001home and it didn't. Okay. Um, today is Wednesday, March 26. It is 6:32 and I'm going to call this meeting to order. Lisa, roll call. Robert Downey. Patty Coutrey, present. Carolyn Lopez, present. Ben Owens, present. Shante Rosschild, present. Thank you. We start like to start the meeting with the pledge of allegiance. And I've asked Jim and Alice Schop from the Maricopa Pantry to lead us in the pledge. I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. Next item on the agenda is the adoption of the agenda. Do I have any motions or revisions? Motion to approve as written. Second. Lisa, we have a motion. Jonte Rosschild. I. Ben Owens. I. Carolyn
002Lopez. I Patty Coutrey. I All right, Dr. Lman, superintendent's report. Thank you, Miss Catra. Um, before we begin this evening's report, I'd like to pause to honor a woman whose legacy is woven into the history of this community. Alma Frell, former teacher, administrator, and superintendent, passed away last night. She devoted her life to education and to Maricopa, shaping not only our school district, but generations of students, many of whom now serve as community and civic leaders. Alma led with quiet strength and deep care during a time of tremendous growth in our city. Her story is rooted in the early days of Maricopa, a time of hay rides, car carport dances, and handwritten lesson plans. And yet, her values remain visible in our classrooms today. Service, connection, and a belief in the power of education to
003change lives. Alma's legacy lives on through her family and the countless lives she touched. There were so many board meetings that she attended um certainly in my tenure to honor the Rotary students of the month. Um and she shared heartfelt essays about these these young people who were winning the you know who were receiving the awards and she was so proud to know them through their service um and just that connection she had with the future. Um, so the countless lives she touched. I invite you now to join me in a moment of silence in remembrance of Alma Frell. As we reflect on Alma Farerrell's legacy and the foundation she helped build, we also look ahead with hope and pride to the students who are carrying that legacy forward, many of whom we're going to
004honor tonight. um through their curiosity, discipline, and commitment to excellence. And so we move on with the rest of our um report. So teamwork and strategy led Desert Sunrise High School to victory in the qualifying round for the 2025 Stanford University US National Math Tournament, earning them a place among the highest ranking 130 math teams nationwide. The Golden Hawks will represent Arizona at the final competition in April. These mathletes with their calculative prowess remind us that winning at math is just as thrilling as winning in athletics. Way to go, Golden Hawks. Nerwin Baliu, eighth grade ESS teacher at Desert Wind Middle School, was named the 2025 special educator special education educator of the year by the Save Our Schools Arizona network as part of their Champions of Public Education Awards. This statewide recognition celebrates his
005outstanding impact on students, families, and the school community. Earlier this month, Mr. Baloo also honor was also honored by KT and Valley Toyota dealers in the pay the pay tribute to a teacher contest where he received a 2500 award $2,500 award to use in his classroom. These are well-deserved honors and they reflect the heart and dedication he brings to his students every day. Congratulations, Mr. Baloo. Yay. Maricopa Elementary School recently welcomed Muriel Summers, the visionary educator behind the first Leaderinme Lighthouse School and a national voice for student leadership and school culture. Her visit served as both an affirmation and an inspiration celebrating Maricopa Elementary's progress and providing encouragement as the school prepares for lighthouse reertification next year. It's clear that the MEES community, scholars, staff, and families alike. It's is deeply committed to growing a
006culture of leadership and living out the seven habits every day. The Maricopa Wells Middle School cross country team wrapped up a strong season with a standout performance at the championship meet on March 6th. The boys team earned a second place overall with six Panthers bringing home a total of 15 medals. Eighth grader Harper Moore led the charge, claiming the top spot for the boys, while eighth grader Misha Miesa Jude dashed to a second place finish for the girls. Congratulations, Panthers, on an incredible season. I agree. I agree. Since our last meeting, we've recognized two essential employee groups. Our child nutrition professionals during National Child Nutrition Month and our maintenance and grounds crews on National Maintenance and Grounds Appreciation Day, that which was March 7th. Both groups received MUSD tumblers and a small token of appreciation
007for the important work they do every day to make sure our district is a great place to work and learn. Over spring breakund is that a no that's an 801 dedicated teachers and administrators and I was one of them participated in gear training led by Dr. Dan Mulligan. An opportunity made possible through the project momentum grant. This professional learning focused on strengthening instructional effectiveness by aligning learning intentions with clear success criteria, integrating purposeful routines, and making student progress more visible. The true impact of this work will be seen in classrooms where our educators continue to bring these strategies to life, keeping students engaged in meaningful and challenging learning. We're grateful for their for these for our teachers commitment and for the community support that ensures every student has access to highquality education. Students from both
008Desert Sunrise and Maricopa high schools earned top honors at this month's FCCLA State Leadership Conference. And you might be wondering, um FCCLA is the Family Career and Community Leaders of America. And it's a national organization that prepares students for careers in education, hospitality, human services, and other fields focused on family and community well-being. Desert Sunrise Desert Sunrise earned seven gold medals while Maricopa High School brought home three. These accomplishments reflect the skill, initiative, and hard work of our scholars and their teachers. Congratulations to all of our state winners and the be and best wishes to those advancing to the nationals. Right. There's almost too much going [Applause] on. And then finally, we are we have um a group of very talented athletes um some of whom are with us tonight. These superstars had incredible seasons
009with countless individual and team distinctions among them. These slides represent the most notable honors. Teams, if you made it out tonight, please stand when I call your sport. from Desert Sunrise High School. Girls wrestling, boys wrestling, girls basketball, boys basketball, and boys soccer. All right. Okay. From Maricopa High School, girls wrestling. Yay. I hope she was a wrestler. Boys wrestling. Okay. Girls basketball. Boys basketball. There we go. Girls soccer and boys soccer. All right. athletes, the these kids are busy in everything. You know, coming to a board meeting on a Wednesday night just doesn't fit into their schedule. So, athletes, thank you for representing your high schools and our district so very well. Coaches, if thank you for your dedication and for making this a season to remember. For the athletes who are here tonight,
010we would love a picture with those who made it. Please make your way to the front of the room for a group photo with our governing board members. Right up here. Come on up. There we go. All right. One more. [Applause] And Miss Cutray, that concludes my report. Thank you, Dr. Lopeman. All right, we'll move on to governing board member reports. Member Rashild. Thank you, Vice Chair Coutree. Uh first of all, welcome and thank you for coming to tonight's uh governing board meeting. Um want to first give a shout out to uh Superintendent Lopeman for her nomination uh for superintendent of the year. Uh you mentioned our other special education teacher, but you failed to mention your nomination. And so while you weren't selected, you were of course superintendent of the year uh for us.
