001Everything. Celebrate. Come on. What about here? There's a lot of She's my I'm going to is like we haven't quite reached the point that it feels like we need to do our floors. He's like, "We could do this." It's like, "No." Is it functioning? Is it broken? Is it working? No. It's doing everything. I'd like to call this meeting to order. Uh, please join me in in saying the pledge of allegiance. Is this microphone working? I'm not sure if it's working. Oh, okay. >> I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. May I have roll call, please? >> Mrs. Greenberg, >> here. >> Mrs. Christensen, >> here. >> Dr. Lim >> here. >>
002President Pantara >> here. >> Miss Wani >> here. >> Next on the agenda is approval of agenda. Dr. Corson. >> Thank you, President Panta. Items approved by consent will not come up for discussion during the meeting, but will be approved when the agenda is adopted. This is possible since members of the governing board received the agenda along with backup materials at least 24 hours prior to the meeting and have had time to review and consider all items. Prior to the agenda being adopted, members of the governing board may ask that an item be removed from the consent agenda and brought to the floor for discussion at the appropriate place on the agenda. Any member of the audience who submitted a blue public comment card prior to the start of the meeting will be recognized to
003speak on that agenda item under items for approval. I'd like to offer the agenda as posted. Prior to the start of the meeting, no blue public comment cards were received so far. So for that reason no items are need to be removed except does any member of the governing board wish to have an item removed from the consent agenda. Okay then um none seeing none may have a motion to approve the meeting agenda and recommended consent agenda items. >> So moved. All in favor say I. >> I. >> All oppose. Nay. Motion passes. Oh. Any abstensions? Motion passes uni unanimously with five yeses or no. All right. Next on the agenda is governing board statements. Would anyone like to go first? >> Good evening everyone. Um, first I just want to say welcome and good
004evening to all of you. And oh my goodness, let's all just kind of take a moment and look at this incredible artwork done by our PV students over here and just cannot wait to recognize all of you and be able to look and appreciate at this art all the time once it's up on these walls. So just amazing, incredible what what talent. It's just mind-blowing. Um, I want to just take a real quick second and um and give a shout out and a thank uh Pey High School who uh invited me to come hang out and um speak to their students working on their seal of civics. Um I had a wonderful time with the students. Um we ran a simulated governing board meeting. It was very fun and I think we might have some
005future electeds in that um in that cohort, let me tell you. Um, and just thank you to the uh K- through2 curriculum specialist for social studies and world language dual language immersion, Miss Cheryl Cheratin Kersian Bomb and um and Mr. Tyler Nellis over there. And of course to the principal um Ian Dennis, they were very welcoming and I had a blast and it was so much fun and it was really great to see um these wonderful high school students just so passionate and interested in the election process and governance and civics and giving back to the community and just wonderful public serviceminded um little community over there. So it was pretty wonderful. Um really looking forward to the next couple of weeks. We've got so many wonderful and exciting things going on. Um, as we
006wrap up the school year, I hope everybody takes some time to enjoy it. Take a deep breath because the summer will be here before we know it. And then some of us have to figure out what we're doing with our kids. So, um, for the for the time being, we get to enjoy it and I'm sure teachers are ready for a break and kids are getting restless. But, um, finish line is near. It's almost there. Hang in there and enjoy, you know, all the wonderful things that we get to to do as a community in the next couple of weeks. I know I am. Thank you, >> Mrs. Christensen. Thank you. I'd just like to take some time just to welcome all of you. It's so nice when we have full meetings, even if it's
007just for the beginning of the meeting, when we have beautiful artwork to show. Thank you. Um, as a reminder, we represent your voice. So, we always appreciate as a governing board me um member and a governing board body to hear from you. So, thank you for coming today. And um I do want to mention that we were able to honor our volunteers in paradise. We call it our our VIPs. And it was this week and every single member of the governing board attended. So I'm not going to well because um Dr. Lim made us all cry with her story about how special the volunteers were and help her overcome things. So I just wanted to welcome you today and say thank you for being here. >> Uh Dr. Berlin. >> Sure. Um, so, uh, you
008know, it's been a really special time being on this board and I don't know if all the board knows, but I have made it a mission to once a month, uh, go out and visit a new site or a new group of staff just to connect and learn something I don't know about the district. Um, and I just want to highlight where I went last month because it was such a special visit. So, I went to visit PV online and Sweetwater Community School. I already knew they existed. I already knew what they were doing. But to hear from them the the level of commitment they have to our students. Uh so our PV online are serving our students that may not be able to come in person for whatever reason is keeping them from being
009in a classroom. Whether it's a choice or they just don't fit in a regular classroom. They're able to access PV through our online programs or even take an eighth hour if they want to add a class to their schedule outside of the traditional day. But then they also have the homebound program for the rare group of students that can't be in a classroom at all for whatever medical reason is keeping them out of our classrooms. And they're working tirelessly to make sure these students are served. And then they're partnering with Sweetwater Community School, which if you haven't visited there, I would highly recommend it. Community within that name is why that school is so special. While we know it's a high school and they're graduating high schoolers as well, community is the most important part
010of that because they are creating community. Not only are they working with PV online to get these students classes after hours that fit best with their schedule, they're also creating the community for the number of learners that come to them. They have this amazing process where from the moment that student walks in, they know exactly where they are and they monitor that all the way to the end. Principal Danner over there is doing an amazing job making sure from day zero, not day one, day zero before they even arrive, that he is prepared for them to come and is then working with them and creating community with them at the school and with their families to make sure they get over the finish line. Not just graduation, but what's their next step? How are they
011going to do it? And how do we give them the tools to get there? two demonstrations of why our non-traditional spaces have huge impacts and it was just eyeopening. I knew the work they were doing, but to be in those buildings and feel the passion from those educators and those leaders, it was unbelievable and if you haven't visited, please do. It's an amazing experience and those educators are doing wonderful things. So, thank you for the tour and I look forward to potentially coming to your school soon, >> Mrs. Greenberg. >> Thank you. Um, welcome everybody. It's and always great to see a packed room, even as Mr. Christensen said, it's not necessarily going to be the entire meeting. Um, we're really excited to get the new artwork on the wall and congratulations to in advance
012to all of our purchase award winners. Um, as Mrs. Christensen noted, yesterday was the VIP celebration. It's an annual celebration. And one of the reasons it was yesterday or it was this week is this is National Volunteer Week. So I also want to shout out to every other volunteer. Um, our VIPs are indeed incredibly special and and so very supportive of our students and our teachers and um all of the things that they do as um we had actually I have it um they you know we had a little a little program and you can't see it and I know you can't see it but they have a whole list of bullet points of the things that the VIPs do. And as I noted, when the VIP program first started, it was the first bullet
013point. That's what our VIPs did. Going into the classrooms, going one-on-one and helping with small groupoup instruction. And now it is this massive list of tutoring in the summer, helping um in other programs, you know, helping uh our testing programs, helping facilitate student groups for AVID tutorials, uh chaperoning field trips, helping in the nursur's office. It's an incredibly um robust program. But those are not our only volunteers. So for those of you in the audience, those of you watching online, everyone else, our parents and guardians and community members come into our schools every day to support our students and our staff. And I want to thank all of you as well. You know, from the the room moms and dads to, you know, somebody who can chaperone because their, you know, grandchild's going on a
014field trip. any any opportunity that you have and you have taken it and given to our schools. I want to thank you for that. Um also had the opportunity uh this since our last meeting to go to the PVA prom boutique for their third day and um once again just blown away by uh the support of the community because everything there is donated. you know, either it's slightly used or um I know uh this didn't happen while I was there, but it has happened in the past where somebody comes in and they need a size shoe that isn't there and you know the PVA teachers will get on the horn and find somebody to donate to Amazon wish list to get it from Amazon to get it to the student before the prompt, things like
015that. So, um and I want to shout out I I saw Dr. Lindsay and others of our administrators um there helping as well. It's it's an amazing program. I posted something online. A friend of mine is like, "How can I donate to the boutique?" Um there's one more day. Saturday's the last day. So, if you have a a student who's got their PVD, send them over to the boutique. It's located at Sweetwater Community. So, and thank you all for being here. >> Thank you. It was good to hear what you said, Dr. Lima, about visiting sites. I remember when I first got on the board within that first year, I went to all the sites, every single site, and I'd been teaching here a long time and thought I knew a lot about the district.
016I learned so much more than I ever thought I would by visiting all those different sites in the perspective. Of course, nowadays, my site visits are limited to Sandpiper picking up my granddaughter, but um it's always a valuable thing. I'm glad you're doing that. Um, I too went to the volunteers in paradise event. And I'll repeat what I said there, not the whole thing, just the part that I like is that they talk about VIP, but I think it should be VMP because not volunteers in paradise, it's volunteers make paradise. You can't have paradise without these volunteers doing what they do. Okay? We can't have paradise with any aspect of the great things we do missing. And I'm so thankful for all the people who were there and some couldn't be there. And to reate
017what reiterate what my um colleague said that it's a grand grand thing that they do. I love the art that we had out here. Uh all the ones that we're going to talk about later. I was surprised myself because in the last three years I would kind of pick one out that want hanging behind me. There's no art behind the president. I don't get to do that this year. So, I'm really bummed out about that. It made me think though, when did I first start loving art? Um, you ever think about when the first time you understood there's something called art and love it? Okay. For me, it was a school experience. Uh, kindergarten, my father uh took me to a program at ASU. Go Devils. Um, during the summer and it was at the
018Old Maine and I learned about this magical material. It's called paperier-mâché. It's fantastic stuff. You got to try it. And I said, "Wow." It dawned on me that art is a great thing. It's fun. Been doing ever been encouraged my children. And now my granddaughter, she's going to be at the Desert Shadows Art Academy. You okay? She was bragging about that at the Elks Club and uh one of the ladies there said, "Oh, you do art?" So, well, she gave her her bingo card to the back of it and said, "Well, why don't you draw me a picture or something?" and and she signed it, gave it back, and the woman gave her five bucks. I was there to see your first commission work. And and then she was very proud of that cuz you
019know folks really any culture or society that's like a barometer. How healthy is that culture? How healthy is that society? And if you look at the art of that society, is it strong? Is it vibrant? Do they have a a really good uh art community going on? And then you say, "Yeah, okay. they have the time and resources to commit that kind of effort into art. And when I look around and I see the arts here, not only the visual arts, but the dance, the music, everything else. Like at the VIP, uh we had Paris Valley Voice. They sang for us and they were wonderful. Especially their ac cappella piece. Wasn't that great? We get timed. Oh my gosh, that was never supposed to happen. Well, I'll just conclude then and say I I [laughter]
020I will I just think we have a very wonderful culture because we can support art and we do. >> That's I guess I'm done. Timer timer cut me off. >> It's technically time for my husband to feed the kids. So, that was that timer, but >> Okay, good. Thank you for that clarification. [laughter] I was worried there. Oh, back with the glasses. Excuse me. Ah, one of my favorite. Next on the agenda is awards and recognitions, right? >> Yes. President Panteras. So, I'd like to invite the governing board to the front for tonight's awards and recognition. Good evening, President Pantara, governing board members, Dr. Corson, members of cabinet, and attendees both in person and virtual. Tonight, we have several recognitions to share with you. This evening, we'll be inviting our honores to the front of
021the room for recognition and a photo. So, when your name is called, please make your way to the front of the room. Our first honores recently delivered a stellar performance at the Arizona State DECA competition. In addition to earning the prestigious diamond level chapter award recogni recognized for excellence in innovation, advocacy and community service, this chapter secured dozens of awards, including five first place recognitions. Tonight, we would like to recognize these first place recipients. So, please help me welcome from Pinnacle High School for Franchise Business Plan, Augustus Olrich. [applause] for startup business plan. Charlotte Across [applause] for sports and entertainment marketing operations research. Lucy Littenberg [applause] for international business plan. Antonio Curio Castro [applause] [applause] and for hospitality and tourism operations research, Raven Teen. [applause] These students are supported by staff sponsor Cheryl Sheay. [applause]
022I know, I know I'm not supposed to talk, but I just want to say President Pantara did visit the site the week before they went to state and he witnessed them in action. You also mentioned seals. Four of these are seniors. Of th those four seniors, they're four of 15 getting a personal financial literacy seal. So, I'm extremely proud of that. And then I forget what else I'm proud of, but I'm just very proud of the pinnacle deck of program. [applause] [applause] >> Congratulations everybody. >> Thank you so much. Our next honores showcased exceptional talent, creativity, and dedication, earning top honors at the Arizona Science and Engineering Fair. These students distinguish themselves in a diverse range of competitive categories including cellular biology, chemistry, computer science, physics, plant sciences, and engineering. Their projects tackled meaningful real
023world challenges and showcased the rigorous STEM and CTE focused curriculum provided here in Paradise. Please help me welcome from Greyhawk Elementary for cellular and molecular biology are microplastics present in plant cells Braden Perry and Eli Hubble. [applause and cheering] >> [applause] >> for biochemistry, the effect of endostatin on cardiac tissue and the rescue of VEGF and FGF21. Nick Hill putin Raju. [applause] Also from PV Crest uh for systems software quantifying mitigating CNN representation instability for imaging safety. Anaga vipena [applause] and from PV crest for technology enhances the arts. Cadenza promoting effective datadriven practice strategies for musicians. Artiro Charter, [applause] Liam Wellen, [applause] and Arya Uda Hansscar. [applause] Our [applause] next honores were selected to join the prestigious 2026 Arizona Allstate Elementary band. These elite musicians were nominated by their teachers and chosen from a highly
024competitive pool of talented students from across the state. Please put your hands together from Sonor and Sky Zachary Green. [applause] And from North Ranch, Cesaly Kbble. [applause] These students are supported by director Anita Krider. >> [applause] >> It's better. [applause] The next two recognitions participated in the Arizona Association for Pupil Transportation Special Needs Road EO. This event brought together teams of bus drivers who competed in nine different challenges including wheelchair securement, railroad crossing procedures, pre-trip inspection, emergency evacuations, and more. Two of our drivers excelled in all areas and won first place honors. from our transportation department. Joanie Beay [applause] also from our transportation department. Shante Beay [applause] transportate all students today. >> [applause] [applause] >> Our [applause] our next recognition is the Paradise Valley Education Support Professional of the Month. Mr. Sean Webster, PBSA president,
