school in your office wherever you want. But if you come forward, we're going to take a picture. So starting off uh with Asante Preparatory and then Ashton Ranch, Canyon Ridge, Simmeron Springs Middle School, Countryside Elementary School, Daart High School, Elmarrage Elementary School, Freedom Traditional Academy, Kingswood Elementary School, Luke Elementary School, Marley Park Elementary School, Mountain View, Rancho Gabriella Elementary School, Shadow Ridge High School, Sunset Hills Elementary, school, Surprise Elementary School, Valley Vista High School, Western Peaks Elementary School, and Willow Canyon High School. Congratulations to all these recipients and our governing board um on this outstanding accomplishment. We're going to take a picture real quick um with everybody with their A's, including our governing
008board um and then we'll be right back with you. >> [clears throat] >> All right. Next up, we have item address the governing board 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 38-431.01H, 01H. 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 of three minutes will be imposed for each individual or group addressing the board. When you approach the podium, please state your name for the record. Our first um speaker
009is William Conam. >> Good evening, President Scavara, members of the board, Dr. Croto. My name is William Conium. I'm a DART parent. I'm here regarding the proposed 1500 bed federal facility at Daart and Sweetwater. This site sits in a highdensity school corridor directly impacting Elmarrage, West Point, Surprise, Thompson Ranch Elementary Schools, as well as Daart Middle and Daar High. This is not a distant policy debate. It's a direct challenge to the safety and solveny of the Desaart Unified School District. I anticipate the argument that this facility is beyond this board's scope. However, on October 27th, member Densmore purposely personally challenged championed a resolution opposing the BNSF railway facility, a project located miles outside our district boundaries. Her justification was that the board must take a stand regarding risk to student safety and traffic. If a
010train track miles away in Whitman justified a formal resolution than a 1500 bed highsecurity detention center inside the district and so close to numerous schools demands nothing less. You cannot claim jurisdiction for a facility 5 miles away while claiming helplessness for one place squarely in the path of our students. We must be clear about the nature of this facility. On February 17th, DHS representatives stated these senator these centers prioritize the detention of those they classify as the worst of the worst, naming violent offenders and child predators. By their own admission, this facility will house individuals who pose a documented risk to community safety. Placing this population less than a mile from our schools is an unaccept unacceptable complication to our safety mission. Our buses and working walking students will now share the roads with 247
011federal transport traffic. We need to know today what the cost of the increased SRO presence and hardened security will be to mitigate this fally imposed risk. Beyond today's safety, we must look at the 30-year liability created by title 5 of the Beckendi Vento Act because the federal government is spending $150 million on high-capacity plumbing, kitchens, and residential infrastructure. Now, they are effectively pre-building a regional homeless shelter under Title 5. Once the ICE mission ends, federal law requires that the property be prioritized for transfer to homeless providers at no cost. This isn't just a temporary facility. It's a 30-year encumbrance that creates a permanent unfunded influx of students requiring specialized services we are neither staffed nor funded to provide. Finally, as a fiduciary, I'm looking at the math. Based on the $70 million purchase price, this
012project removes an estimated $500,000 to $600,000 every year from the DAR budget by taking private property off the tax rules. If this board refuses to act, you are effectively accepting a permanent federal detention tax on our local homeowners. What are you prepared to cut to fill this half million dollar hole? Which teacher positions, extracurriculars, or safety measures are worth sacrificing to allow this facility to move forward without a fight? Which board member will step up to place a formal discussion on the next agenda to address these risks? Protect our solveny, protect our student safety. I yield the floor. Our next speaker is Kathy Noga. My name is Kathy Noga and I'm a concerned community member and also a former teacher. Every student needs good nutrition, sleep, nurturing environment and the feeling of safety in order
013to succeed. Academic achievement is inseparable from a student's sense of physical and emotional security. When students feel unsafe, whether at school, at home, or in their community, learning suffers. Approximately 60% of the student population at Daart High School is Hispanic. The students are an essential and valued part of our community. Their well-being must be considered when decisions are made that directly affect the neighborhoods in which they live, learn, and grow. We must ask an important question. Do students feel safe when individuals who look like them are detained by masked agents and taken into facilities in their own neighborhood? Do young children feel secure waiting at a school bus stop when nearby operations involve the visible processing of immigrants by federal authorities? Regardless of one's position on immigration policy, the psychological and emotional impact on children
014is real and measurable. Students cannot focus on algebra, reading comprehension, science or civic engagement. When fear and uncertainty follow them into their daily lives, safety in education is not limited to locked doors and emergency drills. It includes the emotional security, stability and trust in the institutions surrounding them. When the sense of safety is undermined, economic, e, academic success and healthy development are placed at risk. Board members have a responsibility to protect students learning environments. You know that the proposed opening of an immigration processing facility in Surprise raises serious concerns about community trauma, student anxiety, and the unintended consequences for thousands of children who already face social and economic challenges. You are charged with keeping our children safe. Our students deserve environments that foster learning, stability, and hope rather than fear. For these reasons, I strongly