011So thank you very much for that. and congratulations on that [Applause] nomination. And we are such a stellar um district. Um I had another opportunity on Saturday to attend the National Board Teacher Celebration uh along with many others to celebrate over 194 uh amazing educators who are either renewing their certification or receiving it for the first time. And so just wanted to congratulate those educators and our amazing district uh for their hard work and continued efforts. And that's it. Thank you. Member Owens. Um couple weeks ago, I think it was um being a parent get to go to a lot of stuff, you know, when when kids are involved, right? Uh so we were in Tucson um for a Winter Guard uh performance. uh Desert Sunrise uh did really well there. So this weekend I
012want to wish um MHS Winter Gems and the Desert Sunrise Winter Guard uh best of luck on Saturday. Uh they'll be performing at Millennium High School in Glendale. Uh it's a long long drive. It's a long long day. Um and both of them are competing in state. So, uh, so hopefully, uh, we'll bring home some hardware from one of the two teams. So, uh, I think that's all I have this evening. Thank you, Member Lopez. [Applause] Um, I don't have much to report other than right before uh, spring break, I went and read Green Eggs and Ham during Dr. Week and read across America. And that was fun. I absolutely love reading. We all need to read more. Um, and that's it. Hope everybody had a great spring break and our last quarter to go.
013So, thank you. Um, well, welcome back from spring break. I hope everybody had a nice couple weeks off. Um, before the break, I was able to attend Mr. Golden Hawk, which was always a lot of fun. Um, and then I was asked to referee a fifth grade soccer game at Santa Cruz Elementary. Um, thankfully I had a whistle and didn't have to run around too much. So, this past weekend, um, I have, uh, in my full-time job, I work for the Boys and Girls Club, and we had our major event, um, Dancing for Our Stars on Saturday, and it was an amazing night and I can't say enough thank yous to all who supported the event by attending it, voting it, dancing in it. Um, and Dr. Dr. Lopeman, who is one of our uh
014esteemed judges um and also a past winner. Uh so that was uh an incredible evening. We raised 150,000 dollars. We had over 600 attendees and over 200 people watch it online. So, um an incredible night. I'm still exhausted and I finally just decluttered my house of all mirror balls. Uh thank you. At this time of the year, it's also scholarship time. Um a lot of scholarship deadlines have passed. I am uh aware of some scholarships that are still open. The due date is April 1st for the Maricopa Community Foundation scholarships. I encourage all seniors who are planning to go to either a trade school or universities or colleges to please apply. The application is simple and it's online at mcfaz.org. So, please do that. Uh yesterday and today I was able to attend the rocket
015launches at Maricopa Wells Middle School and Desert Wind Middle Schools. This is the 10th anniversary of it and uh it was an amazing event. Weather was perfect. Um I don't think we lost any rockets into anybody's backyards which was good this year. Some days it's been some years it's been windy and they've gone. Um but it was a lot of fun. I really appreciate um Adam Leech and his team who have worked with the future cities uh students to put this on. Um, and then, uh, next year I got a rocket and I'm going to be able to make my own rocket and launch and be part of the rocket launch. So, I'm excited for that. Huh? Okay. You'd be on my team. Um, and then, uh, the life skills had a U petting zoo
016from Gudark at Maricopa Wells Middle School today. So, I did have, uh, I did get a chance to walk over and see some of the animals and watch the kids interact. And it's really kind of fun. um they get to learn about the animals and they get to if they want to pet them and it was just a really nice break and really something different for the kids to do. So, and I do know that Gudark is actually looking to, you know, to provide these services and to come out to all of our other schools. Um just reach out to Elise and if you need her contact information, Mr. Miller has it. And then lastly, um we did have to say goodbye to Alma Ferrell. She actually uh she was the driving force be be
017for me becoming a board member. Um she supported the district. She was a champion for the district. Um and she just loved watching all of the improvements and the challenges that we faced and how we how we overcame all of them. And she will be missed. So that is all I have to report. We're going to move on now to our spotlight recognition. Michelle Terry All right. Well, good evening everyone and thank you for being here tonight. Tonight, the Maricopa Unified School District is excited to honor Spotlight recipients across three categories: community members, MUSD employees, and students. Before we begin, I'd like to thank our sponsors at Freddy's Steak Burgers and Frozen Custard, Culver's Frozen Custard and Butterburgers, and Ochin Circle for making tonight special for our honores. Our first honores are community members whose