025is here this evening to make the presentation. Uh, good evening, governing uh, good evening, President Pantara, members of the governing board, Dr. Corson, cabinet, and guests. My name is Sean Webster, and I'm the PBSCA president. It is my honor tonight to present the April ESP of the month award to Gracie uh, Deini, sorry, it's been a long day. Uh, library media technician at Indian Bend. Gracie's colleagues have shared some truly wonderful insights into her impact this year. Um, she has been far more than a librarian. She has breathed a new light into the campus by transforming the library into a vibrant high energy hub for the entire community. Through her great library refresh, she dedicated countless hours sorting through book through decades worth of outdated materials and creating an open and inviting space where books
026on the shelves truly resonated with our students. Beyond revitalizing the physical space, Gracie demonstrated exceptional leadership during the Scholastic Bookf Fair by rallying volunteers in turning a major logistical task into a significant win for school spirit. Most importantly, she has replaced the era of Hush Library with a culture of laughter and curiosity where she is challenging our students with riddles of the week and championing our young writers. Gracie has given our students a voice and genuine reason to be excited about reading. She is the truly the heart and soul of our library. I would also like to note that we celebrate National Library Week and National Library Workers Day this week, which makes this recognition extra special for her passion for the hard work. Please join me in welcoming Gracie. [applause] >> [applause] [applause] >>
027The Jerry L. Morgan Volunteer Award honors volunteers who display dedication and service to the community as exemplified by late UPC member Jerry Morgan. Tonight, UPC Chairperson Megan Star is here to make a presentation. >> Good evening, President, members of the governing board, superintendent, and all of our guests. My name is Megan Starr and on behalf of the United Parent Council, it is my distinct pleasure to present the 2026 Jerry Morgan Volunteer Award finalists and recipient. Tonight, we honor our remarkable nominees and announce the winner of this very hard award. The volunteer award is named in honor of Jerry Morgan, a dedicated champion of parent involvement in Paradise Valley Unified School District. It honors those who lead with their heart, serve without expectation, and dedicate themselves to making our schools a better place. The legacy of
028this award reminds us that behind every thriving school, there are volunteers who show up often very, very early and stay very, very late and always with the singular purpose of strengthening our community. Let me uh introduce this year's six finalists. First, I want to say that the selection committee had an incredibly difficult time this year narrowing down our finalists and ultimately picking the recipient. Every volunteer in this community is amazing. So first uh in no particular order for these uh recip these finalists um Miss uh Nia Shaw she's been an incredible force serving PB schools for over two decades through her digital citizenship program that she co-authored and created. She has taught over a thousand students in our district. Emily Nelson is the kind of volunteer that always sees a need and immediately steps in,
029no questions asked. She has served as PTO president of Sonor and Sky Elementary for three years and spearheaded some of that school's most ambitious projects. Robbie Mosley, she's brought creativity and passion to her volunteer work at Horizon High School, championing programs that serve all of the students and directly benefit their families. Becky Laferty is a steady, reliable presence at Paradise Valley High School. She launched a teacher grant program and created the student bus program, ensuring that our teachers have what they need to teach and that our students can actually get to school. Christy Moore is someone who truly embodies the spirit of service. From classroom support to district-wide initiatives, this Mountain Trails middle school parent has contributed countless hours and brought a collaborative spirit that lifts everyone around. And the last of our finalists, Denise
030Amato, brings an infectious enthusiasm to everything she does at North Ranch Elementary. Whether organizing school events, welcoming new families, or coaching the cowg girls flag football team, Denise approaches every task with joy and purpose. So, I want to take a minute to thank and sincerely appreciate each and every one of our finalists. These individuals were all nominated by members of their community, their administrative staff, and their principles. It was an impressive group of people. Um, I have a picture there. There's most of them. Robbie is missing, but there's most of our uh finalists. All right. And from this extraordinary group of nominees, the United Parent Council is proud to announce that the 2026 Jerry Morgan Volunteer Award recipient is Jill Accassio. [applause] Jill, come up. Jill's dedication to PB schools is nothing short of extraordinary.
031Over the years, she served in numerous leadership roles within her school's parent organization, consistently steps up to take on the work that others might shy away from. And what sets Jill apart is not just the volume, which is huge, of her contributions, but the depth of her commitment. She creates a community culture. Her years of service reflect genuine, heartfelt dedication to every student and family. Jill has championed school programs that bring her families together on the campus. Here's some of hers. She has been involved in every major event at Greyhawk Elementary, bingo night, links laps, book fair, blue zone activities, steam night, heroes day, the holiday shop. Uh she restocks the teachers lounge to make sure the teachers have snacks to make it through the day. She volunteers as a chaperone for trips her children
032are not on. [laughter] I heard from one parent who is incredibly grateful that she chaperoned the choir trip with uh to make sure they had the requisite number of chaperones for that. She's also uh recruited and mentored fellow volunteers and built partnerships with local organizations. From one of the many many nominations, what one person wrote kind of summed her up. Jill is the most dedicated, impactful volunteers our Greyhawk community has ever known. She is a true force of action. Jill does not wait to be asked. She never looks the other way when something needs to be done. She quietly steps in, takes ownership, and makes things happen. So, we're very, very grateful to have volunteers like Jill in our district. They make this a mo a fantastic place to be. So, in closing, I just
033want to say because it is volunteer appreciation week, thank you not only to our six incredible finalists and to Jill, but also to every single volunteer across Paradise Valley Schools. They are the backbone of our school community. They give their time, their talent, and their energy. and that volunteering shows our kids that they matter, that their school matters, and that showing up for each other is the most important thing we can do. So, thank you. [applause] [cheering] [applause] Can I come up? [applause] >> [applause] >> And lastly tonight, I would like to introduce our director of fine arts, Ali Ry, who is responsible for cultivating and overseeing the fine arts programs within our many extraordinary schools. Please help me welcome to the podium, Miss Ali Ry. [applause] >> Thank you. Good evening, President Pantara, members
034of the board, Dr. Corson, cabinet, and guests. It is a highlight of our year to present the 2026 permanent art collection purchase awards. These selections began earlier this spring during our annual Sights and Sounds Fine Arts Festival held on March 7th at Shadow Mountain High School. This event showcases thousands of pieces of student work and from that incredible display, a small group of works is selected for the highest honor our district bestows upon student artists, the purchase award. By purchasing these pieces, the district ensures they are professionally framed and added to our permanent collection. This collection has grown for decades, serves a special purpose. These pieces are rotated through the governing boardroom for three years and then displayed throughout the district administrative center as a lasting testament to the creativity and excellence of our students.
035Tonight, we aren't just celebrating the final product. you see before you. We are celebrating a journey of excellence in Paradise Valley. We believe that excellence is not a destination but a continuous process of growth. For these students, that journey begins in our classrooms with a blank canvas or a lump of clay. It was fueled by the courage to take risks, the discipline to refine their technique, and the resilience to learn from mistakes. This journey is made possible by our dedicated art educators who guide our students to find their unique voices and by the families who support their creative passions at home. These awards represent the pinnacle of that journey where talent meets hard work and academic dedication. As I call your name, please come forward with your family or teacher to be recognized by the
036board. We're going to start with elementary school awardees. Kenzie Lohan. [applause] and she is first grade from Indian Ben Elementary School. [applause] Thank you. [applause] Next we have Leilani Velmoa. Sorry, [applause] she is third grade from Cactus View Elementary. All right. Thank you. [applause] Next is Lilith Marino, fifth grade, Indian Ben Elementary. [applause] >> [applause] [applause] >> Thank you. Next, we have our middle school awardees. Our middle school selections represent a high level of technical growth and personal voice. Our first one is Anya Upday from 8th grade Desert Shadows Middle School. [applause] Oh, you're good. Yeah. Thank you. Next. [applause] Next we have Brooklyn Pauliski, 8th grade, Desert Shadows Middle School. [applause] All right. teacher want to come up. >> No. [applause] >> [applause] >> Next is Leila Portugal from 8th grade Desert Shadows Middle
037School. She is not here tonight, but her work will be presented by her her classmates. back. [applause] Next is Ronica Sadari, 8th grade, Sunrise Middle School. [applause] and she is attending PV next year. >> [applause] >> Thank Thank you. [applause] Finally, we recognize our high school artists. These students have achieved a level of mastery that often rivals professional work as well as some of them also received the art seal by completing at least four art courses and 80 hours extracurricular activities. First we have Elson Paloma Palumba, sorry. 10th grade Horizon High School. [applause] Oh my god. Thank you. [applause] Up next is Kayn Miller, 11th grade, Shadow Mountain High School. [applause] Teacher's coming too. Thank you. [applause] Our next student is Rudy, 12th grade, Pinnacle High School. [applause] >> [applause] >> Our last piece is
038from Katarina Melnik, 12th grade, Pinnacle High School, presented by her teacher, Kelsey Greenland. >> [applause] >> Katarina is also an art seal recipient for this year as well as she is part of the prestige visions program where she will have her show at the Smoka Museum in Scottsdale. Wow. [applause] >> Students, your work will now join the halls of this district for years to come, inspiring future generations of students and visitors to begin their own journey of excellence. We want to thank the art teachers and parents and principles who have nurtured this talent. Thank you. >> [applause] >> And that, President Panta, concludes this evening's awards and recognitions. [clears throat] >> [clears throat] >> Next on the agenda is superintendent comments. Dr. Corson. >> Well, thank you, President Pantera. In PB schools, we engage, inspire,
039and nurture students through highquality instruction, meaningful educational opportunities, and dynamic learning experiences. One of those opportunities is our developing authentic academics through purposeful scholarship program. DAPS is an honors level humanities program designed to exceed district and state curriculum requirements while challenging advanced students. Those enrolled in the program have many opportunities to deepen their learning, pursue their interests, and prepare for a variety of post-secondary pathways. I would also like to congratulate our Shadow Mountain seniors who presented their DAP Stone passion projects last week. These impressive students have spent the past four years developing their ideas and skills, and they took center stage to present their projects with pride, professionalism, and a strong sense of accomplishment. Best of luck to these seniors as they prepare for graduation and the bright futures ahead of them. Well, as uh
040many have noted tonight, April serves as a significant month of celebration for our district. We recently observed Administrative Professionals Day on April 22nd, and this week we are honoring the dedicated volunteers who sustain our school system through public school volunteer week. Additionally, we look forward to celebrating bus driver appreciation day on April 28th. To our bus drivers, thank you for your steadfast commitment to our students and your excellent rodeo skills. And to our administrative professionals, we appreciate the vital role you play in ensuring our organization operates seamlessly. And to our volunteers, thank you for contributing to your time and talents to the success of all students in PB schools. I especially want to thank our United Parent Council who work continuously to support our schools and our district. To our over 250 volunteers in paradise
041or volunteers make paradise. President Pantara for dedicating over 12,000 hours of service to our children and to our PTAs, PTOs, and booster groups for your continued commitment to our schools and communities. Well, PB Schools takes immense pride in our longstanding tradition of cultivating leadership from within and maximizing the exceptional talent of our employees. For more than 40 years, our administrative internship management training program, better known as AIM, has been the cornerstone of this effort. Dedicated to identifying, developing, and nurturing the next generation of visionary leaders. Each year, we select a distinguished group of teacher leaders, providing them with the immersive experiences and professional mentorship necessary to serve as administrators in our district. Tonight, we're honored to recognize this year's AIM class. I ask all AIM graduates, please stand so we may celebrate your commitment. [applause]
042>> [applause] >> Well, thank you, AIM candidates. You know, history has shown that the individual standing before you tonight will be the faces leading our schools and shaping the future of our district for years to come. Thank you so much. [applause] And finally, don't forget to check your inbox. Every spring, PB School sends out a satisfaction survey to better understand how parents and guardians perceive their child's school. Your feedback on areas such as academic support, communication, and school climate is invaluable in helping us continue to improve and empower every learner for a lifetime of success. The survey link was sent to our parent and guardian emails through uh addresses and can be found in your parent square feed. We'll be accepting feedback through the survey until August 30th. And President Panta, this concludes the my
043comments for this evening. >> Now, thank you, Dr. Corson. Next on the agenda is next on the agenda is items for approval G1, consideration and approval of administrative personnel employment actions. Uh Dr. Holmes, Mr. President, members of the board, Seth But is currently the strategic planning director for the Arizona Institute for Education and the Economy. Uh, prior to that, he was the principal at the Phoenix Coding Academy. He earned a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Michigan, a postbaloria degree in education from Rio Salado, and a master of arts and educational leadership from ASU. Go Devils. Uh, if if Thank you. If approved, he will receive salary and benefits in accordance with the PVP bargaining agreement. And we recommend you approve Mr. V to be the next principal at Shea Middle School. [applause]
044>> May I have a motion to approve Seth? How do you say the last name? >> For the position of principal of Shea Middle School as presented. >> So moved. >> Any board members wishing to make a comment? Okay. All those in favor say I. I. I. >> All those opposed? Nay. Any abstensions? Motion passes unanimously. >> Congratulations, Mr. [applause] But where is Mr. BUT would you like to [applause] would you like to introduce anybody that came with you today? Got any family or friends? >> All the different places at the same time. >> Okay. Well, welcome aboard. And I think you're off to get your daughter, right? You like he has to go. >> We just made it. [laughter] >> Okay. Thank you. [applause] >> Next up, Dr. Chris Omisonson is currently the director
045of student services secondary. He earned a bachelor of science degree in political science, master of arts, degree in educational administration from the University of Phoenix and doctorate in educational leadership from NAU. If uh approved, you'll receive salary and benefits consistent with the cabinet bargaining agreement and we recommend you approve Dr. Aspenson to be the next assistant superintendent of leadership secondary. May I have a motion to approve Dr. Chris Asmusson for the position of assistant superintendent of leadership secondary as presented. >> So moved. >> Any board any board members wishing to make a comment. >> All those in favor say I. >> I. >> All those opposed say nay. Any abstensions? Motion passes unanimously. >> Congratulations Dr. Oscus. [cheering] [applause] Do you have anybody you'd like to introduce and and share with us? >> I do.
