The Fountain Hills Unified School District (FHUSD) Governing Board held a special meeting on Monday, April 3, where members discussed options regarding parcels of land and school buildings, and Superintendent Dr. Cain Jagodzinski reflected on what happened around the bond and override vote in 2022.

Land

Jagodzinski and the Board expressed no interest in pursuing selling parcels of land owned by the district in the immediate future. In conversations about the land, the Board looked at land appraisals and their expected costs to maintain district buildings, and they didn’t even out.

“Selling all our properties wouldn’t even cover the projection,” Board member Libby Settle said.

School buildings

The Board was more inclined to do something with the Four Peaks Elementary School building. Jagodzinski said he initially wanted to save the building when he was hired last year, but he and others have started to realize that something needs to be done.

Built in 1974, Four Peaks is the oldest school building in town and has not been used as an active school since 2018. It is currently being used as a “Biz Hub” for local businesses, but the cost of operating Four Peaks overshadows the revenue brought in from rent by tens of thousands of dollars.

There has not been any decision made yet, but FHUSD has not renewed any contracts with the businesses that use Four Peaks past December 2023. Board members asked how much the rent was, and if any renters expressed interest in staying if their rent was raised. Jagodzinski said there was one business he knew of that wanted to stay.

FHUSD has previously received a code violation notice from the Town because of the renters at Four Peaks. The Board would like to make a decision regarding the Four Peaks property by May in case they choose to put it on the November ballot. The Board will have more discussions on the property at future meetings.

Bart Shae of Shae Connelly Development will be at the school board meeting tonight, Wednesday, April 12, to talk about what he would like to do if FHUSD decided to sell, lease, or exchange the Four Peaks property. FHUSD only owns the school building and parking lot, and the town owns Four Peaks Park behind the school.

The current McDowell Mountain Elementary School, which will be Little Falcons Preschool next year, was originally built in 1986. Jagodzinski said the district should at least entertain options regarding the property, but he doesn’t have any immediate plans besides consolidation.

The Board can decide to put one or both properties up for election, and town residents will vote whether or not to give the Board approval to either sell, lease or exchange the properties. If the Board receives town approval, they have a 20-year time window to act.

Bond and override

Jagodzinski was not the Superintendent when the Board decided last time to put a bond and override up for election. Jagodzinski spent time before and after the previous election speaking with stakeholders about concerns they had, and he addressed several complaints that he heard from multiple groups.

Enrollment was on the decline each year from 2013 to 2022. Jagodzinski was an educator and principle at Fountain Hills High School during that downward trend, and he was aware of several issues related to decreasing enrollment. Since Jagodzinski started as Superintendent, he’s used his knowledge to address many of those issues, and enrollment is up by 90 more kids in 2023 than 2022.

Jagodzinski has been conservative with spending this year and has already cut several items from the budget, or at least did not renew certain contracts so they will be cut from next year’s budget. His first cuts were for online curriculum programs for elementary school children, like PLP and other software programs.

The biggest expenses that Jagodzinski has signed off on are in regard to consolidation. Dr. Robert Allen worked as the district’s assistant superintendent of business operations from 2015-2018, and his good budget practices allow for Jagodzinski to pay for consolidation with district savings.

Jagodzinski recommends putting a bond up for election, but not an override. He said he would like both, but the district needs at least one source of revenue, and the bond is more important. The bond would pay for building renovations and safety and security upgrades, as well as provide funds for emergency repairs, such as the water main break that caused students to lose a week of in-person instruction last fall.

Overrides would pay for free full-day kindergarten, staff salary raises and professional development, textbooks and online programs for children.

“It’d be nice to go for the override, but the priority and what I’m trying to show the community is, we’re not asking for everything,” Jagodzinski said. “We’re asking for, ‘let’s get these buildings up to date.’”

The Board made no official decisions and will continue discussions moving forward. They will have a regular business meeting tonight, Wednesday, April 12, at 6 p.m., and they will have another work study session to discuss options on Wednesday, April 26, at 5 p.m.

All FHUSD School Board meetings are held in the District Learning Center and are livestreamed and recorded on the FHUSD YouTube channel.