018time and support make a real difference in our students and families we serve. Congratulations, community members. As I call your name, please come forward to receive your certificate and give a quick fist bump to governing board members and Dr. Lopeman and then head to room 123 for a group photo. Mr. Harmon is standing by the hallway to point you in the right direction. Give us wave, Mr. Harmon. All right. Congratulations to Greg Bronman, volunteer at Butterfield Elementary School. Jim Irving, community partner at Maricopa Elementary [Applause] School. Michael Takagi, community partner, Pimabute Elementary School. Autumn Spurlock, parent volunteer, Saddleback Elementary School. Jim and Alice Schae, community volunteers for Santa Cruz Elementary School. and Evette Compton, parent volunteer, Santa Rosa Elementary School. Zachary Schroeder, volunteer at Desert Wind Middle School. Aisha Jernigan, parent supporter, Maricopa Wells Middle
019[Applause] School. And Matt Lambert, community partner, Desert Sunrise High School. Stephen Christristen McMullen, parent volunteers, Maricopa High [Applause] School and Staca Bang, community partner, Maropa Virtual Academy. Congratulations again to these outstanding spotlight community members. Next, we're proud to honor our Spotlight Employees of the Month. Dedicated staff who go above and beyond to meet the needs of our students and school communities. Congratulations, Spotlight employees. As I call your name, please come forward to receive your certificate. Give a quick fist bump to the governing board and Dr. Lopeman and then head to room 123 for a group photo. Congratulations to Renee Hoskins, special education teacher, Butterfield [Applause] Elementary. Gretchen Lana, third grade teacher, Maricopa Elementary. Paulen Barte, music teacher, Pimbut Elementary School, and Daisy Aoyo, classroom aid, Saddleback Elementary School. Tanya Tapia, speech language pathologist, Santa Cruz
020Elementary School. Haley Nolan, counselor, Santa Rosa Elementary School. and Malia Yoshiawa, student clerk, Desert Wind Middle [Music] School. Happy birthday. Briana Ramirez, front desk clerk, Marob Wells Middle School. [Applause] Jamie West, career and technical education admin assistant, Desert Sunrise High School. Irene Lurren, math teacher, Maricopa High School. Jelly May Perez, English teacher, Ram Academy, and Veronica Fiero, student activity specialist, business department. Congratulations again to these outstanding spotlight [Applause] employees. And finally, we are thrilled to honor our spotlight students of the month. School principles select these remarkable students based on their outstanding commitment to their education, their school, and community. These students set the bar high and are recognized for their efforts in academic achievement, demonstrating great character, helping others in being great ambassadors for their schools. Congratulations, Spotlight students. As I call your name, please
021come forward to receive your certificate, and give a quick fist bump to the governing board and Dr. lotman and then head to room 123 for a group photo. Mr. Harmon is standing by the hallway and we'll point you in the right direction. Give us another wave, Mr. Harmon. All right. Congratulations to Kaden Hall, first grade student, Butterfield Elementary School. Sophia Amethyst Beahan, second grade, Maricopa Elementary School. Alisa Aguilar Hernandez, first grader from Pimabute Elementary School. Ezekiel Ramos, fourth grader from Saddleback Elementary School. Olive Petrites, preschooler, Santa Cruz Elementary [Music] School. Greg Marie Morales Pino, third grader from Santa Rosa Elementary School. Payton Hatley, eighth grader from Desert Wind Middle School. [Music] Okay, I practiced this next one. Lincoln Osarzic, senior, Desert Sunrise High School. Brian Bush, junior from Maricopa High School. Kelly Kiger, sophomore, Maricopa
022Virtual Academy, and Brandon Pollock, senior from Ram Academy. Congratulations again to these outstanding spotlight students. Parents, we have one more recognition before you meet your students in room 123. In partnership with the Maricopa Rotary Club, we'd like to honor a deserving group of students. Rotary honors young people who are developing leadership skills and making a difference in their communities. Rotary students, as I call your name, please come forward. And Mrs. Ramirez and Miss Coutree will present you with a special certificate and in addition, you'll receive a $50 gift card on behalf of the Rotary. Thank you. A special thank you goes to John and Mary Lou Smith Education Foundation for their sponsorship that helps make tonight special for our honores. Okay, Rotary students, when you we call your name and you give a fist bump,
023you're gonna head to room 123 and we're going to take a group photo. Okay. All right. Congratulations to Amora Cortez, 8th grader, Marop Wells Middle School. Charlie Rogala, seventh grader, Desert Wind Middle School. Destiny Castro, senior, Maricopa High School. Alec Hernandez de Laena. Senior Desert Sunrise High School. Bridada Barco, senior, Maropa Virtual Academy, and Brandon Pollock, senior from Ram Academy. Congratulations again, Rotary [Applause] students. Parents, you can meet your children in room 123 or if they've made their way out. Um, we're going to take a 5-minut break to allow everyone who is here for the recognition to make their exit and then we will begin the business portion of our meeting. You are very welcome to stay. We're back. It is 71 and our next agenda item is our work study with the classroom spotlight.