046My biggest champion, my wife, Terry. [applause] >> Excellent. Next on the agenda is items for approval G2 consideration approval of proposed calendar recommendations for school years 2027 28 2028 29 202930 and 203031 Dr. Lindseay >> good evening President Pantara members of the governing board Dr. Cabinet doc Dr. Corson cabinet and guest. Tonight before you is a recommendation for your consideration and possible approval of the proposed school calendars for the 2027 2028 through 203031 school years. At the April 9th meeting, I presented a first read outlining the calendar committee's process and outcomes. Three options were shared with the community and option two emerged as the recommended choice. This option includes a full week fall break after the first quarter, a full week Thanksgiving break, and a full week spring break in the second week of March
047with a consistent end to the school year in late May. Due to the placement of midweek holidays, there is an exception with the 29:30 uh school calendar, which would follow a traditional 3-day Thanksgiving schedule to honor all of the other religious holidays. Based on stakeholder input and overall considerations, the calendar committee recommends option two and cabinet supports this recommendation for your consideration and possible approval. And I'm happy to answer any questions. >> May I have a motion to approve the proposed calendar recommendations for school years 2027 28, 2028 29, 202930, and 203031 as presented. >> So moved. >> Any board member wishing to make a comment? Mrs. Christensen. >> Yes. I just wanted to thank the committee members. this is um very difficult to to you can't you can't please everybody and so I I
048just wanted to say thank you to the committee members and um although we we gave our comments last time and I I I still wanted us to start a little later so that you know we don't have that that early early start but I know that the committee did everything that they could to um to look at all the options so thank you for that. Thank you, >> Mrs. Warning. >> I just want to say yay for fall break. [laughter] >> I mean, if we're if we're saying yay for things, yay for Thanksgiving break. [laughter] >> I did notice they left off my birthday again, but okay. Don't worry about it's okay. Any other comments? Well, I was just going to comment they left off your birthday, but you know, it's okay. [laughter] >> With
049that, uh, all those in favor say I. I. >> I. >> All those opposed say nay. Any abstensions? Motion passes unanimously. [applause] Next on the agenda is items for approval G3, consideration and approval of changes and/or additions to the bargaining agreements with PVEA, PVSEA, ESS, PVP, COA, and cabinet for 2026 2027. Dr. Holmes. >> Thank you, Mr. President. Members of the board, I'd like uh to offer for your consideration approval of the bargaining agreements as you've described. Uh all changes are noted throughout the agreements in yellow uh and or at the in the uh memorandums of u agreement at the end of each uh bargaining agreement. I'd also offer two amendments both for the ESP uh bargaining agreement. Number one on page 22 uh in the transfer process uh the position pareducator is highlighted and
050struck twice uh the intent was to change that to instructional assistant. So we would add that in. Number two on page 46 under reimbursement procedures section D was inadvertently struck out. We would keep that language. And if you're searching for a motion, I I might suggest uh the approval item with the amendments as offered by Dr. Holmes just because I've seen how we work through that in the past. May I have a motion to approve the changes and or additions to the bargain agreements with PVEA, PVSA, ESS, PVP, COA, and cabinet uh with amendments presented by Dr. Holmes for 2026 as presented. >> So moved. >> Any board members wishing to make a comment? Wait a minute. I Thank you, Dr. Corson. We have blue cards and they're first. So, first uh we have two
051blue cards for this one is um the first one Sean Webster and the second will be from Heather Schmidt. Please come up and I think they have what? Three minutes. Yeah, three minutes. Good evening, President Ptera, members of the governing board, Dr. Corson, cabinet and guests. My name is Sean Webster and I'm the president of PBSA. Tonight, I want to take this opportunity to thank my incredible bargaining team who dedicated their time and experience throughout this entire bargaining season. I'd also like to thank Dr. Martin and her team for their collaboration with us this year. While this was a difficult year requiring hard decisions, I'd like to highlight a several outcomes that will significantly benefit our group. This year, we are able to raise tuition reimbursement to $2,500, which will cover full-time tuition at any
052Maricopa community college, which means our employees can earn a degree and graduate debt-free. Uh, we also approved a time buyback scale, which now approves employees who have dedicated time to our district and did not use all their allocated time off to no longer just leave the district without getting a payout for that time. I'd also like to thank the district for absorbing the insurance cost increase this year, ensuring that our rates did not go up for our employees. I'm happy to share that we have officially ratified this year's bargaining agreement, and I respectfully ask that you vote yes to approve these bargaining agreement. Thank you. >> Thank you, Heather Schmidt. Good evening, President Pantara, Dr. Carson, governing board and cabinet. My name is Heather Schmidt and I'm proud to serve as the president of the
053Paradise Valley Education Association. In my second year as PVEA president and chair of the certified bargaining team, let me tell you, we had a lot more fun last year. Uh, but I am confident that the work we did is the best outcome we could have found. As you reviewed the draft version of the 2627 certified bargaining agreement, I am pleased to share that the members of PBA ratified our agreement with a vote of 96.2% 2% yes votes, an even higher percentage compared to last year's historic passage rate. I'd like to thank by to thank the members of the PVEA bargaining team, Josh Atkins, Chrissy Bonafasy Hughes, Chris Howard, Misty Hoy, Dr. Karen Hudson, and Stacia Stoofy. The seven of us along with the PVEA executive board spent countless hours preparing for and engaging in the
054process of interestbased negotiations, including a few weekend meetings, countless emails, text messages, and at least one box of tissues. Uh we start this process in the fall by surveying the entire certified group, gathering information from across every school and department in PV to ensure that we are bringing the interests of our certified group to the table. I'd also like to thank Dr. Holmes, Mrs. Barrian, Mr. Dawson, Mr. Hubble, Miss Jarus, Mr. Dennis, and Dr. Cunningham for the work that they gave at the table. IBN is not always easy, but it allows for open dialogue, creative solutions, and a focus on common ground. This year that was finding a solution to a budget deficit that impacted every one of us employed by PV schools. This year we were far required to be far more creative than
055we have in the past. We started in December with a projected deficit of over $10 million in the M budget. But by our fourth bargaining session in March, we had moved in the right direction and we would learned that we would need to cut around $1.5 million from our M budget. When cuts have been deemed necessary in the past, there has been a push for those cuts to be taken proportionally across the three employee groups of certified ESP and administration. Our portion was nearly $1.2 million. We had choices. We could look at a list of our colleagues and cut 12 to 15 of them. We could raise class sizes. We could reduce our contracted work days. None of these were ideal, but PVEA did not want to cut positions at that point in the year
056as assignments had been given. Because of this, we surveyed PVEA again, being brutally honest about the deficit and looking for their thoughts. To make a very long story short, especially as I look at this clock, we came to an agreement to cut a flat rate across every employee. And then we're able to add a flat rate on top of that based on the classroom site fund, which is a sales tax pot of money that is only able to be used for certificated salaries. for historical contexts. For at least the last three years, Certified has added a flat rate from the CSF to our group's base salaries and prior to that was used to increase the payout of our performance-based pay. As you vote on all six of the agreements before you this evening, I want
057to thank all of you, our governing board and my cabinet for the continued partnership between PV schools and PVEA. This is truly a special part of working in PV. And as we begin winding down 2627 with just 20 days of school left, it is my honor to lead PVEA into the coming school year. Two seconds left. Woohoo. Thank you. [applause] >> Thank you. Okay. Now, does any board member wish to make a comment? Nobody. Oh, Dr. Lim. >> Um, yeah. I guess, um, I'm just looking for just a little clarity on this. I guess, um, looking at the bargaining agreements. Um, this is the first year looking in depth into bargaining agreements. I guess I'm just need some clarity as to it looks like all the other bargaining agreements aren't making huge major cuts except
058for the ESPs having a furlow day added to those. So I guess I just want some clarity as to why we see furlow days in one group but we see potential raises or additional um amounts on other groups. So I guess I'm just trying to understand how how we get there when we're in a deficit where we're adding money to certain groups but not to others. Well, as um as Miss Schmidt mentioned, for certified in particular, uh the classroom site fund is is not available to other groups, and that was probably the most significant uh uh portion of money that we're able to distribute to employees. Uh so that's that's just um you know, a matter of of statute. Um, other than that, uh, all of the the, uh, bargaining agreements, uh, you know, work
059individually to determine, uh, how they want to get to their proportional share of the of the, uh, of the reduction required to balance the budget, the MO budget specifically. Um, and and so they all arrive at that differently. >> Okay. I I guess I've got two questions there. I [clears throat] think the first one is for the certified. So I know it's been moved to site fund and I I know that while we have it, it's not something that's guaranteed that we could have in the long run. So if for some reason that were a fund to go away, what would be the contingency plan given that we've put a good amount of their salary onto the site fund the last few? >> I honestly don't want to contemplate that because that would be a
060lot of money. Okay, >> that's pro I uh what do you that's got to be eight or more thousand per teacher >> total between between PBP and um and and the amount of dollars that we put into the base is is almost 9,000 to the best of my knowledge in this moment. >> Okay. I I guess then kind of thinking about [clears throat] that more sustainably because that is literally what I do for a living. Maybe not in the money space, but in other spaces like just thinking about what the long-term sustainability plan for that is if we do have a legislator that keeps going the opposite direction from public education that if we hit issues with that like just that we start to think of what that contingency plan is because I don't want
061to see our certified have to take a pay cut because suddenly >> No, they're they're very aware of that. They've actually seen it go down in the past. That actually has happened. Uh and we have struck a balance recently in uh between adding money to the base and the rest of it comes in the form of their performance-based pay uh plan. Um and actually more than half of it is is in that addendum that they receive every year. So they're they're all very aware that that that's connected to state statute and can change from year to year. >> Okay. And then I think my other question is kind of looking at the administrators one. I know some of our administrators aren't taking any additional money, but we do have some specific administrators that are getting
062increased in funds. So, just kind of how when they're supposed to be cutting money, how are we adding money? Just I just would like to understand this a bit better. >> That's actually part of the annual budget. And more specifically, it's um we actually have a system for um adjusting compensation for uh employees in all of our employee groups on a three to fouryear rotation. Okay. And so if I'm understanding you correctly, these might be on that rotation. >> They are. That's correct. >> Okay. Yeah. >> Do do and so this does this apply to all categories certified ESPs all the way through administrators. >> It it does. I mean the manner in which it is is slightly different, but yes. >> Okay. Um I think I have another one, but let me see if
063anyone else has comments first. >> Anyone else have comments they'd like to make? >> Uh Mrs. Greenberg. Sorry. No, I just want to thank everybody. Um, bargaining is never >> Well, sometimes it's fun. >> It's always fun. >> Is always fun. I know where you were going with that. >> Yeah, [laughter] I I know. I know you did, Dr. Holmes. Um, but it can be um arduous. So um and it's difficult when the request is we need to cut and um unfortunately you know having sat here for a long time and having looked at the budgets that come down from the legislature we've tended to be in that situation more often than not particularly since 2008. So I just want to thank everybody and obviously as you know we just learned each group looked at
064what you know the pros and cons for themselves and this wasn't a top- down decision or or anything like that and I I appreciate that we do that in PB and that that um we partner with all of our employees um to make it work for them um even when on this you know it doesn't look like it's working because it's a cut but um the fact that we started the budget process where we did which isn't you know some it's nothing we like but it's nothing new for us. I mean we we tend to be there again because of the the the budgets we get the the the what we get from the legislature. Um but we're here and you know the fact that we managed to get here I just want to thank
065everybody for their role in that. Anyone else? >> Yeah. >> Okay. So, I think I formulated um my last question. So, um looking at uh the ESP bargaining agreement, they're going to have to furlow a day um in this upcoming year. Can we get some clarity on on when that furlow day is going to happen? Whether it's going to be the day before school starts or the day after school starts, or what workday are they going to be furing? >> It's it's technically not a furlow. It's it's actually a reduction in a contract day. Uh specifically, it's going to be one of the um uh paid holidays that is not required by law in November. I believe it's the Friday after Thanksgiving is is the day that that uh group work with district to identify.
066[snorts] >> Okay. I guess then for me because when we when we label it a furlow day, it really is typically a work day. So we'd expect that to fall on a work day, not so like the language saying that it's a furlow. It is technically a different type of day than a furlow day. So for me that the bargaining language is actually just not the right term. So furlow typically at least in our industry refers to a workday, not a nonwork day. >> I agree with you about that. Uh but just to clarify, we did not use the word furlow day. Okay. We were very specific about a reduction in a contract day. >> Okay. I guess I I guess I didn't read it correctly in that case, but I'll look at it again.