015oppose the opening of the facility and surprise. Like the open letter you wrote in opposition to BSNF transfer facility, I urge you to do the same in opposition of the proposed ICE facility, which has far greater consequences. Thank you. >> Our next uh speaker is Tina Malikica. >> Good evening. Thank you for this opportunity. My name is Tina Malikica. I'm here this evening to also ask some questions about the future detention center at Daart and Sweetwater. As a dis longtime district parent, I'm deeply concerned about the impact of this facility on our schools and our students. I live just two and a half miles from where the facility will be. There are local parks, neighborhoods, and most concerningly, schools nearby. Desaert High School and Middle School are just a mile away. Surprise, and Elmarrage Elementary
016School two miles away. West Point, Riverview, and Thompson Ranch Elementary School three miles away. All of these are title one schools that serve high minor high minority lowincome communities. Since the beginning of 2025, the US has detained 73% more people than the previous year. Only 5% of them have been violent criminals. 73% have had no convictions. It's also been reported that over 3,800 children have been detained and more than 1,300 have been held for 20 or more days, far exceeding the benchmark for how long they can be detained. The point of those statistics is that they are detaining children and families, not always the worst of the worst. And that's exactly what we can expect if ICE comes to surprise. Last year, Arizona Superintendent Schools Tom Horn even agreed that ICE should not operate on
017school campuses, stating that less kids will come to a school. We all know that school attendance will decrease when ICE starts patrolling our city streets and arresting people without due process. More than 4,400 courts have ruled that they are illegally detaining immigrants. As a district, you have repeatedly shown and said that safety and security of the students is a priority. So I ask, what will your plan be to protect our students and school when ICE comes? How will teachers, administrators, and staff be trained to handle these situations? Do your site, emergency response, and threat assessment teams have the tools and resources needed for this specific threat? What will you do when students stop coming to school for fear of detainment or because their parents have been detained and no one is home? How will you
018deal with the trauma that students will experience when you have no social workers left? Is there a plan to provide support staff beyond the f few school counselors in the district? Do we have do you have a plan to work with Elmarrage and Surprise Police Department to protect our students? And what will all of the SRO's and SSOs in each of our schools do? cooperate with ICE or protect our students. Those are just a few questions, but I'm going to close with two specific requests that I respectfully ask of the board. One, I ask that if you have not already, that you begin a formal process for developing safety procedures and plans specifically designed to address ICE activity in our community. Two, as other people have mentioned, I have seen board resolutions made. So I
019ask that you now make a formal resolution declaring that the detention facility at Daartan Sweetwater is a safety risk to our >> it. >> Yes. >> Okay, >> that's all. >> Next up, we go to superintendent and governing board updates with the first uh student update. >> Thank you, Mr. President. Uh Mr. Musei will introduce our student. Yes, President Scavara, members of the board, Dr. Croto. Uh, back with us tonight to provide an update from the student uh Daizart uh student council uh is Ben Trang. He's a senior at Willow Canyon High School. Welcome, Ben. [laughter] >> Good evening, Pres, President Skavvar, Governing Board, Dr. Croto and cabinet. My name is Ben Trong, and I am a senior class president of student council at Shadow Ridge High School and president of our district leadership council.
020At our most recent meeting, we shared campus updates and celebrated the strong involvement that students are bringing into the last quarter of this of the year. As we are moving towards the end of the month of February, many of our student council members are returning from AASC, the Arizona Association of Student Council state convention, feeling revitalized with brand new ideas and inspiration for how to communicate and interact with our communities. At Shadow Ridge, students and parents within the community of Shadow came to paint night, making it the most packed and crowded it has ever been in the history of running this event. Valley Vista iso is excited to host their first ever spring carnival on Saturday, April 4th. The event will feature vendors, a DJ, carnival rides, and inflatables and in booths from values clubs
021and programs showcasing their work from this year. At Willow Canyon, stu students are successfully giving back to their community by having an amazing turnout with their clothing drive with bags upon bags of clothes ready to be donated. At Daart High School, students embrace the Valentine's Day holiday with their love week where students wore different colors to spread awareness about multiple important developments within the community. And finally, at sundown, they are partnering with Elmarrage to do a peer mentorship program with the kids from the elementary school, as well as celebrating their seniors leaving soon with a senior sunset celebration on March 5th. Across all of our unique campuses, students are interacting and proving their community in assortment of ways, showing not just their school pride, but also their Daizart pride. Thank you. >> Good job. Thank
022you. [applause] Next up, superintendent update. Dr. >> Thank you, Mr. President. Um, few things. This week, ABC15 will be bringing a meteorologist uh to Sunset Hills Elementary School to talk about or to talk to the Garden Club, excuse me, about what they do and giving 30 students the opportunity to do a mini weather report um that will be added to the library of videos that the station will pull um to show throughout the year on their station. So, that's exciting. um they will run a short story to introduce the school and the garden club to launch the videos and they'll we'll make sure to share that once we have them. So, kind of a cool experience for our future meteorologists. Um and then next week it the time is here. Our DiceArt Hero Squad is