024Pimabute Elementary, Miss Allison. Good evening, Vice President Coutree, members of the board, Dr. Lopeman. My name is Elizabeth Allison, and I'm the proud principal of Pimabute Elementary School. Tonight, I am pleased to present to you Pimabute's approach to strengthening math instruction to support student success. This aligns with MUSD strategic plan. Goal one, every student graduates, maximizing tier one instruction. And goal two, access and equity, elevating student voice. Improving math instruction for all engages learners in all five areas of the portrait of a graduate. Through this process, we continue to develop skilled communicators who can articulate and critically problem solve while strengthening their resilience and confidence in their conceptual understanding of math concepts. Supporting students leadership skills and innovation allow students to extend their thinking. Driven by our commitment to excellence, our guiding coalition spent time
025over the summer analyzing data trends and identifying a and identified a consistent decline in math scores on AASA and mimic assessments across all subgroups. We found that key practices such as consistent small groupoup instruction designated math intervention time, math talks, use of manipulatives, and a common understanding of standards and standard progressions among teachers were underutilized. As part of our continued commitment to improve math outcomes for all students, we developed a comprehensive, intentional approach to ensuring every child has the opportunity to succeed. This approach is rooted in deliberate planning, strong instructional practices, and a focused use of data to guide our efforts. Our master schedule prioritizes tier one instruction, ensuring that all students receive strong first instruction. We also provide daily time for intervention and extension to support all students. Grade levels participate in weekly professional
026learning team time, allowing teachers to collaborate and refine instructional strategies, ensuring consistency across all grade levels. During this time, teachers focus on one of the four key questions. What should students know and be able to do? How will we know if they have learned it? What will we do if they have mastered it? And what will we do if they haven't? These questions guide teachers discussions clarifying the skills students need to master within each standard and allows for collaboration on best practices and highquality strategies throughout the year. With support from our guiding coalition and an instructional leadership team, grade levels have been receiving training, coaching, and feedback on high impact instructional strategies. As a result, we've seen significant improvement in differentiated small groups, explicit modeling, the use of manipulatives and thinkaloud strategies. Manipulatives are once
027again embedded in our practices, helping students develop concrete understanding of abstract math concepts. We also use engagement strategies to keep students motivated and involved. In addition to our core instructional practices, teachers have utilized our new curriculum and their suggested math centers such as the ones shown here to provide students with additional opportunities to practice the skills they have learned during core instruction while allowing teachers to walk and provide feedback as well as informally assess students understanding or to p pull small groups for intervention and enrichment. Our classrooms utilize a variety of high impact instructional strategies to engage students in meaningful mathematical thinking and learning. This year we have began retraining on the use of math talks. Math talks provide students opportunities to deepen their conceptual understanding by moving beyond the rope memorization. Math talks By
028requiring students to critically think and make connections about mathematical concepts, math talks have also helped to boost students self-confidence and engagement around mathematical thinking. In this fifth grade math talk, students review prior concepts and share their knowledge of two given math sentences. They make connections between prior skills such as multiplying whole numbers by fractions, dividing fractions by whole numbers, and understanding division with fractions and whole numbers. This brief activity prepares them for the main lesson of solving word problems involving the division of fractions. See if we can get it. While they work on that, I'll continue on. At the conclusion of this math hog, Miss Ansley leads students into further rich discussion that provides them opportunities to utilize these skills in context as part of standard 5 NFB7C problem solving problems in real world context.
029So with the math talks, teachers are going to utilize whatever skills that they're currently using or what standard or skill would they could use to start the lesson that would benefit the lesson that's going to be the main lesson of the of the of this um time period. So, it would look different in every classroom depending on where they are in their um instruction, but they're going to want to make those math sentences relevant to what they're learning so that it builds. The purpose of the math talks is for students to be able to um kind of get their brains warmed up so that when they get into the core lesson, they they've already had that time to reflect on prior knowledge. And so it kind of just gets them ready and it using and
030how they're thinking about numbers and math concepts in general. And the purpose of it and I wish it's such a great math talk. Miss Ansley does an amazing job. But yeah, so they basically will they'll put a number sentence up on um either a whiteboard or in this one you can see that she's using um chart paper. Um, and the purpose is that she um puts something that's relevant and then the kids throw out any concept that they can think of that is relevant to that. So, they may say what they notice about that math problem. Maybe they'll say um if they're talking about multiplication, it's it could be groups of or how it refers to repeated addition. So, they're throwing out all of those things and those strategies that they've already learned so that
031when they get to the content, they they've already warmed that up so that they can build upon that. Okay. I don't know if I'm advancing now or if just moving more than I'm pushing. Okay. Okay. As part of our PLT process and commitment to strong instruction, our team decided to implement quarterly grade level CFAs to monitor student progress. In addition to district assessments after reviewing the assessments available for the essential standards, we chose to create a quarterly common formative assessment through school city for grades 2 through 5th in both math and ELA. We ensured that the questions were aligned and rigor rigorous for the standards selected in K1. We selected fastbridge to track progress in those foundational skills along with other informal measures in both subjects. So here is some feedback from one student. Um,
032Ryan is in Miss Ansley's fifth grade class and he said that math talks help him to grow his brain. They help him to grow his understanding of mathematical concepts and connect old concepts to new learning. I also asked Miss Seammens who is one of our kindergarten teachers to talk about the impact of her math centers. Um, and she stated that math centers are fun and motivating for her students. They can't wait to do them daily. that they help students to reinforce the skills previously taught in a meaningful way and that they are preparing them for future readiness. By focusing on intentional planning, engaging instructional practices, and data-driven decision-making, we are confident that our approach will continue to improve math outcomes for all students in grades preK through fifth grade. And now I will take any
033questions. Board members, any questions? I I just have one. First off, thank you for the information. Appreciate that. Um and this was all about math and a lot of our um presentations that we've received um from elementary schools has been focused on reading. So how is this incorporated with our with your reading interventions? Is that incorporated at all or is that separate? How is our math? So this presentation was the focus was on math instruction in general. How we implement our PLT process. Um we do have all we also do have designated time allocated for um reading intervention and extension in addition to our math intervention and extension as well but they don't ne they don't necessarily overlap. Okay. And what what has been your biggest challenge with this this year? Um I don't want
034to say our biggest challenge. Um it was an opportunity we had noticed some trends in obs in our informal observations um that there were some inconsistencies in everyone's understanding of the standard and the depth of the standard and the and how they progress. So I it was an opportunity for us to really reflect on that um and make sure that everybody had the same understanding of what was to be taught, what did mastery look like and how we were going to assess that. So, um I think overall that was kind of the like the big task that we had. Um but it was a great opportunity so that we were all on the same page. Awesome. Thank you so very much. Thank you. [Applause] All right, that takes us to the call to the public.