067Okay. But okay, >> great. >> Um, >> Mrs. Christensen. >> Yes. So, I know this process isn't ever easy and I just want to thank everybody that was involved. I one of my main goals here is to always get as much dollars in the classroom, including for teacher salaries as possible. I know that I'm very picky about other things on fiscal responsibility, but this is why when we have when we have major decisions on things that are tough, um we we still have a lot of schools that are not up to par in enrollment. And I know we're going to start making conversations again on consolidation and things like that, but um I just implore us to continue to to look at ways to cut costs so that so that we can put more dollars
068in the classroom for our students and for our teachers. And I know we always say that that we do a good job with that, but um it it's still a little bit frustrating to to see things like out of state travel and things like that when we we really um we have declining enrollment, which means declining revenue. And we need to remain strong and look at ways to cut as far away from the classroom as possible. And I think we can do it because I see the vouchers come through and there's other things that do come out of M. I do understand there's different buckets and we have a lot that can only be done with bonds etc. that is not teacher salary. So I I'm frustrated that we can't do better for our teachers
069and our students. But I I do understand we're you know part of it is um us up here making making decisions and I do I do understand you know there were some decisions that happened. So um I I just implore the district meaning all of us as a whole to really start looking seriously at down the road because if enrollment continues to decline it's not going to get any easier. So I just but thank you for doing the best that you can with the numbers that we have. But um yeah, so >> thank you board member Christensen. [snorts] Mrs. Wani, [clears throat] >> this might be a question for um Mrs. Brian, could you just remind me um where where are we as a state as at PU per pupil funding in relation to the
070rest of the country? Do you have the sheet I gave you earlier, Dr. Holmes? >> I do. >> Hold, please. >> They're around 6,200 or so per pupil, and that puts us uh I think we're in 48th or 49th. Um and we would need about double that to get us to the average in the US. Uh the average in the US is about $12,000. And just as a reminder, our administrative costs are at 7.4. 4%. Um, in comparison to our peer districts, our next closest one, I believe, is 8.1%. So, we as a whole in a in this district have done a good job of ensuring most of our funding is going to classrooms. The least amount of possible is going to uh administration and and sometimes there's really only so much you can cut
071in admin. Uh, but compared to our peer average, we spend $114 less per pupil in administrative costs. Sorry, that was more than what you asked for. No, no, thank you. And putting it in context is just is just helpful. And I just I think it's um I think it's just important to know. Yes, absolutely. This board plays a very critical role in prioritizing the funds that we have. At the end of the day, we have to use the funds that we have. Um and I think that I from my perspective that is the single greatest limiting factor to increasing teacher salary. And so I will continue to advocate at the state level um for increased teacher pay, but that means we need to increase our PU per pupil funding period. End of story. And so
072anybody that wants our teachers to have an increase in salary, um I implore you to do that as well. >> Thank you, Mrs. Christensen. >> Yes. So, while I agree with a lot of what you said, I will remind that more than half the state budget goes to education and there are ways to to cut and live within our means. We're very fortunate here in Paradise Valley because we do pass a lot of bonds and overrides and that's over and above what the state gives us to um do our budget. Yes, no bonds can't go to teacher salaries, but I'm saying as a whole. And so from a business perspective, and I I know that people don't get upset when I say this is a business, but we do have revenues, we have expenses, we
073have to manage people. And if we are putting people first, teachers and students, we really have to take a better look at the budget. And just saying that the other states have larger per people. We're in Arizona and everybody in Arizona's dealt similar cards except we are very fortunate here and Scottsdale Unified. We have um the bonds that we pass here and which also increases taxes on people that are also suffering. So I just um want to remind us that >> we could we get back down just talking about this bargaining team we're talking about voting on. >> Yeah. Thank you Mr. President Panta, but um we're we're talking about bargaining and finances and it putting it back to getting more dollars for teachers. It's important for us to look at all the finances. >>
074I want to encourage you. I actually looked at this metric a little bit differently because a lot of times we look at per pupil. We look at the percentages and and I try to visualize it a little bit differently. If you look at the uh the difference in where from where we're at in the state on a per pupil basis, next time you're walking down a class or a hallway in a in a school and you pass by a classroom and it's full of kids, full of students, uh we are doing better uh by about $10,000 a class in terms of our our spending on administration, which so that is money that is effectively uh you know going back into uh the classroom. I don't see a hand up. You got Okay, there you go,
075Mrs. Greenberg. >> Well, considering you took it back to something else, I'm not sure this is the best. But using Mrs. Christensen's reasoning, um, you know, we can only do what we can do based on what we get from the legislature. I would point out yes, while education is um probably the biggest part of the state budget, there is a billion dollars of that that um is going to ESA holders that isn't necessarily going to public education. And so again, they're making a choice and we have to respond to that in our agreements and our budgets. And well, no. Okay, that goes off topic. So, >> thank you, Dr. Lim. >> I will happily bring it back to topic. Um, so I I just want to clarify. So the the language and the reason I
076bring up the issue back to the furlow days is that is the communication that went out to the ESPs that it was going to be a furlow day. And while the language in the bargaining agreement is different, the representation that went out to ESPs was the use of furlow days. So I just want to be clear that we are communicating to our staff correctly when we're communicating to them so that they understand what they are agreeing through through this process. And my understanding with agreeing to a furlow day is they would be agreeing to one of their work days, not one of their contract days. And while this is saying their contract days, we've represented to them that it would be one of their work days. So they should be expecting us to follow the
0772023 2024 plan for furlow days or going all the back to 2028 when they had to do three furlow days in the huge budget cuts there where those also followed fall on work days. So while this budgetary while this bargaining agreement says the language that allows us to do the holiday the non required holiday the language that went out to our ESP staff ESPs and those staff members was a furlow day and that is what they agreed to. So I have a hard time standing behind that bargaining agreement when community members are reaching out about this agreement saying we're concerned about giving up one of our paid contract days when it should be a furlow workday. >> There's no question there. It's just a comment. >> Okay. Thank you. Any other comments, questions? Mrs. Christensen?
078>> Yes. So, I just wanted to comment on on the ESA point. Um, when somebody leaves our district, regardless of whether they go to another public school or not, that that funding goes away. And there's a portion we get federal, we get state, and um, so I'm going to use even numbers. So we'll save 15,000s for a student that is in our district. When it when somebody uses a empowerment scholarship account, it's a fraction of that. It's not the whole. So that that is a lie that people are saying that the ESAs are defunding the schools. We need to do a better job of keeping students here. We have all these great programs and that's that's the way we we win. We um make sure that students know that we we are we have better
079options than our competitors and that's how we bring them back. We increase revenue by bringing students back to the district. But it blaming ESAs is is not the not the reason why we are losing revenue. >> Any more comments regarding the bargaining agreements that we're presented with here right now? I I do have one clarifying question. >> Dr. Lim, >> uh Dr. Holmes, I know you said on 46 we were returning uh D procedures, but I know C other reimbursement was cut as well. Are we returning that or are we going to continue to have that removed? >> That section is no longer relevant. >> Okay. >> Um there was a time when people would pay to take the test after we hired them and then we would reimburse them. We actually no longer uh
080hire people unless they have taken that test. So the the section's no longer relevant. >> Okay, perfect. Thank you for that clarity. >> Any other comments, questions? >> We'll go on all night, right? >> Correct. Uh, I'd just like to say then that I've been on bargaining and even when I was on bargaining, it was good times that were in our district and still it's a very difficult process, but it's a process I'm honored to to to be part of and I will honor that process and what these different groups have uh agreed to. Um I'm very happy that we've got this portion that about the T uh ESPs can um get community college credits, right? They can you can go get further >> professional development reimbursement. Yeah. >> Yeah. Reimbursement to higher education, get
081more out in their life. Um I did a question for uh I think Dr. Bergen on this one day less that they're working the one day less. I mean what is the total cost on that? that that that what is that? >> It's um about 2340,000. >> How much? >> 230 240,000. >> So 230 $240,000 for that. >> Okay. I just was curious about what that number would be. Um I'm very glad that uh we're not talking about cutting jobs. You know, it's it's terrible to lose a day, but to lose your whole job, well, that's a lot worse. It's a lot of days you're cut that way. And I'm I'm glad we're not doing that. Um so and again for all the different groups and all the work you do, I'm very um happy
082with your efforts in that regard. Seeing no more uh comments or questions, I'll call for the motion. All those in favor say I. >> I. All those >> I would like to motion to separate the bargaining agreements out to separate votes. >> There's a motion on the floor. Please state your amendment. >> I would like to amend the motion to separate the bargaining agreements out into individual bargaining agreements and se vote by bargaining agreement. >> No, you mean each separate one. >> Vote for each bargaining agreement separately. >> Okay. Second. >> There is a motion on the floor, please. And you state it. Is there a second to this motion? >> I second. >> Okay. has been moved and seconded to amend the motion. Uh so we have a discussion now on the amendment only.
083Just on the amendment whether to separate or not separate. >> Okay. Do we any discussion on it? >> I have a question. >> Yes. >> If one of these bargaining agreements did not pass, what what happens? Could you just like talk us through what would what would happen? Well, we've prepared to send uh employee contracts out tomorrow pending board approval. So, we would not send employee contracts out >> to that bargaining group. That's correct. And we would I you know I would anticipate that you know the next bar the next governing board meeting is May 14th. So, at minimum the next time at which we could send out um contracts would be May 15th. Any [clears throat] more comments or questions about Mrs. Christensen? Can I just one more? >> Yeah, hold on. We've we
084just it's kind of answering your question. This this has happened in in the past and we've made exceptions to speed up the process because I know it just in the last four years we've we've not accepted and they went back to the >> That was going to be my next question. Yes, they went back to the table. Yeah. >> So the the group would reconvene potentially if correct and renegotiate >> depending on what the matter is. Yes. >> Any other uh comments or questions regarding this? All those in favor of the amendment say I. >> I. >> All those opposed say nay. >> Nay. >> I couldn't. Is it 3 to2? All right. So the the amendment fails 3 to2. Coming back to the original motion as presented. All those in favor say I. >>
085I. All those opposed say nay. >> Nay. >> That was 41, right? Okay. So the motion passes. Four eyes and one nay. Next on the agenda. Next on the agenda is items for approval G4. Consideration approval of changes and or additions to the contracts for the continuing and or probationary certified teachers ESP, ESS, ESPN exempt principles and administration for 2026 2027. Uh no blue cards on this. Dr. Holmes. >> Mr. President, members of the board, we recommend um your approval of the contracts as stated. Uh there are changes to dates and contingency language. Otherwise, the the language is uh the same. We have a motion to approve the changes and/or additions to the contracts for continuing probation certified teachers, ESPs, ESS, ESP exempt principles and administration for 2026 2027 as presented. >> So moved. >>
086Any board members wishing to make a comment? >> Seeing none. All those in favor say I. >> I. I. >> All those opposed say nay. Motion. Any abstensions? >> Abstension. >> Motion passes with four eyes and one abstension. Next on the agenda is items for approval. G5, acceptance of gifts and donations. At this time, I would like to thank all of our donors and call out a few of our generous donors. just a few here. Uh, for example, because this is the stuff we're talking about volunteerism. This is you're volunteering your money. So, it's it's the same same kind of thing and we're very thankful for it all. Uh, at Campabell Elementary School, LaCasta de Cristo gave a total of $1,613 for incentive, fold folders, food, etc. Um, see, Desert Shadows Elementary School, their donor's
087choose, they had $622 donations. Um, oh, and a James uh Lee Sun Kids donor's choose again. That was a total of $643. That's regarding uh playground items there. What else we got at Paris Valley Unified? at Paris Valley the special education for Paris Valley Unified School District. Uh Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation donated $2,000 regarding nutrition access and education for connections program. That's pretty cool. Sonor and Sky Elementary PTO donated to Sonor and Sky. Uh $675. That's to help with substitutes, getting teacher substitutes. And then uh one more Whispering Winds Academy donors choose again. Um, this these were items from Mrs. Zo's classroom. Uh, $2,45127. Did I say that name right? I'm looking. I maybe I didn't say her name right. Anyways, I we're very thankful for all these donations and there are many more here
088because that's again some of the stuff that keeps us going. Um, may have a motion to accept of gifts and donations as presented. So, >> so moved. >> Any board members wishing to make a comment? Okay. All those in favor say I. >> I heard you. Okay. All those opposed say nay. Motion passes unanimously. Okay. [snorts] Okay. Next on the agenda is call to the public. Please turn your attention to the video monitors for the next section. Call to the public is about to convene. This portion of today's meeting allows the public the opportunity to address the governing board. Although state law does not require that the governing board hold a call to the public, the Paradise Valley Unified School District and its board have chosen to do so because we believe it's important to
089hear about concerns and issues from our community. While call to the public is not designed to be a discussion, the board is here to listen. Due to Arizona open meeting law, the governing board cannot respond to, discuss, or take any action on items brought up during this time. However, staff members may be directed to get back to you and address individual concerns. As a reminder, the point of this and every board meeting is to [music] accomplish the business at hand and to be able to do so in an open and collaborative way. All in attendance are expected to observe meeting rules as well as rules of politeness and decorum so that we may serve as an example to our students that issues can be discussed in a respectful and civil manner. Um tonight we have
090one person who has submitted a comment card prior to the start of the meeting. Uh that speaker will have three minutes for remarks. As as a reminder, we please ask you to direct your comments to the board. Please state your first and last name when you come to the podium. And our first speaker is and our only speaker uh Kira Quo. Hello. You're all familiar with me. This is my fourth time. Same issues. Um I'm here because superintendent recently stated in writing that all documents have been provided to me and that the matter is closed. That statement is not true. I have not received the February 17th, April 2nd investigations. witness or staff statements, nurse notes, or internal communications. I have requested repeatedly. None of these records have been provided yet. The superintendent has declared
091this matter closed. The gravity of this situation was proven today. My son just completed a recorded forensic interview with law enforcement. While this board remains silent, my child had to endure the clinical rigors of a police interview because this district failed to handle his safety with transparency. Martha Maynard explicitly told me she filed a report with law enforcement regarding the April 2nd incident. I personally visited the police station and was told no such report exists. This indicates that this administration either lied to a parent or failed in their legal duty. April 2nd is a second time mandatory reporting duty failed at every level. Martha Sedic contacted HR. If that is accurate then HR was aware. My emails included this board so you are also aware. Yet no one in short required forms were pro provided.