023going to be heading out to all our sites um to surprise some of the amazing staff uh members with the special balloon and certificate to recognize them as uh DAEART heroes. These employees were nominated by their peers. uh they'll be invited to a special dinner coming up on April 22nd where we honor all the DiceArt heroes and we'd like to invite our board members to join us uh for any of the hero surprises and of course you'll be there for our huge event in April. So uh we are excited about that is a fun time of year and there's a lot of laughter and smiles and a lot of tears. So we're we're looking forward to it'll be a great time and that's all I have tonight. >> Thank you very much. Next up is
024governing board updates. We'll start with board member Destich and we'll work from right to left. >> I have nothing but I would like to congratulate Preston McDonald and the Valley Vista High School choir. They were incredible. Thank you. >> No update. >> On uh February 9th, I attended the Surprise Elementary School with uh teachers, staff, parents, students, and the administration. We received a lot of positive feedback about the school and I want to thank principal Joanne Wick and assistant principal Jessica Torres for great a great visit. On February 12th, I went on the Daart district community bus tour to visit three Daart schools, Sunset Hills Elementary, Mountain View School, and Shadow Ridge High School. I want to thank Principal Andrew uh Gresel Greel from Sunset Hills Elementary School for welcoming all of us. Each school
025had students lead us on a tour of the school to visit different classrooms such as an English science labs. A Mountain View had a wax museum where students chose to represent important historical men and women giving us their biographies. It was very educational. Mountain View is a steam school specializing in science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics. I want to thank their principal Debbie Cruz for welcoming us. I also want to thank principal Miss Hester of Shatteridge High School which is a blue ribbon school of excellence. We visited their engineering department which was very impressive and they provided us a great lunch with entertainment by their choir and musicians which were excellent. At Sunset Hills we also got to see a preview of the Beetlejuice play which was very entertaining. Today I visited Ashton Ranch Middle
026School and visited their English, math and science classrooms along with visiting teachers, staff, parents and students. I want to thank new principal Dr. Casey Romero and assistant principal Jay Carlos Pearlla for welcoming us to welcoming us to their school. On Sunday, February 16th, I attended the walk and roll for inclusion of the Daart special education at Dream C Dreamcatcher Park in Surprise. I picked up a lot of good information for people with disabilities to network with commu community members, educators, and advocates for foster inclusive to foster inclusive environments. Thank you. >> I would like to take this time to thank the Freedom PTA for putting on a great dadaughter dance last Friday. Um, love the fact that they keep the the tradition alive um for the dad daughter dance. It it it means a lot
027to me to be able to participate in something like that with my daughter and it also helps brings fathers into the school atmosphere. Um, but I also have to give kudos to uh Principal Crow for tearing up the dance floor with her students once again. uh she she always does a great job at her school events. But on top of that, I want to thank all PTAs here at DiceArt um because they are a very very crucial organization within all of our schools that help with funding and activities at all the schools. [snorts] Next one, we'll go to a motion to approve the consent agenda items. Motion to approve the consent agenda items as presented. Second. >> Yes. Motion passes. >> [snorts] >> And I believe next up is information and discussion school spotlights. >>
028Thank you, Mr. President. Tonight we have Snoren Heights Middle School here to present their amazing information and Dr. Asai will introduce our guests. It is my pleasure to produce uh to introduce the wonderful school of sonorin Heights led by Miss Amberlin a principal you drop [laughter] that good evening presidenta members of the board Dr. Croto cabinet and community. I'm Amber Luna, the very very proud principal of Sonorin Heights Middle School, and we're excited to be here today to highlight how our seventh and eighth grade math team uses their PLC process to ensure all students show growth and proficiency on our AASA math assessment. Before we jump into that, we do want to recognize our hot corner that we have over here. We have our assistant principal, our TLS, and some important team members as well.
029Um, our team up here consists of Jacqueline Adami who teaches seventh and eighth grade math, Caitlyn Caldwell who teaches eighth grade math, Connor Golki who teaches seventh grade math and eighth grade algebra, and our ESS resource teacher who couldn't make it tonight is Jennifer Schneider. The vertical articulation from this team allows them to get creative, take risks, and see success in our students data. So, I'd like to turn it in over to Mr. Golki. So, at Sonorin Heights, it's all about data. Uh, one of the data points we look at that we're most proud of is our blind assessments. Our blind assessments are new this year, and we've seen great success with them. Our leadership team makes standard specific assessments that our students complete when we have finished teaching that essential standard. The test being
030blind means that we as teachers do not get to see it ahead of time, just like we do on benchmarks and our AASA assessments. We then look at that data to ensure we have taught the full standard and determine the number of students who have and have not mastered that essential standard. You're all likely familiar with classroom and benchmark assessments, but one more layer that we like to add our celebrations. Being a middle school of only fifth to eighth graders, we know that motivation is oftentimes a feat to overcome, but celebrating our Hawks is a high priority of ours. You can see here that we track our classroom data as well as our blind assessment data in the hallway for students to see. We want all of our students to do their best and give