035And since we have some cards, I need to read this. Members of the board may not discuss items that are not specifically identified on the agenda. Therefore, pursuant to ARS 38431, 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 a future agenda. The board requests that all comments be limited to three minutes or less and that the public refrain from the use of speech or language that is offensive or inappropriate pursuant to board procedures 3-203. And I have some cards and I will um we have several cards. So uh I will read um I'll have one name that'll come up and speak and then the other one will be on deck so we can kind of keep
036this flow. I value your time. Um, so we'll start out with Isis Anderson, Elijah Cox, Ellie McDermott, and then next will be Amanda Coffee. Thank you, President Downey, and members of the board for allowing us to speak today. We wanted to come and promote our charity art festival, Copa Creates, previously known as Art for the Heart, to the board, as well as talk about how excited we are to share this event with the public. We are from Maroba High School's CCT program, and we are a part of the team in charge of bringing Copa Creates to Maropa community this year. Our art festival will be held this Saturday at March 29th from 2 from 9:00 a.m. to 2 pm. It'll be at Maropa High School and it will feature various artworks such as woodwork, art
037paintings, and other handmade artwork. And then we will also be hosting several student artists and student clubs such as MHS unity club as well as kids arts and crafts booth which will be held by students training in education profession. 85% of our proceeds from artists that apply will go to Arizona Suicide Prevention Coalition and artists will keep 100% of the profits they earn on the day of the festival. We are grateful to have both new food trucks, MLBs will be serving different Detroit foods and Johnny Bees will be serving delicious soul food. We also have several teachers across the district who have agreed to send in student artwork to support our second annual Maricopa Future artist exhibit and bring artwork from students across the Maricopa Unified School District to friends, family, and the public. After
038our festival, we are also able to take our experiences and the things we've learned and present them in front of judges at Skills USA, which is a nationwide career and technical student organization through which students compete to not only demonstrate their technical skills, but also their career readiness beyond high school. We are ecstatic to put on this year's festival and we appreciate the opportunity to bring the event to the board and to the greater Maricopa community. We thank you for your time and we hope that you guys attend. Thank you. It is an awesome event. I was last year. All right. Next up is Amanda Coffee and then after Amanda, Kevin Kesler. Good evening. My name is Amanda Coffeeoffey and I'm here tonight to voice my support for Mr. Alan Goffren who is a dedicated
039and invaluable member of the Butterfield family. Having worked closely with him last year as the PTO president, I know firsthand his ability to initiate, collaborate, and execute uh plans that directly affect the students and staff as well as the parents. Mr. Goffin is Oh, okay. Um Mr. Gooffin is a leader who builds bridges, not barriers. On a personal level, Mr. Gooffin was a crucial role in the development of my son's 504 plan. he orchestrated and attended the meeting that um collaborated with the staff and the counselor and myself and we were able to come up with the plan that didn't disrupt the curriculum or the class but also was compassionate to my son's condition and I fully believe that that was one of the reasons my son was successful for the rest of the school
040year. He didn't just show up to the meeting. He uh he listened and he was present and attentive and he took action when action was needed. His advocacy and dedication to student success was evident in the whole process of that 504 plan. Yet, despite his proven track record of eight years at Butterfield, his reputation and contributions are being unfairly overshadowed by a single individual's clouded opinion. an individual who has only been here for a matter of months and isn't even going to be here next year as she's already been dismissed. An individual who has done more to divide than unite the Butterfield family. And that division comes at a cost. Morale is a part of the foundation of success for any school. When faculty and staff feel valued, respected, and supported, they're better equipped to
041serve our students. Mr. Goffin has spent years fostering a positive and collaborative environment. when we're students, teachers, and parents work together. Undermining that kind of leadership not only disrespects his contributions, but also weakens the foundation of what makes Butterfield so strong. A school cannot thrive in an atmosphere of distrust, distrust, and division. We must protect the integrity of our school community by standing with those who have proven their dedication time and time again. It's deeply troubling to see someone like Mr. offer who has consistently acted in the best interest of his students and staff be met with unpre unprofessional treatment in what seems like blatant sabotage of his work and career development. I urge this board to recognize Mr. Goffin for the leader, advocate, and professional that he is. His dedication to Butterfield should not
042only should not be dismissed or diminished by those who have not taken the time to comprehend his impact. His record speaks for itself and is a record of commitment, integrity, and excellence. Thank you. Next up, Kevin Kesler. And after Kevin, Charlie Smith. Good evening. My name is Kevin Kesler. I have previous previously been a spotlight community member recognized by this board and for the past two years been at Butterfield with my two children serving on their PTO. I identify these points in order to lend whatever additional weight those things give to my following words. I stand tonight to speak in support of Mr. Alan Goffin at Butterfield Elementary. Over the past eight years during his time at Butterfield, Mr. Goffin has become an administrator that the faculty and staff look to for sound guidance, encouragement,
043and leadership while also being a friendly face and positive influence for all of our kids who attend his school. He is well respected and has stood up for his faculty and staff now even to his own detriment. His record at Butterfield speaks for itself as he has built and maintained relationships with parents, teachers, and most importantly the students who have gone grown to trust him. As a member of our PTO board and parent with children attending Butterfield, I have had nothing but positive interactions with Mr. Goffin. He has been helpful and knowledgeable when it comes to event scheduling and coordination. And during events, he has always made himself available to assist with whatever the PTO or individual students might need. He knows what works and doesn't work and is always willing to offer his constructive
