With more than 20 years of service between them, Helen Howard and Melanie Anderelli have officially departed the Fountain Hills Unified School District Governing Board.

Anyone who has been involved with the FHUSD since the turn of the century has likely worked with or gotten to know this dynamic duo.

Howard joined the board back in 2002 with Anderelli coming on just a couple of years later in 2005. Both were appointed to the board for their first terms, then they ran for new seats.

Things worked out so well that they kept running, filling positions as board and committee members, serving as vice president and president a number of times and more.

Both Howard and Anderelli were most recently elected to office in 2010, wrapping up their final term today, Dec. 31.

Howard said she was approached by former Superintendents Dr. Maria Menconi and Dr. Marian Hermie back in 2002, when a seat was becoming available.

“I had served on the budget advisory team and the site councils at various schools,” Howard said.

“I’ve always thought that it’s important to give back to your community, so that was what prompted me to go for it.”

Anderelli came on a couple of years later after volunteering in local classrooms and going on to substitute teach.

“While I was substitute teaching, I started attending some of the board meetings,” Anderelli said.

“I was encouraged by some of the principals and some of the teachers to apply when there was an opening.”

Looking back on their first year on the board, both Anderelli and Howard said that the process was a bit intimidating.

“I remember sitting up there during my first board meeting and thinking, ‘Why am I up here, I have no idea what I’m doing,’” Howard said.

“It got better, and the board training helped. Dr. Hermie was also coming on as the new superintendent, so we had a lot of conversations and went to training together.

“The first year was a little daunting. There was a lot to learn, especially on the finance side.”

Anderelli continued.

“Fortunately, I sat next to Dana [Saar],” she said.

“He was a mentor, very helpful in explaining things and pointing me in the right direction in order to beef up my knowledge.

“The finances for schools are very unique. You may have money in this pool over here, and you can’t just put it in this pool over here. A lot of people don’t understand how that works.”

But the pair of them figured it out together, along with their fellow board members, and they’ve all worked together to make the best of what they’ve had over the past 10-plus years.

Both Howard and Anderelli have had multiple children attend FHUSD.

They said that, when they decided to run for the board, they expected to stay as long as the youngsters were still in school. They followed through on that plan, wrapping up their long runs together this year.

Looking back, Anderelli said that the board has had to operate on a continually shrinking budget but, despite the legislative goings on, FHUSD has managed to maintain classes and programs.

“Our budget is getting skinnier and skinnier, but our greatest accomplishment is that we’ve maintained our arts and our music and our sports programs,” Anderelli added.

“We made a point to maintain those programs, so we’ve gone through and made an effort to trim any inefficiencies or redundancies so that those programs could continue.”

Anderelli said that she’s also a huge fan of the more data-driven models being utilized by all school sites, making sure that educators are aware of and working toward addressing each student’s needs.

“One of the biggest things [FHUDS] has decided to do was create those data walls,” Howard added.

“It’s a powerful visual for teachers to utilize. I think that was critical in moving kids forward and addressing our educational needs.”

Howard said that she’s also been a huge supporter of FHUSD programs, boasting students who compete against bigger schools with bigger budgets, yet continuing to shine.

“Lynn Truby has often said that they are a 5A band from a 3A school on a 1A budget, and that pretty much sums up a lot of our programs,” she added.

“I’ve been so impressed with our faculty and staff. Over the years, they’ve been asked to achieve more with less, and they’ve always stepped up.”

Anderelli and Howard also made special mention of local booster clubs, as well as the highly active PTO.

Looking back, one of the areas the duo agreed could use a little work is the board’s relationship/communication with the community.

Meetings are sparsely attended and confusion surrounds board procedures.

“We’re constrained by statute,” Howard explained.

“When we have to go into executive session, some people see that as business being conducted in secret, or that we’re trying to hide something. But that’s the way certain issues have to be addressed.”

Howard said there’s also confusion about the separation between the School Board and the Town Council, which are two different entities governed by different sets of guidelines and state laws.

They also have separate funding mechanisms and elections.

Meetings are hosted differently, too.

School Board meetings are for the governing board to conduct business in view of the public, with time allotted for public comment, not as a presentation by the board to the public.

Looking ahead, the ladies said they hope to see that relationship become better understood and continue to grow.

As of Jan. 1, however, they’ll officially be on the “public” side of the divide.

“I think it’s time for other parents or community members to join the board and bring a different perspective,” Howard said.

Anderelli continued.

“For the new board members, I’d recommend they get in as much training as they possibly can,” she said.

“There’s so much to learn. Also, finance. Try to get a grasp on the finance side of things early.”

Howard agreed.

“Also, you should certainly gather outside information from the community in order to help guide your decisions, but you can’t let outside entities drive that decision making process,” she added.

“Your personal agenda has to be checked at the door. You have to look at all of the information and make as unbiased a decision as you can.”

The duo wrapped up reciting their personal mantra that’s helped guide their own decision making over the years.

“Is it good for the students?” they said.

“Because if it’s good for the students, it’s good for the district. If it’s good for the district, it’s good for the community.”