The Fountain Hills Unified School District Governing Board held a business meeting last Wednesday, April 12. The Board discussed the Four Peaks and McDowell Mountain Elementary School properties with Bart Shea from Shea Connelly Development, but they have not yet decided on any actions to take with the unused assets.

Shea reached out to FHUSD Superintendent Dr. Cain Jagodzinski months ago and now the Board is ready to hear proposals for the land. Shea is interested in building an indoor Olympic swimming pool that could be used as a revenue stream for the school by hosting tournaments and other events throughout the year. Shea is also interested in building starter homes on a long-term lease.

The Board took no action on Shea’s presentation, and they may hear from other developers about potential ideas before the Board votes one way or the other. Members would have to approve the idea to sell, lease or exchange property by June, and then the community would be able to vote on the matter in November.

Other business

The Board voted to approve the job description of an instructional coach and they approved the new counselor job description. FHUSD applied for more safety resource officers (SRO) through the school safety grant but did not receive any additional police officers. Jagodzinski said that Larry Kratzer of MCSO wrote a letter of support for FHUSD to receive more counselors through the school safety grant after the SRO’s did not come through.

The Board also approved new contracts for administrators and a new raise for certified staff. They also approved the Pay for Performance Plan they discussed in their last work study session on March 22.

The student Falcons of the Month for April were McKenzie Doungeva from McDowell Mountain Elementary School, Stephano Villalva from Fountain Hills Middle School and Emmerson Uphoff from the high school.

The staff Falcons of the Month were Sam Brooks from McDowell Mountain, John Engels from the middle school and Nancy Nichols from the high school. Jared Andreae was the district office Falcon of the month.

All Board meetings are held in the FHUSD learning center and livestreamed and recorded on the FHUSD YouTube channel. The next meeting will be a work study session next Wednesday, April 26, at 5 p.m.