092A safety plan was implemented. In fact, due to the lack of a safety plan, my son was placed in a room with his alleged asalent. I was told to accept an investigator who is the principal supervisor. This is not neutral. This district has demonstrated it knows how to use a neutral third party investigator. It did so for former Superintendent Cummings for far less serious concerns. My child deserves that same standard of fairness. I am again requesting a neutral thirdparty investigator consistent with the standards used for other administrators. Two, immediate protection of all records including investigations, witness statements, nurse notes, and internal communications. Three, administrative action to address the ongoing documentation and safety failures. Again, four, immediate removal of Martha Mater she is continuing to be a risk and a hazard and a liability for the
093district. Several of you campaigned on transparency and child safety. So I must ask, if transparency is a priority, why are basic records still being withheld? If child safety is a priority, why was the poisoning concealed 40 days? If accountability is a priority, why has there been no action after repeated procedural failures? I'm asking the board for the fourth time and numerous emails later to finally uphold the values you committed to, transparency, child safety, and accountability. Thank you. I've had a very long day. >> That concludes our calls from the public. Next on on the agenda is items for discussion. I one consideration of job order contract services for PV school strategic master capital planning SMCP services 1 GPA contract 23-18P. Dr. Corson. >> Thank you, President Pantara, members [clears throat] of the board, cabinet, and
094guests. I want to begin by grounding tonight's presentation in the purpose and vision of the Superintendent Enrollment Planning Advisory Committee we call CPAC. At its core, CPAC represents our commitment to taking a thoughtful, inclusive, and forward-looking approach to one of the most important questions we face as a district. how we align our schools, our programs, and our resources to best serve students both today and into the future. We know that enrollment patterns are shifting across our district. Some areas are experiencing decline while others remain stable or growing. And we know that our current system was built for a different time. At the same time, community expectations around choice, programming, and student opportunities continue to evolve. These realities require us to move beyond isolated decisions and towards a more comprehensive long-term strategy. While we have engaged
095in facilities planning in the past, particularly around maintenance, life cycle needs and capital improvements, what we are bringing forward tonight is different. This is not simply about identifying when a roof needs to be replaced or when a building repair requires repair. This is about understanding how our facilities, enrollment patterns, and academic programming intersect and how we intentionally align those elements to support student success. That is the purpose of this work. A partnership with Grace Design Studio is intended to help us move from a traditional facilities plan to a comprehensive master capital plan that is grounded in both data and community voice. This process begins with a deep analysis of current conditions, including enrollment projections, facility capacity and utilization, building conditions, and how programs are currently distributed across the district. Importantly, it looks not just at
096individual schools, but how the system functions as a whole. One of the key components of this work is identifying patterns and misalignments where we may have underutilized space in one area and overcrowding in another or where programs may not be aligned with student demand or community interest. This allows us to move beyond assumptions and into a shared data-informed understanding of our current reality. From there, Grace Design will develop a series of modeled scenarios. These scenarios are critical. They provide us with a multiple pathways forward. Whether that involves boundary adjustments, program relocation or expansion, repurposing of facilities, or potential consolidation. Each scenario includes clear implications, trade-offs, and impacts, allowing us to fully understand the consequences of decisions before they are made. Another important element is the integration of programmatic planning into this work. This is not
097just about buildings. It is about how we create and expand opportunities for students. That includes examining where and how we offer specialized programs, choice options, and pathways that align with student interests and future readiness. Equally important is the role of community engagement throughout the process. There will be structured opportunities from for input from families, staff, students, and community members, ensuring that the outcomes reflect not only data, but also the values and priorities of those we serve. In addition, Grace design brings experience from other districts, providing comparative insights and best practices that help inform our approach and strengthen the quality of the work. This process will ultimately result in more than a report. It will provide short-term and long-term recommendations along with a clear framework and metrics for decision-making. It gives us a roadmap, one that
098allows us to make thoughtful, aligned decisions over time rather than reacting to challenges as they arise. I also want to acknowledge directly that this represents a significant financial investment funded through bond dollars. That's a fair and important consideration for us as a district and for this governing board. The value of this work is in the clarity. It provides a comprehensive understanding of our system, a set of actionable optionable options, and a transparent process for decision-making that we can stand behind as a district. Ultimately, this work is essential to the success of our CPAC community uh committee. It ensures that the committee is not operating from incomplete information or isolated perspectives, but from a comprehensive objective analysis of our system. It provides a foundation for meaningful dialogue, thoughtful prioritization, and recommendations that are aligned to a
099long-term vision for PV schools. This is about planning not just for the next year or two, but for the next decade and beyond. And doing so in a way that is strategic, transparent, and centered on students. For clarification, this agenda item makes mention it in its title that the governing board is considering and possibly approving contracted services, but the governing board is only discussing this item tonight, and we'll bring this item forward at a future meeting for possible action. With that, I'd like to turn it over to Jill Beran to introduce Grace Design Studio and our presenter for this evening. >> Thank you, Dr. Corson and President Pantara and board members. Um, I have very little to add to um Dr. Corson's excellent and comprehensive introduction of uh what we will hear in addition to
100our presentation from Sarvin uh with Grace Design. Um, I will just uh remind folks that Grace Design is who we have used in our uh process for architectural services with Indian Bend. And I have found that to be uh the work that they put into that incredibly comprehensive, incredibly community centered, incredibly student focused. And to be able to have the potential for that opportunity in our future thinking for our all of our schools to some degree within the district, I think um is intriguing to me. So without further ado, I will let Sarvin begin his presentation. Thank you. >> Thank you, President Panta, members of the governing board, Dr. Corson, cabinet, community members. Uh thank you again for having me back and uh have an opportunity to engage in a discussion uh uh this important
101conversation about long-term strategic thinking. Uh Grace Design Studios, thank you Miss Bearan for that acknowledgement and appreciate that. We are an architectural design company and we've obviously been deeply involved with communities such as yourselves uh in developing solutions that are deeply grounded in your community's needs. But one of the other things that we do which is a significant part of our practice is to engage in long-term strategic capital planning. Uh and the the confusing challenge sometimes with capital planning is the word capital itself. uh and and many of the confusion many parts of that confusion stems from the tangible assets component of capital. So we consider capital as not just tangible assets but the intangible assets component of it. It is uh understanding that capital involves the physical buildings that you see but it's also
102people its practices it's programs you create uh its professional development. These are all assets that you just today have considered a lot of investments towards. So it would be remiss on us to think about capital through the traditional lens. And so our approach to capital planning has been comprehensive uh in engaging with communities such as yourselves and the team that we bring to the table is reflective of this reality. Uh I uh am an accredited learning environment planner which is basically a euphemism to say I engage with a lot of communities to help them give shape to a vision and develop action around that vision that creates sustainable long-term uh possibility in in putting into action uh an educational plan an overall educational plan. And our team is rounded by several others who are deeply
103embedded in public education in Arizona and folks who who who have worked with school districts for a long time through the facilities angle to understand the impact of long-term strategic thinking on facilities. So this this group is truly committed to doing this type of work and we have been doing this uh uh type of strategic planning uh across not just Arizona but across the country. Um so from a strategic capital planning perspective um one of the biggest things we try to focus on is the why. uh in in districts and K12 systems, there are multiple effort usually underway that include considerations about uh capacity and enrollment uh creating facility capital plans internally uh thinking about programming, thinking about professional development, thinking about M expenditure, uh sustainability plans, um and all manners of activities. A strategic
104capital plan essentially pulls all of those effort into alignment towards a common goal and that goal can be influenced by multiple uh stressors. There are incredible pressures on K12 systems. Uh and that's been talked about at Nauseium in several of your board meetings. Uh there's policy pressures, there's birth rate issues. um and and parents who vote with choice. And so how do we prepare for that future and how do we think about more importantly the impact of those decisions that you make on facilities and that is how we approach capital planning and you have seen this graphic before. This sort of illustrates this idea that capital is more than place. It's people, its pedagogies, its practices and the interplay of those. So our approach and here's sort of a highle summary of it. It's a
105simpler hammock of uh the different steps we undertake. Uh and it is deeply community focused. Uh the single biggest reason for that is community engagement does two things. It gives you a broader vision into what your community is thinking and also allows you the opportunity to connect the dots with what you are planning as stewards of your community. Uh and so what that does is it gives us the opportunity to develop key performance indicators, objective key results and other manners of uh qualitative items that we can then use as a lens to assess your facilities. This is in addition to what you would traditionally consider a building conditions assessment, which is a quantitative study of the actual conditions of the different components that you see. So there's the qualitative component and then the quantitative component.
106And those two things in addition to the data that you already have as a district, meeting with your stakeholders allows us to be able to create a path and have a campus specific plan. So you will have uh think you will have opportunities to think about uh specific impacts to campuses and the action around it might include some of the uh measures you've already taken but there may be other opportunities to think about uh implementation of a certain program that could be an attractive option for parents to bring students into the schools. Uh and so what is the impact of that on the facilities? That does that take a renovation angle? Does that take a replacement angle? Does that take an addition angle? So, those are the kinds of uh action items that would come
107out of uh a strategic plan. So, here's sort of a detailed look at how the process workflow happens. Uh and and if we were to be fortunate to work with you, we would set up community meetings and our teams highly experienced in facilitating conversations. Uh would develop uh meetings where we would engage in surveys. Um contemporary uh contemporaneous visioning and using group discussions to develop key metrics and those metrics would become rubrics that we would assess facilities on. And our teams would at the same time look at the data you have uh develop a a a road map, a schedule to walk all your facilities and develop a detailed component by component look at uh your building systems which include flooring, ceiling, roofing, anything that you include in a building. And these are at a
108very detailed level and they aggregate to entire buildings into sites into an entire district. And what that does is it gives you an objective snapshot of the conditions of your facilities, the adequacy of your facilities to support current programming and potentially suitability of your facilities to support future innovative programming that become attractors for families. So those sorts of ideas come together into recommendations and a and a capital plan that uh sometimes uh can span 10 to 15 years and also identify possible funding sources uh and timing of those funding asks so you can begin to realize this plan into action. So I did mention several words. So here's sort of a a description of those. Uh you have a packet in front of you. I'm sure you've read those. But the four major data streams
109we look at uh are capacity and demographics uh conditions, building conditions. We also look at adequacy of uh your facilities to support current programming. And one of the most important ones we look at is suitability and and the difference between adequacy and suitability is time. Adequacy is the ability of your programs, sorry, your facilities to support current programming. Surability is the ability of your facilities to support potential future programming. And that gap can sometimes result in the conditions of your facilities uh having to adapt to through renovations or other types of measures. And that we capture in the capital plan. And the other part of our work involves what we call tiering meaning how do you weigh each of these data streams? And it's different for every community. Some communities weigh facilities conditions heavily. Some
110weigh suitability heavily. So, it's a matter of conversation with your district, your leadership, and you to see what should weigh uh in this equation to provide an objective prioritization score. So we develop an individual score for each of those arenas and then it aggregates to a prioritization score by campus with a specific action item or an action plan developed for that campus. And I'm going to walk you through an example real quick and I'm going to go through this very fast. Uh it's a lot of data but it's primarily to uh to to to provide an overview of how this might operationalize. So, we're uh in the middle of wrapping up a similar strategic capital plan for Puri Unified School District. This was started in September of 2025. Uh and we've we've gone through this
111about 3/4 of the way in. uh they've already implemented phase one of this by consolidating a couple of campuses and re uh and reconfiguring their Cactus High School as a 7 through 12 uh high school with uh enhanced career connected programming to to better provide attractive options for parents. But the process started in a very similar manner using their strategic framework and their strategic pillars as basis of conversation. Uh we listened to the community, provided highle surveys, uh engaged in uh group visioning sessions in large groups, uh collected a lot of information that everybody contributed to and then broke into smaller group discussions uh and and developed a bunch of priorities around those ideas and we've done something very similar with you at Indian Ben similar process but at a larger scale and what this
112did was it provided us a series of benchmarks or key performance indicators uh that are qualitative uh and using those we created rubrics as to how a certain metric that feeds into uh an adequacy measure. For example, teaching and learning uh was a was a strategic pillar and a and one of the metrics we studied was classroom technology. So how does uh classroom technology appear from an adequacy perspective if it were to be uh uh exemplary versus inadequate? So we create a rubric that is a scale and that we walk all your facilities with and that's exactly what we did there and uh developed a a summary of benchmarks across all of their facilities. Here's an example from area 2. Uh and and what this does is it gives you an objective snapshot of how
113a certain facility ranks in terms of adequacy based on the metrics created from community engagement and in conversation with district leaders representing various aspects of the of the of the school school district's operations. um and using that as a as a objective snapshot and also looking at other measures such as suitability uh and again going through a very similar process. Here's the list of how all of those schools stacked from a suitability perspective um and also looking at capacity and utilization and this is one of the challenges that you've articulated even today there's continuing declining enrollment. So how do we uh not just address that in the moment symptomatically but what is the structural solution to that? It's trying to create attraction attractive options for parents to bring their students to PV schools and what
114does that look like? What what sorts of programming might be attractive? What is the impact of that programming on your facilities? What sorts of investments do you need to make in your staff to be able to innovatively offer those programs? Uh and there's been several examples of that today. All the art in front of me today is a good example of of something like that. And so again, capacity and utilization was another consideration. Uh we looked at it in Peoria area by area. And here's a I know this is a busy slide, but here's sort of a functional look at the capacity across the entire district. Previous one was elementary schools. Here's high schools. Uh and and sort of a overall summary of where you where you stack. uh not just in terms of a
115maximum capacity but functional capacity and functional capacity can be a factor of multiple things. If you have an alternative educational model the capacity of that environment might be different than in a different a standard traditional environment. So how do you map that and that's a programmatic impact. So here's sort of an example of that and then looking at it by different areas. So you can create an action plan around specific uh area impacts from a capacity perspective. And and lastly conditions. Uh so we did a complete facility conditions assessment uh through uh an international standard process uh called facility conditions indexing which essentially looks at the repair cost versus the replacement cost of a component. And uh there's multiple components in any building. And once all of that aggregates, you get an FCI or an
116index for that specific building. And if there's multiple buildings on a campus, then that stacks into a facility conditions index for the entire campus. And uh what that does, it gives you once again an objective snapshot of how your facilities rank uh from a conditions perspective. And here's an example from Poria uh of how all of their elementary schools, for example, develop a facility conditions index. Red is obviously bad. So the lighter the color uh the the newer the facility typically the FCI is lower and as you as facilities age uh they tend to go towards poor and critical. So trying to look at it across all of the uh district portfolio and developing an again objective overarching look at the entire facility conditions index across the across the district. uh and obviously summarizing the
