The Fountain Hills Unified School District Governing Board met last Wednesday, Feb. 22, for a business meeting and a work study session. The Board voted to approve the meet and confer agreements for professional and support staff, and members discussed options for underused land assets, like the Four Peaks Elementary school land plot.

As part of the meet and confer agreements, substitute teachers will be paid more, and any employee with at least seven years with the district will receive more general leave reimbursement. All new hires will also receive a probationary evaluation on their 90th day of employment, rather than prior to that day.

There will be a new evaluation system to provide comprehensive and constructive feedback to teachers. Before the end of the year, teachers will send out anonymous surveys. Surveys will be sent to the parents of children in pre-K through fifth grade, and students in sixth through 12th grade will get the surveys themselves.

School employees will also be required to join three committees per year. Some of the Board members expressed concern about forcing employees to take on extra work, but Superintendent Dr. Cain Jagodzinski said it would prevent a small number of teachers from doing every committee.

Vision insurance is now included in the verbiage and employees will be guaranteed an increase in pay if they are promoted to a position with a higher pay grade. The language under “salary increases” was also changed to include “may consist of cost-of-living increases.”

Due to the statewide and nationwide teaching shortage, and an increase in teacher resignations prior to the end of the school year in recent years, the Board is doubling the fine for any professional staff resignation without Board approval. The Board can still waive the fee for circumstances beyond the employee’s control, such as a spouse being relocated.

By signing the meet and confer agreement, employees recognized that the District would take on expenses searching for a replacement or substitute teacher if they were to resign before the contracted term, i.e., the school year. The fine for resigning without approval will now be $3,000.

The Board voted on two new positions after passing the meet and confer agreements. The Structured English Immersion (SEI) position was passed without issue, but the Board tabled their discussion on a childcare specialist position at the preschool.

The job of the childcare specialist would provide support within an assigned classroom “with specific responsibility for implementing programs for the personal and emotional growth of the referred students.” Board members Madicyn Reid and Libby Settle wanted to remove “personal and emotional” from the position description, but they lost two motions 3-2 before the Board voted 5-0 to table the discussion.

The three members in opposition to Reid and Settle referred to the Arizona Department of Education’s “social emotional standard,” which has been in place for years. The social emotional standard helps students learn how to interact with teachers and other students before they go on to larger classes in larger buildings.

Newly elected State Superintendent Tom Horne took down the Arizona Department of Education’s SEL webpage that would provide more information for the social emotional standard for pre-K, but the standard is still in place for the moment. The local Board will return to the subject of the childcare specialist at a later meeting.

The Board discussed 11 new elective courses that teachers have proposed to teach at the high school next year. There was no vote on the courses, but Jagodzinski did say the new trimester schedule he's proposing would allow for more elective classes.

Building options

The Board ended its meeting with two presentations on land options. The Board appeared most interested in the Four Peaks Elementary School (FPES) plot of land, but there are several options to consider.

John Wesley, the Town’s development services director, spoke first and said that the Town’s general plan would not change or need to be changed if FHUSD tore down Four Peaks Elementary School. Wesley also said the town would have an interest in expanding park space if the building was torn down.

Wesley also said that if FHUSD sold the land to a developer, and there were no zoning changes, there would be no effect on the Town’s general plan. Jeremy Calles of True Professionals then presented options to the Board, including selling, exchanging or leasing the property.

The Board does not need voter approval to exchange the property or lease it for less than 20 years. If the Board receives voter approval, that approval is valid for 20 years.

The Board has several more discussions ahead of them regarding class space needed, and determining risks and rewards for each option, whether it be selling, exchanging, or leasing.

The next Board business meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 8, at 6 p.m. All meetings are held in the FHUSD Learning Center and recorded and livestreamed on YouTube. To find old meetings, look up “fhusdyoutube130,” and click on the “live” tab.