The Fountain Hills Unified School District Governing Board met on Wednesday, Jan. 12, for an executive session and a business meeting. The executive session was a continuation of December’s superintendent evaluation, and the business meeting dealt with current events, money problems, possible money solutions and an update on OSHA requirements and the Safe Return to School Plan.

The Board started the business meeting with the annual office election. Both Nadya Jenkins and Judith Rutkowski will stay on as president and vice president respectively.

After that, Superintendent Kelly Glass updated the Board on her efforts in staff retention and staff recruitment. Glass formed a committee to tackle these issues, and she is currently combing through feedback from staff concerning the first semester. Glass also announced that FHUSD has partnered with the non-profit organization Donors Choose to help raise funds for teachers, and Glass introduced the Board to Kevin Wilkinson, the interim principal of McDowell Mountain Elementary School.

The Board discussed enrollment, which was 1,323 students across all schools as of Jan. 5. The Board learned of a discrepancy from December to January of about 50 students and asked if they could start tracking enrollment by cohorts to identify enrollment and withdrawal trends more easily.

Teachers

Fountain Hills Middle School teacher and Fountain Hills Education Association President Elect TJ Buckley gave a public comment that consolidated grievances from staff across the district. Some of the comments were constructive, like imposing a temporary mask mandate following a break from school. Sickness was a serious issue in the first two weeks of classes after winter break, as Superintendent Glass shared concerns that McDowell Mountain Elementary School might be declared an outbreak site by the Maricopa County Public Health Department following a report there were 66 absences in one day.

Buckley also shared comments that some FHUSD staff feel undervalued. They are asked to cover responsibilities not outlined in their contracts, like going to a different school to cover a class. The teachers are stretched thin and burnt out, according to Buckley’s comments, and every possible substitute in the area is already subbing and children are still showing up to school with symptoms and positive COVID cases.

The Board could not directly respond to Buckley, but there were discussions later in the meeting that addressed some of his comments. The Board approved all items on the consent agenda, including items on payroll. Although it had been district policy for years, members of the Board were unaware that staff received a stipend check for additional work done throughout the year only in late May.

At the end of the meeting, the board addressed this again. Superintendent Glass told the Board that school employees only receive a stipend after five instances of additional work. Glass recommended that the board remove the requirement for five instances, and the Board agreed. Now, teachers will receive compensation after each instance of additional work.

Action Items

The Board started action items by approving four more resignations, bringing the total employees to resign since last November to eight. They were listed on the agenda as Shelly Jensen, Bailie Jensen, Matt Pugliano and Lisa Chaikin. Bailie Jensen, Pugliano and Chaikin all had their $1,500 liquidation fees waived. Glass told the Board that administrators don’t have that fee in their contract, so Shelly Jensen was not charged a fee.

The Board also raised the pay of five employees who earned less than the new minimum wage of $12.80 per hour. The Board also discussed equitable raises across the board, since some of the staff who receive a raise in their first year now earn as much as other employees who have worked in the district longer.

The Board approved job descriptions for student workers, an account specialist and an instructional coach. The board still hasn’t figured out all the details for student workers, but they would fill classroom support roles. The account specialist position was updated to accurately reflect its current position, and the instructional coach would help the professional development of FHUSD staff.

The Board also approved a third-party custodial service for the middle school. This will help the under-served school and serve as a beta test for third-party custodians use in future years. The Board also approved a five-year facility use agreement with the Fountain Hills Pickleball Club.

Discussion Items

The Board discussed adjusting the work calendars of principals, counselors and the athletic director. The goal of extending the principal and athletic director’s contracts from 11 months of the year to 12 months of the year would be to ensure administrators are available over the summer.

The Board discussed J1 Visa Teachers as an avenue to help the teacher shortage and adding Central Registration at the district office to increase convenience for families. The Board discussed Federal Grant monitoring for the 2020 fiscal year, and Glass said the Board is compliant in every grant except they have no policy on time and effort logs. All of these items will be further discussed and eventually acted on in later meetings.

Safety

The last item on the agenda was an update to OSHA Requirements and the Safe Return to Schools Plan. FHUSD is supposed to meet OSHA temporary emergency standards by February. Some of the OHSA changes are subject to change following a Supreme Court ruling.

Under the Safe Return to Schools Plan umbrella, the Board discussed the issues of no additional substitutes, and a “significant” week at McDowell Mountain with 66 students missing school the day before the Board meeting. Board members discussed their concern that McDowell will be labeled an outbreak site, forcing a closure, and ways they can give families a heads up if classrooms close. They also discussed ways to mitigate COVID, like allowing students to be sent home with an at-home COVID test.

Fountain Hills Unified School District did hire a nurse recently. She worked in a COVID ward in a hospital and recommended a change to the Safe Return to Schools Plan. It had been that students were sent home if they showed one symptom of COVID, but the suggestion is to only send home students if they are showing one major symptom of COVID, or two minor symptoms of COVID. Major symptoms include a fever above 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, vomiting, diarrhea and loss of taste or smell. Minor symptoms include nasal congestion, cough, sore throat, muscle aches, headaches, and fatigue.

The Board will meet for a work study session on Jan. 26 at 5 p.m. The next Board business meeting will be Feb. 9 at 6:30 p.m. All School Board meetings are livestreamed online and held at the FHUSD Learning Center.