031effort and we love recognizing that. They've been able to earn candy, chips, a 1-hour lunch or pajamas for the week. They even had the opportunity to pie Mrs. Luna, Mrs. Johnson, or Mrs. Bowers as a reward for their growth or proficiency on their last benchmark. Now, I'd like to introduce Miss Calwell, our eighth grade math teacher. [cough] To ensure all of our students master their essential standards, we are committed to the PLC process and collaboration is key for our team. We have our collaborative team time every Monday that we are so thankful for and you will often find us talking at our prep time as well. After this last benchmark, our principal, Mrs. Luna, gave us a full day of planning where we were able to dig in to all of our data. We spent
032this time identifying the standards that need to be retaught and which students need the retach. Once we identified the standards, we had long conversations about how we are going to teach this again and determined creative ways to reach all of our students. We scheduled out our blind assessments and then began planning daily lessons. In these plans, we created our we created our objectives and daily exit tickets to ensure our students are learning the full standard. Through this collaboration, we plan to identify times to allow to watch each other teach, which allows us to see our plans in action and learn from one another. We also scheduled dates for our leadership team to come model for us. This looks like Mrs. Luna teaching a best practice and Mrs. Bowers, our TLS, whisper coaches to us about
033the effective practice and then we reflect and plan how we can put this into our tier one instruction. Miss Adam will now talk about how we are putting this into action. All right. Now we are dashing into ASA in math. One of the creative ways we have tried to ensure all of our students master the grade level essential standards is by using our library once a week as an intentional personalized intervention time. We group students based on what they need for each standard. Regardless of who their math teacher is, we share the responsibility of reteing to help each student grow by differentiating to meet each student's needs. This time also allows Miss Schneider to put her expertise into place to pull small groups ensuring we are meeting students IEP goals. This intervention time is for
034all seventh and eighth graders, including our algebra students, to ensure they are mastering the eighth grade standards as well as on their all of their algebra content. Our students enjoy this time because they have the opportunity to teach each other um and to test out of a skill and get to learn from another teacher. We are confident that our students are going to show mastery on their blind assessments that are coming up. They love tracking their mastery and seeing our classroom charts increase and the hallway numbers increasing. As we get closer to testing, we know that another important piece to us is involving our Hawk families. After we do our big ASA assembly, where our student council and administration pump our students up, we invite our families for breakfast. Following our theme of mission possible,
035our breakfast this year is coffee and confidential briefings. Our families have the opportunity to learn about ASA, understand why it's important for their student, and what the scores mean. Then they get to make inspirational posters that are hung up around campus and they can write letters to their students wishing them good luck before they take their test. Students reading positive notes before testing is very impactful to their performance. So we ensure all students get one. Thank you for letting us share how we ensure our Hawks demonstrate mastery of their grade level standards by showing growth and proficiency on state assessments. We will stand for any questions. I have one. Um, do you guys have any metrics on how the reteing is working? >> How the what? I'm sorry. >> Any metrics on you guys do
036the when and how are we reteaching the student? Do you have any metrics on how that's improving them and assisting them? >> So, reteing with them in the library? >> Yes. >> Yeah. So, they track it on their classroom data charts as well as when we do our blinds, our hope is that we see that matching. So if they're giving their classroom assessments, we give benchmarks and their blinds. We hope that those numbers stay the same or increase. >> Yeah. Graph it. Yeah. >> So is the library intervention time that's like separate from their regular regular class? >> Yeah. So on Wednesdays they instead of going in their classrooms they all meet in the library once a week and they rotate them between. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Wonderful presentation. Wonderful presentation. Thank you so
037much. >> Thank you. >> Good job. >> We go to the next item, action and discussion board monitoring of adoption polic policy chapter 4. >> Thank you, Mr. President. Uh tonight we bring you chapter 4 and our norm in our normal uh operations of looking at our policies. Um we are not recommending any changes to this chapter to chapter 4. So with that we will stand for any questions. >> Hearing no questions. Uh motion to approve policy is presented. >> Second. Motion pass. Next we go to recommendation to approve the 2026 2027 governing board meeting schedule. >> Thank you, Mr. President. Uh tonight we bring you the meeting schedule for 2627 board meetings and uh it stands as presented. I will answer any questions that you may have. Hearing no questions, a motion to approve
038the 2026 2027 governing board meeting schedule as presented. >> Before we get a second, can I just ask a question real quick? Where um the graduation date for this year? When is that? >> May 13th. >> We don't have that yet. >> You don't have Do what is it like this year? >> 13. >> It's in May 13th. So, we don't have that set for next year yet. Is there a reason we have the um the governing board meeting May 10th? We usually don't have one in the same week as the board meeting or as the graduation. >> We can definitely look at changing that um depending on the date. So I can bring that back if you'd like to. >> Okay. That >> once we get the we don't know the venues or fine.
