The Fountain Hills Unified School District Governing Board held a meeting on Feb. 28 to discuss the possibility of adding a Fountain Hills High School swim team and to pass a resolution in support of public education.

The idea for a swim team came from FHHS student Deven Meyers who, along with Principal Cain Jagodzinski, was at the meeting to offer additional details.

“She (Meyers) was very passionate about starting the team when she approached me,” said Jagodzinki. “I told her that if she put the work in to get it done I would give her my full support. Within a couple of days she had done it.”

Jagodzinski also noted when talking to the board that a few students had left FHHS citing the lack of a swim team.

The swim team, if created, would join the 2018-19 fall sport line-up as a co-ed sport. Practices would be held at Peaks Athletic Club.

“I talked to the manager at Peaks Athletic Club and she was very excited about the idea,” said Meyers.

Cost involved for swimmers on the team would be the price of a membership at Peaks, which would give them full access to the club.

Meyers, along with putting in the work to get to this point in the process of creating a swim team, also surveyed FHHS students to gauge interest.

“Out of the all surveys I passed out I got a lot of maybes, which are most likely no’s,” said Meyers. “Twenty-two students said definitely, though, and I know of at least three eighth grades who would also join.”

There is no coach yet but Meyers has talked with a few people who are interested, including a former Norte Dame Swim coach.

The Board was very receptive to the idea of adding a swim team to the FHHS sports lineup and was particularly impressed with Meyers.

“I just want to say kudos to you (Meyers) for seeing a problem and being part of the solution,” said board member Dr. Wendy Barnard. “Congratulations to you, too, Principal Jagodzinski, for giving your students a voice.”

Resolution

Also on the agenda for the meeting was the passing of a resolution in support of public education. This item was a holdover from the Feb. 14 meeting when disagreements about the language used, and a worry that the resolution was getting too political, led the board to table it for retooling before the Feb. 28 meeting.

The new resolution is a single page document that emphasizes the board’s dedication to quality public education and a call for government support for public education.

“The Fountain Hills Unified School District Governing Board and Administration call on local, state and federal lawmakers to prioritize support for strengthening our public school districts and empowering local education leaders to implement, manage and lead school districts,” reads the resolution.

The board unanimously passed the resolution.

Other action items included the approval of two school trips; one for the FHHS band to travel to Hollywood and the other a trip for FHHS students to visit the Fountain Hills Sister City of Dierdorf, Germany.

The board also approved the renaming of Advance Algebra to Algebra III. The change is to help make student transcripts more universally readable for colleges.

Due to Spring Break, the Governing Board’s next meeting will be on Mar. 21 at 6:30 p.m.