Scottsdale Unified School District No Dream Too Big . . . No Challenge Too Great

One of the first orders of business at Tuesday’s Governing Board meeting was to welcome newly elected Board members Karen Beckvar and Christine Schild. The Board then elected David Goldstaub as its president, and Shari Avianantos as its clerk.

During recognition, Arcadia High School senior Sandra Rosas was acknowledged by the Governing Board Tuesday for honing her leadership skills as a contributor and builder of the community. She earned this distinction by participating this past summer in a youth legislative conference sponsored by The National Hispanic Institute.

“Miss Rosas was one of 96 Arizona students, and the only one from SUSD, who participated in a week-long conference in New Mexico, where she received training with special interest in the service of others through community involvement,” said Board President David Goldstaub.

In other action, the Board approved the math textbook and materials adoption for grades six through seven, and nine through 12. The 5-0 vote was only for secondary textbooks. Elementary textbook recommendations will be brought back to the Board at its Jan. 28 meeting.

The District is moving from multiple textbooks and with this adoption the District is offering a uniform curriculum to its students, noted Don Jefferies, associate superintendent.

“This represents great progress,” Mr. Goldstaub said, thanking the committee for its work in the selection process.

Chief Financial Officer Bob Flach reported that the District achieved a 2 percent reduction in interest rates and an immediate savings of almost $1.6 million for its taxpayers with the resale of almost $76 million in bonds. The Jan. 6 resale means a projected net savings over the new life of the bonds of almost $10.4 million for SUSD taxpayers.

“This means a reduction in property taxes,” according to Mr. Flach.

The savings was achieved through a combination of lower rates—an average 3.81 percent vs. the previous average of 5.13 percent—and a reduction in the life of the bonds to 15 years from the previous 20.

A second sale is planned this spring. Mr. Flach anticipates that the total District debt service tax rate will drop at least 12 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.

In other action, the Board approved using an outside firm to analyze and determine the potential savings of offering a severance package for employees who have been with the District for at least 15 years.

“In order to assist in the reduction of the number of SUSD employees for next year, the District is exploring the possibility of an employee severance program,” said Mr. Flach. “Severance programs have been used with success at other school districts as a method for reducing total payroll costs,” he noted.

If the program goes forward, it is anticipated that employees choosing to participate would end their employment with the District on June 30, 2003.

In other work, the Board:

• Accepted gifts valued at $18,439.95. Gifts were received from Mountainside Middle School PTO, Donald L. Chiappetti, Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service Inc., and Salt River Project.
   
• Authorized the expenditure of $472,723 to supplement the construction of Sierra Vista Academy by the state School Facilities Board (SFB). State funding for the project is set at $2.35 million, but the low bidder submitted a price of $2.8 million. “Because the state SFB only funds the amount necessary to meet state minimum adequacy guidelines, the balance of funding required to meet District facility standards must be provided by the District,” explained Bill Johnson, chief of facilities and operations. “For example, the state SFB will fund a telephone system, but not an intercom for classrooms or a sound system for the multipurpose room. The SFB minimum adequacy guidelines do not include windows, carpeting, sinks, cabinets, and many other items in the classrooms that are considered standard,” Dr. Johnson noted. The District’s portion of the project will be funded through remaining 1997 Bond monies and Adjacent Ways funds.
   
• Authorized the expenditure of $84,000 to supplement a state School Facilities Board (SFB) sewer project at Cocopah Middle School. State funding for the project is set at $131,600, but the low bidder submitted a price of $215,600. The District must fund the difference. The $84,000 will come from Adjacent Ways funds.
   
• Approved the expenditure of up to $75,000 to purchase a video surveillance system to help reduce damage, theft, and losses, while increasing safety and security at schools and at District facilities.
   
• Approved the intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the city of Phoenix for School Resource Officers (SROs) for the current fiscal year. This annual renewal with Phoenix is to provide a SRO—a police officer—at Arcadia High School, and another at Ingleside Middle School. According to the IGA, the District agrees to pay $105,682, plus compensation for additional expenses, including overtime resulting from school related activities. This amount is a 3.7% increase over the previous year’s amount of $101,906. The District also provides office space and clerical support for the officers. On Aug. 7, 2002, the Governing Board authorized a temporary approval of this IGA pending the new fully executed agreement.
   
• Approved seeking an outside firm to provide a teacher training program to assist with the District’s focus on student achievement and school improvement. The training is to focus on instruction in leadership, continuous school improvement, effective school techniques, total quality improvement, information gathering and interpretation, and team building.

The next Governing Board meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 28, at the Education Center.
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