117findings. Now all of these data streams come together when we think about prioritization. I mentioned earlier uh there's a tiering model that we would uh promote to think about how these data streams should be weighed to your unique condition. Uh and in their specific case, this is how they weighed the different data streams. And what that does is it gives you an objective prioritization score outlay across the entire portfolio. Higher the number, the more priority that specific campus has for action. That action might be different depending on what the situation is. For example, if uh you have a high growth area that is stressing a campus uh and that campus might show a prioritization score that's high, but that may not be a candidate to consolidate, maybe a candidate to add to and you may
118have the exact opposite condition also reflective in some cases where uh a high prioritization score might be a facility conditions influence or an adequacy or a suitability influence. So it it can it can vary based on what criteria is driving that high prioritization score. But the point of creating a priority score is you can then speak to specifics of each campus and develop a campus specific dashboard. And here's an example of what a campus specific dashboard might look like. And one other thing we do is we age these scores over 10 years. So we apply deterioration curves. So it's sort of a do nothing scenario. If something does not happen immediately, how do those scare scores age over 10 years? So it gives you again a snapshot of how things might h might look if
119nothing was done to those priorities that are uh jumping out of a page. So here's sort of an example of a dashboard uh and various types of action planning. Here's an example from Flagstaff Unified where the primary ask was identifying different types of action items and uh potentially going to the voters uh as a bond ask and if we were to do that in a specific year, what would that model have to be and inflating that over certain times? So depending on when you pick to act on that uh you have an objective snapshot that you can work towards and that's backed by a specific action plan. So I've said a lot. So the ideas here is is to work towards uh a specific action plan across your entire district that you can sustainably act
120on and ultimately that gets uh packaged in a report that can be uh utilized by your planning committees in the future. uh a and taking into account changes in demographics for example and additional efforts that have been expended in current bond programs or future bond programs or any state funding that we might uh uncover as part of this that could be tapped into. Uh and so it's a living document but it gives you a solid foundation. So that's sort of the overarching outcome of this process. >> Thank you. questions uh comments. Mrs. Christensen, >> one of our responsibilities on a governing board is to look at ways to eliminate waste and expenditures and be fiscally responsible. In our district, we have a we've done a very good job of picking different types of committees. We
121have state agencies that can help with this type of of information as well. We have um the facilities board. We have AD. Um I did do research with your company. It seems like I think you changed the name. I don't know if there was like some com because there was some other schools listed. So, I did reach out to some of my um um individuals that I know that are elected officials in some of the other districts and they said that the work is very good what you do, but it's very expensive. And so, when you when I use a family example, when you have declining revenue in a family, you don't shop at Nordstrom anymore. You go to like a Target and a Walmart. So, I do understand that you are, you know, very
122the best of the best, but I'm I I'm having a hard time understanding why we would justify hundreds of thousands of dollars to do a strategic capital master plan, something of that nature. And I know you're going to interrupt me, but let me just finish. I'm almost done. um when we as a district do a very good job of having committees and we've done things like this. We've done school closures, we've done other other assessments. So, okay, you can I'm done, Dr. Person. >> Oh, thank you, Miss Christensen. Uh you know, this is uh a significant financial investment. Um, and you can see by the robust nature of the work that Grace Design would do with the study is the synthesis of all of these different data streams that come in to be able to
123create the kinds of metrics and assessment is is almost impossible for us to do that. And so yes, we have been successful in the past of doing things like uh school consolidations and programming, but oftentimes that work is done in peace meal uh and it's to address a specific context in that given moment. This is really a futureforward uh plan that uh will serve us far in the uh far in the future to be able to connect various data points that for example our uh stu uh superintendent enrollment committee couldn't possibly be able to uh assimilate this kind of amount of data in a meaningful way. Uh and so oftentimes what happens then is that people are left to perceptions or looking at individual data points and trying to make sense of that when really
124we want to in we want the ability for that uh group to actually make recommendations and to kind of bog them down so to speak in a lot of data analysis is not always the best use of their time and so but I do understand the significance of this investment and we we don't take that investment lightly and uh and that's why we're bringing it tonight as a discussion item to see if this is the kind of investment uh that the governing board thinks uh will serve our district in the future. Certainly I do uh otherwise I wouldn't bring that forward but but certainly uh this is a community discussion with your voice included. >> Dr. Lim, >> I can follow that one up with a question um that I have raised about this. So
125I know uh Dr. Davis has done some work, amazing work on our facilities, so they hopefully won't score as bad as Pureas. Um, done an amazing job of making sure our facilities are as maintained as they can with the dollars that we have. Um given that he has done a significant amount of this work and really cataloged our things is that price tag accounting for the amount of work and resources he's going to be providing to you having done a lot of that groundwork in our facilities maintenance and just observing over time and he has whole plans on what would be the plan if you know something doesn't go wrong at a school that the maintenance plans for each of those schools. though. >> Yeah, I want to start by acknowledging that this is a
126significant investment. Uh there's no two ways about that. Um and we do get asked to assist in this sort of a manner across the board and this is not just in Arizona, across the country. uh as I see the value of connecting the dots in ways that allows you to uh find efficiencies and one that's one of the challenges we see a lot is it's not strictly a facilities conditions issue a simple example of that is uh a doubly loaded classroom building across a hallway in its best condition may be unsuitable to support career connected learning. So if we strictly focused on one data stream and that can be true of any I'm just picking one. Uh if we were to pick on for example um utilization and if we strictly looked at per you
127may have governing board mandated student toteer ratios classroom ratios if we strictly looked at that that might be missing an opportunity to think about alternative forms of engagement uh different types of fractional utilization ratios. So that's typically what we encounter in this process is to find efficiencies and provide clarity that is comprehensive that connects the dots in ways and that's a conversation. This is not something that is uh is uh cookie cutter. It's very unique to every school district. So to answer your question directly, yes, Dr. Davis had shared with us that some schools have already been assessed and our pricing model includes data entries for those and not walk in those sites specifically. Uh but we're walking those sites for adequacy and suitability but the conditions information that you already have will be utilized
128and the pricing reflects that. >> Mrs. Greenberg, >> I probably have some comments but I do have a question first. Um I know you know towards the end you you presented a slide on the Gilbert um uh plan that you provided. Can you speak to because I think Gilbert is a little bit more peer district in this sense to PV in regard to passage of bonds and overrides which Poria as we know has had a greater difficulty doing which I think has contributed to the their overall issues with facilities. um you know this this it looks like so 23 so how can you speak to how they have acted on you know the work you did and and what was provided to them >> so the Gilbert capital master plan was pretty heavily facilities focused
129uh so there there was some conversations about adequacy and suitability and programming but their primary focus was facilities and so they've not been successful passing a bond after for that but they are using override money to be able to uh address some of the priorities that are emerging as part of it. Um another example that uh is u similar to this but not on the slide deck uh it's much smaller scale is Maricopa Unified. Um so we did strategic capital planning for Maricopa Unified I want to say around the same time 2023 24 uh and a big point of emphasis through community engagement was workforce development and uh uh career connected learning and that translated to a districtwide survey and there was quite a bit of resonance around that and they created a bond program
130around uh creating career centers CTE centers and their existing high school and expanding the career pathway academy second high school but also thinking about career connected learning from K through 8 so that that was instrumental in them being able to pass a bond in Maricopa which is not one of the easiest places to pass a bond uh and they have two K through8 schools that are currently under construction that are career connected learning based uh and so that's a good example of community voice being amplified in real action. Uh that has a real direct impact to that community. Maricopa is on the I1 corridor. Uh and incidentally, we did the same work at Lan County in Nevada, which is also on the I1 corridor. uh and rural county school district well county school district with
131specific regions rural semi- urban um and so career connected learning again was a focus that came through this but it manifested in very different ways and their emphasis was significantly on facilities as well because uh they had older facilities that had uh evaporative cooling across the entire district that they wanted to replace. So I've seen this sort of work manifest in different ways. I'm giving you that as an example as a facilities focused manifestation. Same at Gilbert. But uh in Maricopa it was a programming based evolution that they continue to evolve and they have a partnership with Fulton College now with their next education workforce model and that has a real impact on how the facilities are imagined. they're doing renovations in existing facilities and when the new facilities are creating connected classrooms and career
132hubs and things of that nature. So I I've seen this manifest in multiple ways. >> President Pantera, if I may add to that too, you know, that that's part of what is >> okay that that is uh what Thank you. That is what is uh most exciting to me in this work, you know, as we're uh working to reimagine in in our high schools what college and career and community pathways look like. Uh and we are beginning to think about programmings in our district that will draw enrollment uh around uh spec specific um ways that we can begin to uh provide pathways for students both in uh in coordination with those high school pathways but also unique programs throughout the district. Oftentimes we are limited in what we do based on the facilities that we
133have. They are not uh constructed. They're constructed from a decades old idea of what school is about. And when we begin to think about what does school in the future look like and we begin to reimagine schooling differently uh and the way that learning needs to take place and the way that teaching uh needs to look place in order to provide kind of the modern type of education that are going to prepare our students for success post high school uh and really post uh college and certifications. It does require us to think differently not just about what that programming is but then the kind of structure in which that programming is delivered and our current classrooms don't necessarily meet that uh kind of level of learning that needs to take place and transform. And so
134what's most exciting, as I mentioned to me, is this ability to look at our facilities differently, to look at our facilities in a way that's going to accommodate the kind of programming that's going to move us into the future and ultimately move our students into the future. And uh we've just never done that level of assessment and marry those two ideas of facilities, structures, spaces to the notion of what it's going to take to move learning forward. >> Thank you, Dr. Corson. Mrs. Wanie. >> Thank you, >> Mrs. >> So, Dr. course into maybe kind of if give me a little clarity if you could. Um is the vision sort of that the committee will be discussing this vision and the future and what the ideal sort of learning and programmatic uh like future looks
135like for our district in tandem with the work of potentially Grace who's also surveying the community bringing that feedback to the committee and it I mean and sort of fluid ID conversation to create all of this sort of layered conversation at once. >> Uh yes, Miss Wanie, thank you for that question. This is exactly the kind of information that will inform that particular uh committee that is really focused on three major streams of work. One is facility and facility consolidation and facility use. That's kind of one bucket of work, but married to that is the idea programming. And you know, we did have our first superintendent enrollment uh committee meeting just I think this past week two la last week I'm losing track of time. I think it was about uh sometime in this last
136last week it was and you know it was really uh interesting that one of the committee members talked about the fact that uh she indicated wow we need to talk about school consolidation also at the same and school facility use at the same time that we're talking about programming that the light bulb kind of went on for at least her in that meeting that we have been talking about these two things in isolation for way too long and that there's this interconnectedness. And so programming becomes that second stream of work that we want to marry. And then the third uh stream of work uh relative to this is then how do we market communicate uh the very programs uh that are that this committee will be influential in um deciding. >> Does that answer your
137question this morning? >> I think so. Yeah. Thank you. Um >> try me again if I didn't. >> Yeah. No, no, that was helpful. I appreciate that. Um sort of related to that, I guess one another question that I am sitting here thinking about is um you talked about like structural solutions um and and these like determining of um like campus prioritization scores as part of as part of that analysis. Does your team also look at um factors like I don't know like cost cost of living in in a given community, right? Um the obviously the birth rate's a big one, but um like are people moving or not moving? How much like what what is the housing market look like? Um evaluating other schools and competition in the area as part of its analysis,
138you know, of of of where to of where to prioritize, for example. >> Yeah. uh the demographic report usually captures that information. And so one of the things we do is we overlay demographic projections with the utilization study, but then thinking about adequacy and suitability and how does that inflate or deflate uh utiliz certain utilization metric, right? So that's going to give us a a different picture than uh what you would traditionally expect to see let's say 25 students per classroom. If you were to engage students with a higher teacher studenttoteer ratio then a same space is accommodating lesser students or in in other ways uh in other areas could be the other way around. So the demographic study would typically capture most of what you're asking for. Uh but then through the community engagement
139process typically what we hear are a variety of issues related to that. Uh there's pressures from other systems moving in. That might be one. Uh and there's various types of um uh action items that your students are taking whether it's uh entrepreneurial activities after high school or they enlist or they're engaged in in higher education. The how how do we better prepare them for that? So those sorts of conversations usually come up in a community engagement setting. uh and and so we typically package that and work closely with leadership in their uh internal committees to see how they can act on uh programming for example that can capture that that sentiment and and and the next iteration of that is uh what is the impact of facilities of a specific program that you might come
140up with. A good example, simple example if I can throw that out is at Poria we did an engagement with the business advisory and faith and um uh faith faith and um um advisory council and part of the conversations was about involving partnerships. Uh and so one of the questions was if we were to bring community partners into the school day, how would we maintain school security versus uh having the public be in embedded in the school school building? So that has a real impact on how we imagine space. Uh and so that's a good example of how some of these ideas will lead all the way into the the condition of a specific facility. uh and and that can be acted on as a specific campus plan for example. >> Okay. I just I
141just just have two more questions. Um so you've obviously worked with um quite a few districts both in in Arizona and outside of our state. Um have you and I know obviously think like change and um return on investment is not always quick turnaround unfortunately. We have to be patient, but like can you speak to like have you seen cost savings or increased enrollment like as a result of this work or like is there an example that you can kind of give us that it's you know in this many months after you know they started implementing some of the recommendations they started to see X so that we can kind of wrap our mind around you know >> getting the most bang for our buck if you know considering something like this what what does
142it translate into? Well, I'm trying to think of very specific examples, but the most concrete ones would be the tangible ones. Uh like for example, the facility conditions component of this. We'll uncover uh opportunities that could be part of an ask with the states building renewable grant program for example. So we're doing that right now at Poria and there again that money bucket is obviously tapped out but our process here is to identify those and get them into the pipeline. So that's an immediate benefit that you can see. Uh and the other part of it is um this sort of planning sometimes might um uh give your uh staff a better barometer to act on what they may think is a priority. For example, uh the facility conditions might say a roofing replacement is due
143in 3 years. Uh it's not a critical issue if it's due in three or four years. Uh but if there's any sort of a suitability based renovation that needs to happen in that specific building that needs a roofing replacement, those two things can be um uh overlapped. And so that's that's sort of the benefit that we typically see in this um and and this the programmatic example that I can think of is what's happening in Maricopa. Um and they're the state is going to be providing them additional high school space this December uh because they are seeing uh the impacts that you are all seeing even though they're a growth district. Uh but their high school enrollment seems to be uh continuing to uh stabilize if anything increase and they expect that to happen in
144their junior high kids as well going forward. And so that's that's what comes to my mind because that's a conversation I had today. >> Okay. Thank you for that. And then um I have I what would you say to like how how would how do you say that you maybe manage um any potential unintended but maybe um inherent bias, right? in the fact that you're, you know, providing a strategic capital master planning overview that also includes recommendations for design, but you're and you're also a design architectural firm. Like, can you speak to how you ma manage those kinds of potential biases? >> So, the two people on our team that do most of this work are educators. Uh, um, Dr. Lee and Miss Williams was an associate superintendent for Mesa Public Schools for 26 years.