044opinions and thoughts when sought out. This school year at Butterfield has proven to be exceedingly challenging. We started the year having had our respected previous principal moving up into the district, leaving the principal's vacant position to be filled. Many of us parents and teachers fully expected Mr. Gooffin to be offered the promotion to become the next principal at Butterfield, but due to reasons outside of my knowledge, that didn't occur. I bring this up not to harp on staffing decisions made by the district, but to again highlight the amount of respect and trust that we have in this individual. We thought he was going to be our next principal and wanted that to be the case. With all this being said, we have now learned that for some reason that escapes logic, Mr. Goffin is to
045be reassigned not only away from his current duties, but away entirely from the community that he has had a significant part in building and maintaining over the past eight years. This quite simply does not make sense. I implore this board to recognize the negative impact that removing Mr. Goffin will have on Butterfield Elementary and further ask that the actions and reviews given by a failed firsttime administrator who has already driven out multiple career educators from the field not be given the weight and impact that they seem to have been. Butterfield Elementary will be less without Mr. Gooffin. Please don't take away from our school. Thank you. [Applause] Charlie Smith and then after Charlie, Polly, Kyla, and Laneany, sorry. My name is Charlie Smith. I went to Butterfield Elementary from 2019 to 2024. And this is
046why I think Mr. Goffin should stay at Butterfield, but even better, become the principal. Mr. Goffin is the nicest guy ever. He has helped me with so many things. Like when I had been bullied, I went to him and asked him to help me and he did. He talked to those people and they stopped bullying me and they even started becoming nice to me. That's how good Mr. Goffin is. He always gives me fist bumps. He's so nice to all the teachers, all of the staff, and all of the students. And he will he will make the school a better place. I would love for him to be principal. I'm a former student and I won't even go there, but I want him to be principal because of the person he is. He is he
047is a kind and sweet guy. He is helpful and loving and just an amazing person. overall. That's why I want Mr. Goffin to be the principal or at the very least stay in his current position. Thank you. All right, Polly, Kyla, and Laneany. And then after them, Marissa Lopez. Hi, I'm Polly. I'm Kyla. And I'm Laney. We're in the third grade at Butterfield Elementary School and we're here to talk about Mr. Goffin. First, he's very nice and he and he's been there for longer. I've been there and I've been there for 4 years. Second, he's really supportive and he does what's best for the school and the people in it. Third, he's really awesome and you can really tell he cares about the students. Please let us keep Mr. Goffin. We love God. Thank you,
048girls. Marissa Lopez and next up will be Samantha Harris. Sorry. Coming from a parent and actually getting emotional over a teacher principal that's not going to be here anymore because of the decisions of a certain individual at the school. I have two children that have been there since kindergarten. And every interaction that I've had with Mr. Goffin has been nothing but positive. One of my children does have some behavioral issues, but he has always been there to support my daughter, speak with my daughter, and come to me with anything that I could help her at school. We worked as a team. This year, I have not had that communication with him. That has been taken away. Every single parent that I have spoken to has nothing but great things to say about Mr. Goffin. He
049is an amazing individual. He is a role model to these kids. These kids look up to him. They see dedication in him. I spoke with my youngest daughter today and actually told her because we made signs saying students for Mr. Gooffin and she didn't know what was going on and I finally told her today. My daughter was in tears which brought tears to me. She wants Mr. Goffin to be the principal. She wants him to stay. She wants to know that there's not more changes than would have already happened this year. There's been so many things at this school that has changed just in this school year and he has fought for these students to try to make things stay the same and that has not happened and it's very disappointing and coming from a
050parent you just want your kids to go to school every day and be happy and feel safe. My kids unfortunately don't feel that way this year. I think the board really needs to take a look at all of these individuals that are here that are standing for him, the students that are here because they are who matters, not the personal feelings of a certain individual. It is these kids because they're our future. They're who we need to live for and make sure that the education system is the right way for them. Thank you. [Applause] Samantha Harris and then after Samantha Marine Patre. Hello. Uh my name is Samantha Harris and I am a second grade teacher at Butterfield Elementary School. I've had the privilege of working with Mr. Gooffin uh for the past two years
051and I feel compelled to speak on his behalf today. I began my journey at Butterfield Elementary as a teacher two years ago and from that from the very start Mr. Goffron has been incredible has been an incredible support and supervisor. His leadership has been nothing short of exceptional. He approaches every situation with professionalism, fairness, sorry, and integrity. Although following the rules and making sure that both students and staff are treated with respect, his ethical approach has created a safe and thriving environment for everyone at the school. However, my connection to Mr. Goffin goes beyond my role as a as an educator. I first come to know him as a parent, having received his support for my own child who has attended Butterfield since kindergarten and is now in fifth grade. Throughout the years, our family
052has faced various challenges and Mr. Mr. Goffron has been a constant source of support, offering guidance, encouragement, and a listening ear. His approachable nature, sorry, and warm smile have made him someone our family could always turn to, and that's a sentiment shared by many others in our school community. Mr. Goffron is the kind of leader who truly invests in the well-being of everyone around him. He is the glue that holds the school together, offering not only professional support, but emotional guidance as well. Butterfield Elementary would not be the same without him. His leadership has been an asset to the school, fostering a culture of care and respect that permeates the halls. I feel strongly that Mr. Goffron deserves the opportunity to take on a principal role rather than being demoted to a PE teacher at
