The Fountain Hills Unified School District Governing Board came together for a public meeting on Jan. 23 to discuss a field trip for the high school Key Club and to hear an update on Fountain Hills Middle School from Principal James Carrick.

The meeting began with Superintendent Dr. Robert Allen providing an informational report to the board about happenings in the district.

Along with congratulating McDowell Mountain Elementary School Principal Valerie Dehombreux on earning a site visit from the Arizona Education Foundation for a potential A+ School of Excellence rating, Allen took a moment to recognize the high school marching band for a stellar season.

After Allen finished his comments, FHMS principal James Carrick reported to the board about how the implementation of the Beyond Textbooks program in the middle school was progressing and the new electives being offered, such as a CTE class.

With no public comments the school board approved the consent agenda and moved into the information/discussion portion of the meeting to talk about the High School Key Club trip to New Mexico in March.

The board confirmed with FHHS Principal Cain Jagodzinski that the dates of the trip would not affect AzMerit testing and then moved on to action items.

The board voted to send a teacher evaluation statement of assurance to the Arizona Department of Education stating that the FHUSD teacher evaluation process meets state standards.

The next governing board meeting will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 13.