039>> We can move forward and we can take bring that back but just to put it on your >> We'll do that with the Yeah, >> we'll make note of that. Was there a second? >> No, no second. >> Second. >> Motion carries. Next item on the agenda is recommendation for approval of job order contract in excess of 1 million. >> [clears throat] >> I believe we skipped over number three, Mr. President. >> Oh, I'm sorry. Uh, recommendation to approve the employee health benefit plan for 2026 2027 fiscal year. Very important. Thank you. >> Thank you. I I knew you skipped that because Mary Dell was in tears. Um, so, uh, tonight we have our update on our health and benefit plan for next year. So, Miss Spidell will take us through this. >> Thanks,
040Dr. Carter. Good evening, President Scaram, members of the board, cabinet, community. Tonight, we will be presenting information on the proposed benefits uh plans for our 2627 fiscal year. So, each month we review our medical claims experience and currently 6 months into the year, we are running at 97% of claims to funding, meaning that the total cost of our medical and pharmacy claims are running at 97% um in comparison to the contributions that are coming in. So, it's right in line with the contributions that are helping to fund um that fund, that trust fund. Uh Blue Cross Blue Shield, as a reminder, they are our health provider for health benefits and Prime Therapeutics is um carved out as our pharmacy benefits manager. The reason for that is they generates a rebate that helps offset the cost
041of our pharmacy claims. Last year, the amount we received in rebates was about 1.3 million. And so, we are estimating a conservative amount of about 1.3 million for this coming year as well. And throughout the year, we meet with our employee benefits trust board to review claims activity. We review with our actuarials. And so all of that detailed information we have now compiled to present to the governing board for recommendation for your approval. So the district continues to provide two options for medical um a high deductible HSA plan um or health savings plan and then the other is our PO plan. And so the recommendation is to continue offering those two medical plans with no design changes to those plans. However, there are IRS guidelines and regulation changes that are occurring. So, the deductibles you
042do see there do continue to unfortunately go up. So, we see that the HSA plan is going to increase an additional $100 for individual, an additional $200 on those with a family plan um to meet those calendar or the calendar deductibles per IRS guidelines. So, we will be implementing that change. So, the overall increased renewal rate, it is an increase from last year's 3.6%. We are now seeing a 9.6% 6% increase for this coming fiscal year. Um that is definitely an increase. We're hearing national trend across the board. Some are usually in the double digits. So um it is trending at an increased percentage for this coming year. So we work as stated with an actuarial to determine what our estimated costs will be for the coming year. um they look at historical claims, they
043look at the demographics, the composition of the various um employees that are on the plans to determine what our estimated and projection claims will be for the coming fiscal year. So based on that, the overall cost for next year is estimated about 19.3 million, which is a 1.7% increase or 9.6% increase for the coming year. We do expect that 1.3 million of rebates is going to help offset a portion of those expenses. Um but overall that is still the on the increase for the coming year. So how does that break down? Here's the breakdown in the various plans. So we have the PO buyup as well as the HSA base. And for your consideration and context, you have um how many employees are enrolled in those plans. You see the majority are in the HSA
044plan. We offer four various tiers. We have an employee only, employee plus spouse, employee plus children, and an employee plus family plan. Um due to the PO plan usually generating the majority of the cost of the claims, you do see that the it has a related higher premium on that plan. Um and those monthly premiums, they are covered through a combination of both employee contributions, district contributions, as well as the trust fund does contribute a portion of those amounts to help subsidize um the premium amounts, which we'll go into here in a in a little bit. An additional thing that the district's committed to doing is um continue to absorb that increase. And so we are going to contribute $720 per month per eligible employee which is $8,640 per year that the district will contribute
045to employees as benefits compensation. Um overall what does that mean on the bottom line? The districts does have planned expenses then for benefits of about $15.1 million for the coming year. Um additionally we are committed to continue to provide annual matching contributions to employees um who are in those health uh high deductible health care plans into the HSA or their health savings accounts. So, we do match dollar fordoll to employees um health savings account up to 500 or 750 depending on which plan they are in. Um and we also provide a $250 contribution into their health savings account if they go in and they get a routine physical. We also continue to offer the $150 um contribution into their health savings accounts if they participate in our Well Styles programs where they reach a 60,000
046point activity and then we do generate that amount into their accounts. And so really, we're trying to just incentivize employees to continue to find those wellness activities, um, go see their doctors, get the physicals, etc. And so if they do that, they can have the potential to receive up to $900 or $1,150 depending on plan as an additional district contribution to their accounts. Here's a six-year history of our employee premiums. And on the far right is where you see the proposed premium rates for this coming year. Um so although medical premium costs are increasing 9.6% you will note that the 25 26 and the 26 27 um amounts are the same for the employees. So what that means is the employees will not see an increase in their premiums. The district and the trust have
047um made that resolution to commit to continuing to provide that that increased contribution so the employees do not see that increase for this coming year. Um you will also note u there on the top that we do continue to offer an employeeonly zeroo cost option on their HSA plan and so that is still continuing with no uh no changes to those plans. So as noted the benefits trust is committed to covering a portion of the increase for the coming year and often we get the question what is what is the benefits trust? So, as a district, we are self-insured, meaning that we are entirely funded through our own employees contributions and then those contributions help offset all of our DACAR employees claims and expenses. And so, um, all of the claims when we make payments,
048they all come out of this fund. Um, and so we want to ensure that it is still in a very healthy position. And so, here's a a multi-year, um, comparison of where you can see where the net position has continued to be. So when we reviewed the financial activity with the trust board, they were committed to try to find ways to ensure that this 9.6% increase did not pass on to our employees. They were really doing everything they can to say, how can we continue to offset this increase? And so last year, the trust um contributed about $650,000 towards this um in premium increases. This year they're resolving to go up to 1.2 million. So really a combination between that and the district. We will see that our employees have the ability to not see