053another school. His impact on this community is immeasurable, and the staff and students of Butterfield Elementary School should not have to say goodbye to the consistent, supportive, and effective leadership that he provides. Continuity is key for the success of any school and Mr. Goffin's presence has been vital to maintaining that stability at Butterfield. For the sake of the school and the community that has benefited so greatly from his leadership, I urge you to reconsider any decision that would remove Mr. Goffin from his role. His dedication to the students, staff, and families of Butterfield Elementary is something that should not be overlooked. Thank you for your time and for considering the importance of continuity and leadership at our school. Thank [Applause] you Moren Patrees and after Moren Stephanie Johnson. Good evening Dr. Lopeman, governing board members,
054administrators, teachers, community members, parents, and students. My name is Moren Patrites. I am the grandparent of two former Butterfield Elementary School children and one current student. I am also an active volunteer at Butterfield for over a decade. I would like to thank the board for offering me the opportunity to recognize Mr. Alan Goffin for his leadership and for the impact his eight years as assistant principal has had on students, staff, and parents at Butterfield. Mr. Goffron exhibits enthusiasm and flexibility and fosters a community that supports and empowers each other. He conducts himself in a calm and professional manner. I worked closely with him during the CO 19 pandemic and observed his handling of very stressful situations when many of the staff were not able to be at work due to illness. Mr. Goffin promotes a
055positive learning environment and demonstrates his commitment to our children. Butterfield would certainly benefit from the continuity he would provide for our school going forward. I would request that the board hears our collective voice and allow Mr. Goffin to remain in his current position. Thank you. [Applause] Last speaker card, Stephanie Johnson. Hello. Um, oh, listening to everybody just made me emotional as well. While I may not have been part of the Butterfield family for very long, my oldest came in last year as a students. I now have two children at Butterfield. My now fifth grader would say that Mr. Cochran has always been an amazing help. She knows that she can go to him whenever she needs assistance. Um, I'm so sorry. Um, as I say, I have not been a part of the family for
056very long, but with everything that has happened last year and to this year has been a complete flip and a complete change. My student as a fifth grader has struggled and the support that she had last year was not there. Um, with the new principal coming in last year when The position for principal did come to light. Like many other parents and staff, it was not given to Mr. Coin. It was a complete shock and a complete surprise. When I just informed my fifth grader that Mr. Cochran would not be at the school, even as a fifth grader, she stressed out, broke down crying. What's going to happen? What's going to happen with the school with my little sister and my little brother? are going to come in at some point. Think about her crying
057makes me cry. I urge you, all of us, many people are standing being his voice while he has been the voice for our students for so long, for eight years. I do believe that he needs to be the new principal of this school since the current one is stepping down whatever happened with that decision which I think is best for that school. He needs to either be brought up or at the very very minimum remain vice principal so he can help guide the new principal that comes in. Starting a new school year with a brand new vice principal and a brand new principal does not make any sense at all. He's been there again for eight years to be the voice of the students and the staff, my children, all my oldest knew that she
058could always go to him. He was very nice. He can help students. It needs to remain that way. Thank you. [Applause] Thank you all. That I that is all the cards. Thank you for being very respectful and sharing your concerns with the board. All right, we're going to move on now to our consent agenda. Do I have a [Music] motion? Motion. Do I have a second? Second. Lisa Shante Rothschild. Hi, Ben Owens. Hi. Carolyn Lopez, I Patty Catra, I. All right, moving down to our action items. Mr. Beckett, discussion and possible approval of the personnel schedule. Thank you, Vice President Coutra, members of the governing board. Dr. Lman, you have the personnel schedule in front of you tonight and I do have a couple introductions I'd like to make after we take action on it.
059I'll take any questions that you have at this point in time. Board members, any questions? This is always a interesting time of year when contracts are due, that kind of thing. Um, I'm going to steal Vice President Coutra's question this meeting. How you feeling? How you feeling about about where we're at with contracts, Mr. Becket? I am optimistic, not even cautiously at this point in time. I'm pretty excited about seeing um we we were just offering some wonderful benefits for people to return 5%. I've not heard any other district in the state offering 5%. Most of them are two 3%. Uh we just are seeing a good good return on contacts. Still some time yet for our professional staff. Uh classified staff were due today, but we had a great turnout for those as well.
060Again, I'm sleeping. Okay. Thank you. Good job asking. Well, I have one more question. Oh, you're all right. That's okay, Mr. Yeah. Okay. Uh, how many open positions are we still anticipating? Okay. I I will have to get you that number. That almost changes on a daily basis at this point in time. So, well, I see I see an awful lot of, uh, new hires that will be starting the school year. And, um, that's awesome to see, although, you know, I always hate to lose people. Um, so any motions? Motion to approve the personal schedule as written. Second, Lisa. We have a motion and a second. Shante Rothschild. I, Ben Owens. Hi. Carolyn Lopez. Hi. Patty Catra. I. Thank you. Member Catra. If it's okay with the board's blessing, I would like to go ahead
061and introduce a couple of people tonight. I want to start with Mr. Matthew Mayo, who will be our new district director of athletics, activities, and access. And then a familiar face. We're going to ask Elizabeth Allison if she can stand to be recognized. She is being transferred from her present role at Pumabute as principal to the new planning principal at our Sarrento K8 school. Thank you, Mr. Becker. Thank you. Next item is discussion and possible approval of the district benefit plan for school year 2526. You're back. Thank you, Vice President Couture, members of the board. You have the renewal in front of you. Uh this is again another positive factor for this year. We're very excited to be able to uh see the district picking up the the cost for the increase for our employees.
