The Fountain Hills Unified School District Governing Board met for a business meeting last Wednesday, June 29. The 2022 Fiscal Year ended on Thursday, June 30, and FY23 started on Friday, July 1.

Due to the fiscal year coming to an end, the Board suspended the regular meeting to hold a public hearing on the 2023 proposed budget. Since Arizona Legislature waited until last week to approve a state budget, FHUSD Director of Finance Katherine King used FY22 multipliers instead of current FY23 multipliers.

According to King, the Arizona Auditor General released the final budget paperwork on the afternoon of June 29. King could not use the new numbers because they were released less than 24 hours before the Board meeting, but she said that the capital and maintenance and operations (M&O) budget will increase in 2023.

The M&O budget is determined with the 100th Day Average Daily Membership (ADM), and based on attrition and the FY22 ADM, enrollment across all three schools in the district has decreased by 5%. King added that it was a conservative estimate made back in May, and actual enrollment may not decrease by that much.

There is appropriately $3.3 million of Capital spending and $2.6 million of Impact Aid that will carry over to FY23. King had to move nearly $600,000 in Capital to M&O in order to balance the budget, and there will be a special Board meeting on Wednesday, July 13, to discuss the budget in another public hearing.

Following the June 29 public hearing, Board members gave information reports. Interim Superintendent Dr. Patrick Sweeney spoke to the open positions at the schools, and then the Board members took time to thank Sweeney for his efforts over the past four months and his previous tenure with FHUSD. Last Wednesday was Sweeney’s last day before Dr. Cain Jagodzinski took over as District superintendent.

According to Sweeney, all three schools are in good shape and only a handful of positions remain open. There are two open teaching positions left in the district, math at the middle school, and pre-k special education at McDowell Mountain Elementary School. Sweeney compared the pre-k special education position to a “unicorn,” because the position was open all of last year and FHUSD did not receive a single application for it.

McDowell Mountain also has four part-time aid positions and a school psychologist opening. The middle school needs a full-time custodian, and the high school needs to fill three part-time aid positions and an occupational therapist position.

Action Items

The Board approved a new Special Education Policies and Procedures handbook that is intended to be a resource for parents and provide consistency to special education classrooms across all FHUSD schools. The handbook was updated by District staff Khris Alexander and Jennifer Hamilton, but it is in line with national standards.

“The vast majority of content of that is describing policies and procedures directly relating to [Individuals with Disabilities Education Act] regulations that came from the U.S. Department of Education,” Sweeney said.

The Board approved four books as supplemental reading for third graders and approved the Board’s “for” argument for the special District Additional Assistance Override election this November.

“The DAA Budget Override allows FHUSD to keep pace with advancing technology, adapt existing facilities and purchase new resources to meet changing district needs as we continually work to provide the best possible education to every student with a focus on preparing them to be part of tomorrow’s workforce,” part of the ‘for’ statement reads.

The Board renewed contract with food service provider Sodexo America, LLC, for student meals and labor costs for next year. Expenses have risen by six percent in the last two years, but the contractual agreement states FHUSD will receive at least $4,009 as a guaranteed minimum return for 2022-2023.

The Board will meet on July 13 for a special session on the budget for 2022-2023. They will then meet on Wednesday, July 27, for the Board retreat at 4 p.m. The Board’s next business meeting will be Wednesday, Aug. 10, at 6 p.m. in the FHUSD Learning Center. Starting this August, the Board will start business meetings at 6 p.m., rather than 6:30 p.m.