049an increase in their premiums. Um and as always we review this our finance department reviews the trust monthly statements on a monthly basis. We review them throughout the year with the trust board. And so if by any chance anything changes for the coming year obviously we'll bring that to the governing board for your consideration for for any changes. So that was information our health plan. Now we'll just briefly go over our supplemental and voluntary employee benefit programs. We um we offer a prepaid dental plan through TM through EMI um health. And so the plan it offers an employeeon no cost option. The district does continue to offer u a $10.50 monthly cost per employee for um on all of our employees on the various plans. And so you see that is a slight 2% increase
050for the coming year. And so you see those rates noted there. Beyond that, no other design or plan changes. We offer a Delta Dental PO plan uh for employees. And so that one there's no plan design changes. And so while it has no rate changes, you will see we are being consistent as a district and offering that 1050 monthly cost um for both dental plans. What we are recommending a change to however is our benefit provider for our vision. Um we have received much employee feedback on our current uh provider which is the visas. Um and so we worked with our consultants to determine what is a better option. And so VSSP it does offer more more options available for employee has a much broader network for employees and what it also offers is two
051new plans that they can choose whether if it's a base plan or a buyup plan. So even within the base plan it still actually offers more coverage and more services than our current visas. And so we think this will be a welcome benefit to our employees. Next is also an entirely voluntary um coverage that employees can choose to opt into. So that's their voluntary um accident insurance through Colonial. Again, no plan changes and no rate changes for the coming year. We will also continue to provide for group term life insurance through Symmetra as well as accidental health and dismemberment insurance through Symmetra. And again, with no design changes and no increases in costs. And then here's just an additional summary of all the various plans that we do offer within our district benefits packages to
052our employees. And so no changes in any of the vendors noted there. Um but just wanted to provide the governing board an overview of all the different voluntary programs offered. So one other thing there will be a change in our teleaalth services. So for this coming year, if you recall, we did have to enact a $67 deductible to the employees if they opted to receive telealth services. Um there has been a federal regulatory change for the coming year that now allows employers to um include teleaalth in high deductible health care plans like our HSA if we so choose. So we do uh are proposing to provide this benefit which will now allow our employees access to teleaalth visits at no cost to them. We think that removing this barrier will definitely allow employees to receive
053those services as needed and a $0 co-pay is a great benefit for them. So in summary, we will see the increase of 9.6 6% in our medical plans with the district and the trust absorbing all of that increase. So employees will not see an increase to their premium amounts for this coming for this coming year. We are recommending to continue offering a $0 employee contribution on our HSA base plan. We will continue to provide district employee uh contributions to their HSA plans. Our stop-loss coverage remains at $320,000 per claim. And as always, we do review this throughout the year. And so if any adjustments are needed, we'll provide those to the board at a later meeting. At this point, I'll stand for any questions. >> Thank you. I'm just glad that we're not going to
054see an increase to the employees, so I appreciate all that. Thank you. >> I do have one question about the reserve funds that we have. Um, I mean, you're looking at about $9 million. Do we just collect simple interest on that or do we go out and invest safe investments because obviously we don't want to shrink that if at all? Um just question. >> Right. So we do within our insurance um consultants we do have the ability to um fund a little bit more. So we do um pay on a quarterly basis a contribution amount into that. So that's what they're generating and paying the claims off of. Whatever that net amount is that generates a little bit higher interest with the amounts that they're investing for us. those that are still here maintained within
055the district accounts. Those are still held with a little bit of a much smaller with Maricopa County Treasurer. So, as a district, we do have the ability to increase um investment earnings, but we would have to essentially do a full annual contribution um into that account to really generate the most investments. But um but yes, there are various methods to be able to to garner more interest, but at this point, we are just we're not maximizing it because we don't do a full annual contribution. Mr. President, if I could, um, just a quick shout out to Mary Dell and her team and the employee benefits trust. As you can see, this is a ton of information, a ton, and it's a huge undertaking to get this done. So, just want to on behalf of the
056district just say thank you for all the work and thank you to our employee benefits trust, which this governing board uh, nominates and puts those members on there. So they have a very important role and and they've done a great job. So I want to say thank you. [applause] >> With that, I motion to approve the employee health benefit plan for the 2026 2027 school year. >> Second. motion carries. Next item, we'll go to actual number four now. Recommendation for approval of job order contract in excess of $1 million. >> Thank you, Mr. President. Uh tonight we bringing to you as you know we have uh some tremendous hyperrowth in the northern part of our district in our Asante area. Uh tonight we are um bringing to you a solution to some of the growth
057in that area. We don't know that it's going to quit but we are addressing this growth through some adjustments at Asante and Mr. Mui will take us through this um this process. Thank you. >> Thank you Dr. Cotto. Uh Mr. President, members of the board, uh Superintendent Croto, uh we uh um as as Dr. Croto described right there, you know, we've we've been talking about this uh for the last few years, and uh it's it's uh presented a project for us and a proposed uh expansion project up at the Asante School. Um and we have two uh two guests here with us tonight as well. Um, one of them works here every day, but we also have a guest with us, but our director of maintenance and facilities, Todd Blutter, is here, uh, who is
058involved with these projects, obviously overseeing them. And then we also have Whitney Dunn from Core Construction, uh, who's done a lot of work with Daizar and and and successful projects and, uh, and so they're here to answer specific questions if we have them. Uh, I think it's important to look at a little bit of the background when we talk about, uh, Asante Preparatory. right now. Uh it's a K5 school uh that currently also has a preschool program on campus. Uh right now we have and we know that the last uh within this last uh two years looking at busing that we've had to make a decision to to change that school and we have all sixth through 8th graders being busted from the Asante area to Simmeron Springs. Um, we also know that we do
059busing and uh we know that kids in that attendance area also attend uh Willow Canyon High School as well for our 9th through 12th grade population. So, kind of gives you a picture of that area up there. The current enrollment right now that we're standing at is about um 959 K through five kids and then uh 65 preschool kids for a total of 1,024 students on the campus. Uh the uh interesting part about that number is if you look at kindergarten first and second, we know class sizes have to be a little bit smaller at those levels. You're talking about 500 students right now. So the impact of obviously more and more young families in the area and what that's what's happening with the with the community as far as the needs on that campus.