06214% obviously was a was a hit, but we were a little surprised that that we were in that that situation, but again, Mr. Harmon has done his magic as he seems to have a a great act to do. Uh but uh we're we're looking forward to another renewal this year. Chyros Healthcare has done a terrific job in providing a good product for us. Very excited about that and we're just asking for the board support tonight on this benefit plan. Board members, you have any questions? I have one. Do my best. Go figure. Um both of you can actually probably So, uh I' I've looked over the um all the plans and it is great that we're going to be covering the additional costs on the employees so that at least for their coverage, they're not
063going to have that added expense, but it is a big increase for employees that need to have spouse, family, or children. That's a huge hit. Um, do we have a list of resources that they could seek other insurance that may not cost as much that we can give to those employees that may need to have that extra insurance but just can't afford it with Chyros, but maybe through a marketplace or something they might be able to afford it. Wonderful question, Vice President Coutree. Um, again, our our benefit offerings to our employees are optional. They can opt out of that. If there's a better plan out there that they can avail themselves of, either in the marketplace or a spouse's plan that would be more beneficial to them, we're certainly going to encourage them to do
064that. But can we get them a list of resources? Can we look to see if we can find a list of resources that we can give to them so that you know if the if our plans aren't working for them that they have some other avenues to research certainly once again we're offering four different plans. Uh again it the the final plan that HDHP 5000 plan is is is reasonably priced. Again we offer some offset cost in that as well with some of the HSA savings uh contribution we made toward that. again. Yes. Happy to put together something we offer to our employees. That That's a great suggestion. Thank you. I would appreciate it. Board members, any other questions or motions? Uh Mr. Beck had hit on uh hit on some of the questions that
065I had. So, um I don't have anything. Uh if there's no discussion or other questions, I'll make a motion to uh approve the uh benefit plan for next year. I have a motion. Do I have a second? Second, Lisa, we have a motion and a second. Shante Rothschild, I. Ben Owens, hi. Carol Lopez, I. Patty Catra, I. Thank you. You're welcome. All right. Next item up, discussion of possible approval to accept the fiscal year 2024 audits and compliance questionnaire. Mr. Harmon. All right. Good evening, Vice President Coutree, members of the governing board, and Dr. Lopeman. The purpose of this action item is to formally accept the audits and compliance questionnaire conducted on the district for fiscal year 24. The audit was conducted by Heinfeld and Meech, an independent audit firm. They conducted the required single
066audit and compliance questionnaire. They also completed the voluntary annual comprehensive financial report that is required for two applications for esteemed certifications of excellence in financial reporting. one to the Association of School Business Officials International and the other to the Government Finance Officers Association. The rules for public school districts come from the Arizona Constitution and Title 15 of Arizona Revised Statutes. These rules change every year through legislation and voter approved initiatives. The Department of Education and the AR and the Auditor General of the State of Arizona are responsible for interpreting these rules and enforcing them with districts. This is done through the uniform system of financial records or the USFR and the USFR audit compliance questionnaire. The current version of the USFR is 404 pages and the annual audit contains 171 questions in the compliance questionnaire
067that cover these 18 categories. The auditors spend two separate weeks on site as well as additional off-site work to determine sufficient appropriate evidence is obtained for each question of the USFR compliance questionnaire. Evidence is obtained through test work, observation, examination, and client assertion. We're pleased with the audit process and results for fiscal year 24. This slide shows our fiscal year 24 compliance questionnaire. The blue bars are the total numbers of qu of the questions in each section and the orange bar shows the findings in each section. We had 13 findings in 10 areas. On the bottom right hand corner, you can see our five-year history of our findings and 13 findings for fiscal year 24 means we're about 92% compliant to those 171 questions. Out of the 80 districts that are audit firm audit firm,
068a Heinfeld Meech audited in fiscal year 23. Um the findings in those districts range from 10 to 35 findings with the average being 15. Um it is important to understand that the number of findings isn't the most important factor. What is most important is the severity of the findings. Uh a a good guide to understand the severity of findings is our single audit report which is also attached to the board agenda. Um paying attention to the findings or the lack of findings on the single audit will reveal the se will reveal the severity of findings in the compliance questionnaire. Our single audit for fiscal year 24 had zero findings. Um for the 13 findings in the compliance questionnaire, we'll continue to work with each of the finding areas and develop corrective action plans and continue
069to educate on the USFR. I want to give a lot of praise to our MUSD staff that have continued to work hard on training and practices to improve compliance with the uniform system of financial records. Um thank you. That uh concludes my presentation. We uh so you have an an action item in front of you for approval of our audits and compliance questionnaire and we're we're seeking your approval. Board members, any questions discuss or discussion? Um thank you first u Mr. Harmon for that. Um the 13 findings that were mentioned you mentioned it's the severity um of those. So with that is there a time frame in which those have to be addressed and resolved and if so what is the average of that and then the followup from there? So if uh great question
070we are working internally to look at every single one of those findings and see if we need to make you know adjustments to our procedures, our processes and some of those findings were in my department and it's just as simple as you know changing our checklist for you know reviewing things that may have resulted in a clerical error. Um if the findings were severe or material um of nature then the auditor general would require a formal corrective action submitted to them with a time frame. None of these will require an auditor general corrective action. So, it'll just be internal work. We've already uh worked on a response and corrective action from all of the responsible parties and and a lot of it will just be education on that that large 404 page document to make
071sure that we're aware of our sections and the the questions of the compliance questionnaire and sometimes it could be training even at our school sites on inputting certain records and making sure that all of those files are complete. And then my second question is so upon approving that are we approving the submission or approving the validity of the the results of the question? Yeah. So the the audits have already been submitted to the state and the county and all of the entities that are required. It's the the formal acceptance from the governing board of the validity of these uh these audits and compliance questionnaires. Thank you. I did go through and read all 31 pages. Great. Of the USFR, good for you, Mr. Owens. Um, and we woke up. It It was relatively boring. Um,
072but um, you know, just kind of going through there and reading what exactly they're looking for, they really drill down to some very, very granular um, uh, data. um you know and you've already addressed that we're making corrective actions uh going forward. I think that's probably the biggest thing. So hopefully next year um you know we can be at nine or less right they make that you know make a even bigger improvements. So um thank you to our to our district and uh because this is an entire staff thing. This is not the financial department. This is all the schools, transportation, this is IT, this is our food service. Everyone has a hand in this. That is correct. So, so thank you to to all of our staff on that. So, thank you, Mr. Any
073motions? A motion to approve. I'll second. Lisa, we have a motion and a second. Shante Rothschild. Hi, Ben Owens. Hi. Carol Lopez. Hi. Patty Coutrey. I And down to our last item, adjournment. Do I have a motion? Motion to adjurnn. You have a second. Lisa Shante Rothschild. I Ben Owens. Hi Carol Lopez. Hi. Hi Catra. Hi. 759.