145Uh and so they do a ton of the work in this space from an adequacy and suitability perspective and when it comes to concrete physical uh action plans per site uh it is a conversation like any conversation is and so the work that we've done for example at Kasa Grande Elementary School District we did this exact same work and uh they are operationalizing some of that work and they're using other architects for that work so our work is to objectively provide what we provide expertise in and we can bring expertise from the teaching and learning angle but also the learning environments angle and uh I I don't know if there's any specific bias that represents in it. It's because it's always a conversation. So in some instances um certain types of spaces, certain types of
146openness or transparency or flexibility may not be necessarily uh uh appropriate. Uh and so we just calibrate our responses to what a community needs and not come in with a cookie cutter solution for a specific uh uh u you know ask >> for like a preconceived idea of what an ideal learning space should look like that's being informed by the community. >> We we do we don't do that even in our design projects. >> Okay. Thank you. I had to ask. Thank you. >> Mrs. Christensen. >> Yes. Um a follow on to her question. How do you ensure there are no conflicts of interest? So, you this organization has a lot of different types of services that you provide and you're going to be recommending to um maybe like weatherize something as an example or
147to for more efficient buildings, but then your company also provides those types of services. just as an example, how do you where are the safeguards to ensure there's no conflicts of interest on recommendations? >> So, specific to what you're bringing up, if it has to do with something like weatherization, it ultimately has to go through if it's a state school facilities board uh funded project, they have liaison who would be vetting any proposals that come through. Um so I I can't think of a specific conflict of interest that might come out of this that um if if it's a programmatic type of a an approach for example as part of the conversation um uh you uh focus on creating um more maker spaces across all your schools. Let's say uh our approach would be to
148assess if you were to provide a maker space in every one of your schools which spaces that you have can easily accommodate that and that's that's based on our professional opinion. Uh if it's a lab space it might be large enough to accommodate that. So that's that's typically how we would approach it. it it it is not a a specific design per se, but it's it's a proposal to think about here's the path of least resistance to bring forth an idea like so um and I can't imagine us bringing a potential conflict into that because you are free to choose anybody to do that work uh in the future and uh we uh were not specifically doing something that only we can provide. >> And what work did you do for Chandler Unified? That was
149one of the people that I reached out to a somebody that I know on that board. What what type of work? >> So, we did uh we continue to do work with Channel Unified. Um they hired us in 2022 to conduct uh one portion of what this process is. Uh it's primarily community engagement. They called it reimagine Chandler. Uh and so it was also based on similar criteria. they were beginning to see u flattening and declining enrollment in several of their schools. So, we were invited to be a um a partner to help facilitate conversations with their communities. And we went deeper there on on that specific uh project where we helped each of the schools that uh was facing flattening and declining enrollment to brand as a signature program uh as part of this
150community engagement process. And um and out of that they spawned several renovations, renovation projects. Uh they called them reimagined renovations. Uh and we worked on two or three of them. They've hired other architects to perform those same services. Uh and these renovations, for example, have included creating a innovation hub at Connley Elementary. That's something we did. Uh and so the work involved community engagement, multiple community engagements, and it created a uh signature path for several of these schools. Uh and as part of that, they hired us to perform uh replacement school services for Galveastston Elementary, which was branded as a service learning academy. And uh we've done one other school after that which is under construction. So that was the scope of our services in Chandler. >> Okay. Thank you for that. And then to
151my colleagues on the board, I've just been looking at some of our enrollment numbers that 2017 we had enrollment of 31,446. We had about 15 schools that were under 500 enrollment. Um, and we had about 48 schools. So that's 31% under enrollment. Today we're looking at we have roughly 40 schools and 24 are under 500 enrollment which is 60%. And so we really as a district, I want to stress that we're going to have to look at not not just consolidation and potential closures, but to um get rid of some of these properties because they, as you stated, some a lot of our buildings need maintenance and they need things. And I know there's a lot of um individuals that have reached out to the district in the past and would love to um partner
152lease um purchase some of our facilities. So, I just hopefully there's some um people that are on that committee that are listening to this discussion because we I mean the numbers are not looking good and we have to make some tough decisions and nobody likes closing anything but um 60% under under 500 enrollment is is a lot >> and those are the kinds of conversations that typically comes out of the data from this Right. But we have I'm almost finished. I'm sorry, President Pantara. But I I have every faith in our committees because we have excellent committees to be able to make those assessments without having to work with a consultant that has exorbitant fees. So I I I appreciate the, you know, the presentation, but I I have every confidence in the people here
153in PV to be able to make these decisions. And that's my personal opinion, >> Dr. Lim. >> Um, so I I want to talk a little bit about kind of that engagement piece, that community engagement piece. So obviously we know engaging with our communities, we're going to get insight, but we know we've obviously lost students to other spaces. So, in that community engagement assessment, are we just assessing our voices or are we doing ways to assess the voices that we're not capturing by talking directly to our schools? So, are we talking to community partners or other individuals to try and get some of those voices as to how do we bring students back? We know we won't bring all of them back, but what what can our district do specifically given our specific needs in
154our area to try and not just recruit kids back by creating programs, but can we have concrete reasons and rationale for why we we make changes that might increase the flow of students back to our campuses? >> Yeah. and and the community we've budgeted for multiple scales of community engagement and which is typical in this process and it's also um as designed to be a bookend to any ideas that emerge out of this process. Uh and so um you know it's obviously whole district type conversations are good starting points for this. uh but then having conversations with specific groups that champion specific ideas and looking for those overlaps and patterns and themes um and others that you see fit as part of this process. You know, we've we've engaged chambers for example um and uh
155faith and nonprofits uh business advisory, those are typical types of groups that provide different ranges of color to the same conversation. Uh and so the the the community engagement process as broad as it is the better it is. Uh it can feel a little bit chaotic because that's the purpose of it. The purpose of it is to connect people to be able to have robust conversations about ideas that may be on the different side of that conversation. And so that typically leads to major themes that will emerge. uh and that is what we use as and in conversations with district leadership to think about what is the impact of these ideas on place and how do we create a rubric where we can gauge something as an exemplar or something as inadequate or unsuitable. Uh
156and and because we our team is not strictly architects, it's learning scientists is people who've been in education uh and understand the role of place that's the color that we provide to this conversation. Okay, great. Um, follow-up question, kind of thinking about that, getting into the nitty and gritty of qualitative research. And if you don't know, I work in qualitative and quantitative research, specifically in community engaged work, just in a different area. Um, so this can be some of the most unwieldy data, especially when you're doing mixed methods with qual and quant, it can it can go haywire um with the amount of data you get and trying to synthesize those ideas. So, obviously, you guys have professionals that are specialized in the education space. Are they also cross-trained in qual data? Do you have
157professionals that are are specifically qual like professionals that work with this data on a regular? >> No, we rely on the educators to provide that. >> Okay. So I guess then my understanding is your educators are the ones with the qualitative and quantitative data analysis. >> Qualitative side. Yes. The quantitative side primarily is the facility conditions component of it. And the people that are doing the assessments, Mr. Buo uh used to be the facilities director at one of the major school districts for 12 years and he's certified in certain building systems and he is one of the preeminent experts when it comes to uh how the state for example views the conditions of certain things. So he provides quite a bit of experience brings quite a bit of experience in this space uh and the
158assessments of the end of life useful life of components is primarily led by Mr. Buho. So we have folks who champion specific areas that drive expertise in those areas and that's the data that we collect in our in our system. Uh and and the benchmarking of it uh the data the cost data we use is a nationally available cost database. So you can compare uh potential repair cost to replacement cost apples to apples to build an index. So we try to keep it as uh uh predictable as a model as possible. uh and if we do need to spawn real projects out of it, we obviously have to inflate construction costs into project costs and all of that. So we can do that too. >> Okay. Yeah. I think just my question and where my
159space of concern would be like so so survey data is considered quantitative data in our space and often we we do mixed methods where we might do quant into quall into quant or qual quant depending on how we're doing. So more just making sure that like we it could get really unwieldy given the size of our district and it sounds like you've already done this in other districts but like Gilbert was more around the facilities is what you've already demonstrated not maybe the whole picture and I think we need the whole picture to move forward. So I just I think my hesitation is just making sure that the right professionals are looking at these really unwieldy data sets as they try to synthesize them into understandable things and just making sure there's education in those
160spaces there for those professionals. So if they're used to looking at qual data into and quant data, just making sure that that we as a board understand that they have those skills and the ability to look at those very mixed method approaches um in a way that we actually get the actual things we want out of it because they're so hard to work with sometimes. >> Anyone else? Mrs. Greenberg. Yeah, this isn't actually a question and this so I'm just gonna do a little stream of conscious thought for a moment. Um, and I and I guess what it is after listening to everything is for me because in a professional capacity I've led strategic planning for small and medium-sized companies. So, you know, not something the size of this district. Um, but I have participated
161in strategic planning for this district and I've obviously, as everybody knows, I've served in this district for a long time. And I guess in listening to all of this, I guess I'm just again, this has nothing to do with you guys. And, you know, quite honestly, bringing Dr. Lee back to to help do this is, I think, you know, a gold star for you guys. I think Mike's a perfect person to help with this. Um I'm just I guess I'm a little disappointed um that that we have I feel kind of gone away from that comprehensive approach we have had in the past and and I'm not saying you know I mean I'm that that we have become more siloed in how we have made decisions um you know over time we have had different
162strategic plans I think some of them have been more successful than others But I also just you know I don't want to be paralyzed with it but you know we're going if we if we move forward with you guys or in another you know another way um and we go through the process we get recommendations and we go okay we're going to ident needs this and school B needs this and we're going to transform school C this way and five years down the showed trends change in education. So like maker spaces didn't used to be a big thing and now they are and they're a great thing. I you know I think they're terrific. Um but you know in five years are they're going to be or you know the process we have gone through
163um securing our schools better. You know, I've sat on this board when we had to put bond funds into completely changing ingresses and egresses to adding bulletproof glass to you know and and so again I don't want any of that like oh to paralyze a process. Um but I'm I'm just you know I'm just concern you know I kept it's like I kept thinking we were doing most of this already. So, um, it's just for me just wrapping my head around >> the enormity of the process and and and the enormity of the price tag of the process and we've all acknowledged that um, and and where that puts us in the end because I' I've always been a big proponent of we shouldn't be siloing, we should be integrating and I appreciate that that's
164the main push here. Um, but it's it's a big big task. So, just wanted to throw that out that that, you know, I feel like there are many pieces of this we already do and just, you know, is this a process we can handle more inhouse, some out, etc. Just that's what I'm wrapping my head around right now. >> Dr. Lim. >> Yeah. And I I think I have a question. I can give you a question, Ann. So I I wrote down and I I circled strategic plan and I know ours is due for an update. So we technically are probably at the end of the shelf life of one strategic plan and we don't have one in place and we're about to have this conversation without actually knowing what our next strategic plan is.