060>> [snorts] >> When we look at the current capacity of how Asante is built, um it's approximately 1,200 students with the original structure is what it's made for. Uh and then, uh right now on the campus, there's also two portables that contains four classrooms, which gives you the ability for another 30 per classroom to another 120, which sets the school at around 1,320 students. Knowing that the hyper growth is happening and we see what's happening just even the short time of moving sixth through eighth graders, we're projecting that obviously much of that need is going to be met here in the next couple years of that if if not if we don't exceed the the full capacity next year of meeting that that structure. But we do believe that that we do need to plan
061for the future knowing that this number is already being tested. So what we did is we we took a a long look at what the proposed expansion could look like on the campus. And the most uh feasible way to do that, the affordable way to do that. Uh and and the the the part we looked at was u uh that's most realistic is an additional three more portables on that facility. Uh that would provide six more classrooms. Uh and with doing that, that would give us the ability to add another 180 students. So, five portables on that facility would give you about 300 in students uh capacity in addition to the 1,200 uh giving you a full capacity of about 1500 kids. That would require on the outside area an addition of a module restroom
062facility. We would need some kind of restroom access that would exist out there. Um we would also have to make [snorts] some fencing adjustments uh into that side area and making sure that there's also proper you know fire you know fire restrictions areas, fire escape areas, access to those areas which uh which require some gate additions and some other things to that west parking lot uh where the primarily staff parks right now. So that was the intent was to look at what the most feasible way to do that. This is a map that shows you an aerial look at where these uh where the positioning would go. So, as you can see, the three portables that are positioned, you see the two existing portables. And if I was skilled here, and I don't know if
063I want to try it. Um, but if you I think you could all see on there um that you do see that the uh skilled I was going to try to throw a laser up there. I don't think that's a good idea, though. But I will tell you that those two existing portables, as you can see them there, you add the three additional ones, uh that's going to uh make the least amount of disruption. You'll also see where we where we could see the additional restroom going. Those other orange boxes were just other thoughts of sites where the portables, you know, like the one on the inside of the uh near the restroom, proposed restroom. The ones in the parking lot were even just us thinking about where we were going to initially store them,
064you know, to bring them over, but we're not going to need to do that. We can actually position them right behind the two existing portables and put temporary fencing around them on that sidewalk area. So, we do have a plan even to bring in those portables uh as we get ready to to launch that and and make that happen. So, that gives you the best aerial view of what it would look like going in. Now, granted, as we talk about this project, um, and I'm going to turn it over to Miss Bidell here in a little bit to make sure that she hits the points that I may miss, but as we look at the project under the JOC, the amount is not to exceed that 1.3 million. There is a it's attached um in
065the documents that you can look at the the entire proposal from core construction um that outlines all of that that information. a portion of uh the district developer donations will be utilized as a funding source and the formal quote attached is there as well. Miss B, I'll let you uh add to that piece. >> Thank you, Mr. Musey. Um President Scavar, board, members of the board. Um no additional information just other than noting that that is why this is coming to the board for approval is because within policy we have um authorization only up to the million dollars. So as we are now exceeding that into the 1.3 million, that is why it is formally coming to the board for your review and approval. Um, we do want to identify funding sources as available and
066so we do receive those developer donations which that is a perfect use of this is what the funding is for. We've received those donations specifically to that community and so we're wanting to reinvest that into that into that community. And so um that is where the $1.3 million will be coming from. So in looking at this over time, we we recognize that in this type of project, we want to do what we can to make it as least disruptive to the school community up there and while students are in school. So uh when we say project launch, that's the permitting elements, uh beginning the initial stages. Uh you'll see in in April, we start to do some uh site preparation and delivery. Uh this is while normal operations of school is going on so that
067we're not disrupting the actual area where the students are asked. So we have to put in temporary fencing and do some other things to make sure that students are still safe and they're not accessing any of those things that are happening on the initial side of it. But you could see that the majority of that project would be happening May through July in the installation and construction of the portables and restroom modules. We know that time always when you're doing construction can get influenced by weather and other, you know, if there's other uh difficulties, but the attempt is to really have the project completed by the end of July. Um I I know that our experts in the room could always answer questions that are related to that and and how much they're doing to
068make sure and they've worked on plenty of projects where you keep school going, but that's the intent. Uh but we don't we we're also looking at we don't have to have these portables open and ready to operate, you know, at the the first day of school. We still have a little bit of time. Um but it gives us the ability to get this done, lease disruption, and then we can begin that process and having some of those discussions about that expansion in that community. So um with that, I will uh uh I will yield for questions. but also our guests as well. [snorts] >> Just to be clear, this is for the purchase and the installation as well as any prep work that would go into it. >> Yes, that is correct. >> All of
069it. So, would that that would include um I don't know if you have to have a a foundation, I'm assuming, like cement, concrete, or is that already in place? >> Yes, Miss Densmore. Um those those elements that are you're talking about are all included in the in the project cost. So, it's everything from the foundation that goes in um remember with a portable we, you know, the restroom module, we would have to even be looking at how that ties into the current sewer line. All that's included in the price, including even when we talk about these portables, making sure that they are any type of upgrades inside the portables that need to be done that we've already looked at them um and made sure we've already estimated what it would cost to do uh any
070of the carpeting, um air conditioning, all of the things that are necessary and also the safety and security of fire lines and other things like that. >> So, so this number includes those things. >> That's correct. >> Thank you. I just want to clarify, we did get two of those portables, right, from somewhere else at no cost or >> is that correct or >> That is correct. Uh, member Destitch, we did uh work with Chandler Unified School District in that process. We haven't we haven't obviously moved on that yet because that's why we're bringing it in here, but that was part of the uh that was that was definitely part of this effort as well. >> Excellent. Thank you. One >> a reduced cost. They are not free. >> Oh, sorry. Reduce cost. My bad.
