The Fountain Hills Unified School District Governing Board will hold a business meeting tonight, Wednesday, June 29, at 5 p.m. The Board will suspend the meeting for a public hearing on the proposed …
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The Fountain Hills Unified School District Governing Board will hold a business meeting tonight, Wednesday, June 29, at 5 p.m. The Board will suspend the meeting for a public hearing on the proposed budget for next year, discuss and vote on changes to the Special Education Handbook and approve an argument in support of the special District Additional Assistance (DAA) override election.
After approving minutes from the past two Board meetings, members will suspend the business meeting to hold the public hearing on the budget for 2022-2023. Catherine King, Director of Finance, will explain the budget and be available for questions from the Board and public.
Following the hearing, interim superintendent Dr. Patrick Sweeney will give a summary of current events. Sweeney will discuss open positions, and administration recommends the Board approve 10 new hires as part of the personnel action report.
Following information reports, the floor will be opened to public comment. Following this, the Board will discuss and vote on four action items.
The first item is supplemental reading for McDowell Mountain Elementary School. Starting Thursday, June 29, these four books will be on display in the district office: “The Wild Robot” and “The Wild Robot Escapes,” by Peter Brown; “The Lemonade War,” by Jacqueline Davies; and “How to Eat Fried Worms,” by Thomas Rockwell.
The Board will then discuss changes to the Special Education Handbook. The changes have been designed to provide more consistency across all FHUSD schools and to be a resource for parents to use. The new handbook is 50 pages of policies and procedures, and it includes links to the Arizona Department of Education website that have more information, like a “Traveling the Special Education Highway” and “Post-Secondary Transition Guide.”
The Board will then approve a “for” argument for the DAA override. The Election is on Nov. 8, 2022, and if approved, the override would provide $750,000 per year to FHUSD for seven years.
According to the District, the DAA funds will provide funding for safety and security upgrades, software and hardware upgrades, textbooks and online resources, more efficient transportation vehicles, building improvements for existing sites, and equipment and furniture replacements and additions.
The Board will return to the budget for the final action item. Administration recommends the Board approve the budget as presented, and after the vote, the Board will discuss a recommendation from the Facilities Use Committee before closing out the meeting.
Next month, the Board will host a retreat on Wednesday, July 27, at 4 p.m. The next business meeting afterward will be Wednesday, Aug. 10, at 6 p.m. All meetings are held in the FHUSD Learning Center.