165So I guess my concern is that we are going into this without actually having what would be our new strategic plan. Um I I guess I'm just trying to wrap my mind around like is is it better to have it before or after like kind of and this probably to Dr. Corson more uh for that question of that concern that we we don't act we are at the end of the shelf life for our current one. So >> uh yeah to your point Dr. limb. Uh we are we do need to invest in a district of relooking at a larger strategic plan that deals with uh all-encompassing everything from student achievement to other things. So although I don't know that this is a strategic plan in the traditional sense of a district strategic plan, there
166certainly is a strategic approach to thinking about how programming connects with enrollment that connects with um with facility usage and certainly the work of this would uh feed into and inform a larger strategic plan and a little bit of vice versa. uh you to your question about which comes first a district strategic plan leading this work or this work leading a strategic plan and I'm not sure that there's the right way to do it. I think one can begin to inform the other in a much more iterative process as opposed to thinking more sequentially about what happens first versus second and we've seen that too. It it h it it has happened both ways. >> Yeah. Miss warning, >> did you want to ask some questions before? >> I would like to eventually. >> You
167can you can go. You can go ahead. >> No. To me. >> Thank you. This to me it seems like uh this information is the stuff you base your strategic plan on. I've always been a fan of being proactive. You know, doing something you look that's getting ahead of problems. But when you're constantly putting out fires and doing things, our our people are always busy here in the here and now. It's hard to be forwardlooking. Something like this would be an excellent vehicle for not only strategic planning, but for doing that proactive stuff to save us money and and heartache down the road. I mean, we talk about it as being investment. What would you say would be our return on this investment? >> Depending on how it's structured, it can be multiplefold. Um the
168the key benefit that we see a lot is uh the overlapping of information sets and not acting on something prematurely. That's how the significant return on investment happens. Uh like for example, you may be putting facility um remediation money into facilities that perhaps need to be retired. uh or you may be investing monies into buildings that are not suitable for the types of programming that will serve to attract families and retain families. So those are usually the kinds of gaps we see as part of this process. And so so there's quite a bit of overlaps that we can find between those and the idea is to provide uh as much clarity from a broader base of considerations not strictly the tangible assets we see. Yes, there there are stressors that are having to uh that
169are making you have make some decisions that are challenging. That's that's the reality of it. But this is also about the then what, right? So it's it's a question about how do you not just flatten that curve, make it go back up the other way. And it's about creating valuable choices for your families and creating programming that is attractive and thinking about the impacts of those programming on your facilities the way it is. and does it make sense to retire certain facilities that are just not conducive or suitable for those types of programming that those are the kinds of ROIs we typically begin to see from this process. >> Miss Warning. Um, I mean I I think from where I'm standing, which is not, you know, any like you're you're you able to um and
170see o over the years and years and years, right? Like the evolution of all of these things. I sort of wonder if you know we're now at just a point in time where there we there's been so much change right in how we have to sort of like approach education look at education just from all various factors right so to me I do think something like this is incredibly valuable because I I don't see how as amazing as our committees and our the facilitators of those committees are they also have full-time jobs which is not to do this work. So, so that's I mean I I think I think if we could clone all of you and the parents and the principles who are also parents and principles and cabinet so that we could have
171multiple of you to do all of the jobs that you do then maybe we would not sorry maybe we wouldn't need you right but that's not that isn't the reality so I do look at this as like this is a this is an it is an opportunity because you know to be proactive and not reactive to President President Pantara's point, right? So, that is exciting to me. But some thoughts that I do have is um is there any is there any way if we needed to have a conversation or consider a different scope or scale that maybe could still work and be valuable um but be maybe the make the price tag more palatable? Number one. Number two, is there any room for negotiation on this price? You don't have to answer that out loud,
172but just think about that. And number three, this is for um Mrs. Barrian. Um I know it's bond money, but can you help me understand like when we go out for bonds, we typically, right, you're I know you I've sat on those committees. I know you're very thoughtful about we're going to ask for this amount from the community, not just for funsies, but because we need it for this. So like where would this where would this come from this if you know any amount that would be going towards a project like this? Yeah, there is a section. I don't have the bond pamphlet in front of me, but something along along the lines of like architectural services, fees, engineering services, it's service fees. Um, that this would be applicable under. So, we do have a
173section for that within our bond. >> And we currently have that Yeah. >> available. >> Yes. >> And if >> from the 2023 bond. So you've you've all looked have you all looked at okay this these were some of the projects we were thinking about maybe doing with that money and now weren't and we're going to pull them off like where like is there a tradeoff that we need to know about or be thinking about if as part of this conversation? >> Yeah. I mean we have fees for fees set in there for other projects. Um, I suppose it could pull away from something else, but it's probably more towards the end of the bond. And we're not we're pl right now we're planning for this coming summer bond projects while we have a list
174and idea of future bond projects. I don't know off the top of my head which ones those might be that we would pull from. But I will also say, excuse me, um um you know, we did we did some just facility planning um work with a different vendor. It's it's just um the traditional version of what facility cycle replacement looks like. Um and that's about $65,000 per feeder pattern. And so we've only done that for one feeder pattern. So regardless, um there's about another $250,000 or $300,000 worth of fees that's already in the bond set aside for that. So this would be about 165,000 beyond that. >> Okay. for more much more comprehensive than a capital plan. >> Okay. Thank you, >> Mrs. Christensen. >> Yes. So, um I'm going to address Brian, Dr. Lim,
175and President Pantara's comments. So, the cons I don't think that our taxpayers would be very happy if so much of this is going to consultants fees. I do understand we do have some bond projects for the summer but that that you see that um return on investment whereas I will argue you can't really do president asked about ROI you can't really he can't answer ROI because return on investment is based on the findings that we have and then the in the investigation findings and then what we decide to do. So you can't put a price tag or a return on investment on that. It's it's their consulting fees. And so I the other thing that I that Dr. Lim brought up is she asked well how can we bring students back? And that is again
176not a question for a consultant. That's us. That's like what principal Strous presented. We're doing the career pathways. Those are our decisions internally to as to how to bring our students back. The arch we are strong steam school district and community. We have an we have amazing school district and that's marketing. It's all of us pulling together to to do that. So I I'm still not convinced that this is the right path. I am listening to my my colleagues on the board and they some of them seem to think so, but just with such a high price tag and um I don't really think our taxpayers would be happy to be spending such enormous fees on consultants. >> Mrs. Greenberg. >> Yeah, I do want to make it clear that I do think this is
177valuable. I you know maybe that didn't come across in my last set of comments and I don't believe Dr. Corson would be bringing it forward if he didn't and I certainly think it is contingent on us as a board to consider you know we just um ask Dr. course and to be our superintendent and um I think we need to provide him with the tools to be successful and so you know I think there's a lot of pieces here that we need to look at and um and but I you know I don't want anybody to think I don't think this is a good idea. I do, you know, we can't we can't we need the data. We need we need to engage our communities. We need to look at all of the pieces and
178we always have. I appreciate, you know, what you all bring to this. Um, again, it's that price tag and getting over that hump on the price tag that I'm just going to be honest. That's where it is for me. >> So, just wanted to throw that in there. >> Dr. Lynn. So, I've got a question which will probably end up in multiple questions and I'll get to my point, I promise. Um, so, uh, as you're doing this community engagement, are we going to be engaging all of our sites? >> The way we've budgeted this is to have three large engagements that are districtwide. Uh, we have done engagements or strategic capital plans where we have engaged every site. The challenge with that is time and money. It's much more expensive to do that. So uh
179for larger districts this is exactly what we did at Poria at Irving ISD at Gilbert uh is to do largecale community meetings which mixes and matches so the conversations end at the district level primarily thinking about broader contexts broader influences uh and we try to mix and match people when they get into discussions there's there's a broad sampling of folks that the discussions can be broader uh and by doing some uh targeted engagements with specific groups of folks who can champion specific areas. That's the initial part of it. What we've also included is feeder patternbased engagements as a bookend when we get to a point where there's patterns and themes and action items emerging. So, it's it's sort of a book end. It's a big picture but then feed a pattern based as a back-end
180uh engagement strategy. That's what's included in this price. Okay. Yeah. So, I think you know I'll ask. So, uh let me formulate my question. Give me a moment. >> Yeah. So, I I'll make a comment and a question at the same time. So, I think kind of my overall concern there is um you know, we are a district with lots of strong voices and I worry that bigger meetings in this capacity we might lose some of those voices in some of our communities. So I would would hope that maybe it's supplemented at a district level by our staff but some sort of additional GA engagement more at the local level getting that information. Um because I worry that we might lose some voices in that process. Um that being said, I I know the cost
181it does it takes to do qualitative research at the capacity that you're going to be asked to do at this size of the district. So I am I I'm not kind of not shocked by the cost and the scope. That being said, I I don't think three large engagements at that level are going to be enough to get us all the information we need and that that might have to be something that might be have to be supplemented in some capacity to make sure we get all those voices in the room. And that might be more targeted, smaller focus groups that are really at that really small size cuz that large size scale dampens the more meek voices of a community. And so I'd worry we'd lose those voices in those larger things um we
182often don't go above eight in a focus group because of that exact issue. >> So let me just throw some more clarification on that. So the large group meetings usually start with a big picture visioning that includes everybody. Then we do breakouts. Everybody goes into smaller rooms, no more than 15 to 20 in a room and about six to eight per team that we have three of our facilitators in each of those rooms bringing forth ideas that emerge in the big group and influences that we all agree that are relevant to the district and engage in deeper conversation in a smaller group. So absolutely agree with you the small groupoup discussions in fact we ask for students to be a part of this and those are the first stakeholders we engage in group discussions based
183on the broader data that's emerged in a in a vision visioning polling for example so it does the intimate conversations do happen in an intimate setting it's no more than six to eight people >> and then I think my question is uh are we if we were to go forward with this again that's an if um would we map on So what we did in Indian Ben making sure that it is available in at least in Spanish but we do probably have other languages that may need to be available as well depending on what area we are in. We have parts of our district that are closer to T TSMC. While we don't typically see those students, we may have families that may speak Taiwanese and or may English may not be their first language.
184So are we able to accommodate that and make sure that those voices are heard whether it's surveys, whether it's in the focus groups. >> So we will translate the deck we use to Spanish and we have five native Spanish speakers who do facilitation in Spanish. So depending on how this shakes out, we can uh with through the RSVP process identify who needs supports through primarily Spanish, not other languages. Um, and yeah, we're very comfortable facilitating in Spanish. >> And then I think my question then would be at a district level, if are we going to kind of gauge who's coming so that if we do have a person who is not native English speaker and they don't speak Spanish, that we can either find the right person to assist or find a community member that
185might be able to act as a translator and assist with their engagement. This is going to be one-offs. These are going to be a few number of people. But again, their voices matter because, you know, if you learn about certain communities and they find a school that they love or a space that they love, they'll tell other families that are moving to the valley that, oh yeah, maybe you should come to this particular area. And I know we have some pockets of that already among certain um uh ethnic groups that we already have those pockets that exist. And so, how can we make sure those pockets have their voices heard? >> Yeah, Dr. Lim, I think that's an important point. you know, as part of the community engagement, you know, it's really important that we
186engage multiple stakeholder groups across our district and our communities. And so, we would need to make every effort to make sure that those voices are mitigated and they're actually heard at the table. And to add on to uh Sarinon's uh notion about the community engagement opportunities, you know, as a district, we've been talking about multiple touches to that. So, you know, uh, in somewhat of an accordion style where we might start large, uh, with some community engagement forums and then we might go to smaller focus groups, then we might go out to a larger district survey that goes out to all community all to continue to gather information and refine that information or to validate what we're hearing in certain focus groups to make sure that that actually is representative of a larger group through
187maybe a large survey. So using multiple opportunities to gain perspective not just in the beginning but really throughout the process uh I think would be important including the idea of making sure that we are uh uh providing accommodations for uh all voices to be heard. >> Okay, great. Thank you both. >> Any more discussion? >> All right then Pantara, do you mind if I add one more point? a little bit, but go ahead and [laughter] >> I know the the hour is uh getting late, but but um so a couple of things that come to my mind. You know, uh and I appreciate the board's uh conversation about this. You know, this, as I mentioned, isn't something that uh I would be bringing to the governing board without uh serious consideration and thoughtfulness about the
188impact I think that this could have with this. But you are part of that discussion and I appreciate the governing board weighing in to thinking about the future of this district. Uh we've talked a lot tonight about return on investment and I think that's incredibly important to think about. I also think about return on objective and to think about like what are we trying to accomplish as a school district? What are we trying to think about in terms of the future both in programming in terms of being stewards of good uh our financial resources of being uh cognizant of of having thoughtful planning around our facilities and it's not to discount any plans that we've had in the past or any work that we've done in the past but this is an opportunity to be
189future forward in our thinking and that does require an investment. I don't believe that as a district that we can pull off the level of this comprehensive connect the dots as Saridon has talked about. Uh I just don't believe that we have the capacity to do that. Now do we have the capacity as a district to make good decisions to make thoughtful decisions using good perspectives using specific data sources that we have? Yes, I think as a district we have been doing that for a number of years. But to look into the future in terms of what our community deserves and what our community demands of us is going to take more than a um uh a loose uh you know consolidation of data sources. It's going to require us whether we choose to do
190this now or at another time. It's going to our community really demands for us to think differently about how we connect these very data sources so that we can make even better informed decisions that are not just about the moment but really uh with a lens about how this decision we're making today is going to impact us three years from now, 5 years from now, 10 years from now. And I just appreciate the idea of this kind of road mapap that um is not the roadmap but it represents a possible road map that then our committee structures and our thoughtful individuals and leaders and parents and community members can use to then decide how we want to move forward as a district. So I think this is a tremendous opportunity for us to consider uh
191and I appreciate the discussion tonight. Thank you President Panta. >> Thank you Dr. Corson. All right then. >> Thank you be thank you. Sorry. Thank you for that thorough presentation. Uh before we adjourn, I would like to remind everyone that our next regular governing board meeting will be held on Thursday, May 14th, 2026 at 6:30 p.m. May I have a motion to adjurnn? >> So moved. >> All those in favor say I. >> I. All those opposed, nay. Any abstensions? Motion passes. We are adjourned.