071>> They are not free. >> Chandler did not [clears throat] give us their building. So Mary, >> it's free. I Yes. Just to clar, they were purchased for $10,000 per per portable. >> That's still I mean really a great deal. I think >> that includes hauling them from Chandler. So in this price they were going to haul them from Chandler and we already own a spare one sitting in our property at Daart High School. So that's transferring that one also. >> Okay. Thank you, Jenn. because I thought I remembered us looking into transferring an existing one from that was our own and it was a ridiculous amount of money more than what we're getting from Chandler. >> Is that correct? >> That's correct. >> Wow. >> I had um with regards to the bathroom, if
072you could go back to the diagram, we're not really looking at putting the bathrooms in a parking lot, right? Or was that just looking at it wrong? If if you're where it's showing the arrow where the bathroom is at, that's actually inside the uh boundary of the gates. Um it's near the >> what you'll see is there's a building at the bottom of the screen. Um that's actually right there is the uh um gymnasium area and as you come out there's the restroom facility right there. >> All right. Thank you. >> I will add to you. So you're asked to if you see the blue line and the green line, those are the sewer and the water tie-ins which are right next to that. Thank you. >> I have a question. Midell, you were talking
073about developers. They give us the money for this or is that what you Madam President Mr. President Madam Zola? So, so we already have funds generated in there through developer donations over the course of various years. So the funds have been generated there and have accumulated there for various agreements that we have in place for various um developer agreements throughout the district. Um so those funds have accumulated within there. We want to make sure we go through and and um use them for capital large capital projects. So this is one that we are tapping into and drawing down on that reserve. >> Thank you. >> Hearing no more questions. Motion to approve order contract through one GPA for core construction in the amount not to exceed 1.3 of 1.350 for the module building project at
074Asante Preparatory Academy. >> I second motion carries. Next item is a recommendation to approve the appointment of elementary school assistant principles for the 2026 2027 school year. >> Thank you, Mr. President. Uh tonight we are welcoming some new um new faces to our administration. We are very excited about that. And Mr. Mattingley will introduce our new people. >> Mr. President, governor, board members, uh I'd like to preference something real quick. Uh as we uh recommend to the board in action and discussion of number five and number six, uh they're separated through K8 and high school. Uh but I do want to preface something that uh in my 23 career years career in HR, this is the most applications I've ever had to process with the HR team. over 76 applications for the assistant principal. I
075think aneidcotally it's fair to say that uh Daizart Unified School District is a place to be and uh we are attracting the best and brightest. So uh with that I will share with the governing board uh the process and I'm sure the applicants that were recommending can attest that it was a thorough process, lengthy process to ensure that we were able to find the best and brightest assistant principles. Uh, with that, uh, I'm going to call some names out here if I could have them stand to recognize and then recommend to the board to to approve if we could do that. The first name, Marissa Barber from will be recommended for Thompson Ranch. Christy Espinosa, Espazito, I mean, excuse me, Christy, is she here tonight? Yay. Thank you, Christie. Uh, she'll be at Western Peaks.
076Uh, that's the recommendation. And then uh Samantha Yonat, that will be Riverview Elementary. And then Abigail Shamo Sha Shamo. Did I say that right? >> Close enough. Appreciate that. Thank you so much. Um Mr. President, governing board members, I'd like to recommend uh these four uh awesome applicants to be assistant principles in the Daizart Unified School District. >> All right. Motion to approve the appointment of elementary school assistant principles for the 2026 2027 school year as presented. >> Second. [applause] Motion carries. Congratulations. So the next item is recommendation to approve the appointment of high school assistant principles for the 2026 2027 school year. Mr. President, governing board members, I will get right to the name calling and if you're already standing, you have to keep standing. If you're not standing, you have to stand. I'll
077start with Russell Dunham. He will be recommended for Willow Canyon High School. [applause] Jeff Feldman, he is going to be recommended for the Valley Vista High School. and then Robert Means uh for the Daart High School. [applause] Mr. President, these are the three names we are recommending for consideration. >> All right. Motion to approve the appointment of high school assistant principles for the 2026 2027 school year as presented. >> I second. >> Motion carries. Congratulations. [applause] Next item is a request for future agenda items. I'd like to uh propose a change in policy to um have background checks and fingerprint um checks for on a volunteer basis for the um school board members. Not hearing anything else. I um next item is the executive session. I motion to convene to an executive session. >> Second.
078Where you guys going? You stay for that. >> Motion carries.