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

The Governing Board voted 4 to 1, with Board Member Joel Feldman voting nay, to approve the development of a search process with Arizona School Boards Association (ASBA) and district personnel, at a cost not to exceed $4,500.

Roger Short, director of Member Services for ASBA, gave a brief overview of the consultant services ASBA would offer, including full-service consulting, building a profile, developing an application, advertising, taking applications, screening applicants, conducting community group forums and bringing the information back to the Board.

Mr. Feldman expressed concerns about pursuing the best possible candidate in nontraditional education fields even if that person did not fit a traditional superintendent profile.

Board Clerk Karen Beckvar suggested input from a number of groups working together, including principals, teachers, classified employee group, APTs, PTOs, the School Board Association and direct reports to the superintendent in order to find a new superintendent to lead our district into the future.

It is necessary for Scottsdale Unified School District to begin a search for a new superintendent as soon as possible. ASBA has been conducting superintendent searches for many years and is currently conducting several in the Valley. ASBA is dedicated to providing services on behalf of all local school boards. Therefore, the interest of the local community becomes a priority in conducting superintendent searches. The search will be conducted on a timely basis.

In other action, the Board:

• Heard Bob Flach’s, chief financial officer, presentation on the fiscal year 2004-2005 preliminary M & O (maintenance and operation) Budget. The budget includes cost increases and provides for a 2 percent raise for all staff, as well as payment for the increase in health insurance costs. Possible proposed changes to the budget may include, raising the cost of middle school sport fees, increasing rental rates, eliminating flex spending accounts for employees and replacing registered nurses with licensed practicing nurses.
   
• Received annual review of the Open Meeting Law from Direct Counsel Jack LaSota, of the law firm Miller, LaSota & Peters. Mr. LaSota created a check list for the Board Members. He informed the Board that there were no changes to the Arizona Open Meeting Law from last year and no bills were pending.
  
• Approved the Amendment to an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with Maricopa County Department of Public Health for Tobacco Prevention Programs. Maricopa County Tobacco Prevention Program previously agreed to pay $32,000 to SUSD for the school-based tobacco prevention programs. This was a $4,000 increase from last year due to the addition of two schools.
   
  In October the district added two schools to this tobacco prevention program. Through an amendment to the IGA the Maricopa County Tobacco Use Prevention Program agreed to increase the contract amount to $44,000 for the 2003-2004 school year, a $12,000 increase over the original contract. The amendment also included the addition of six schools bringing the total to 22 participating schools.
  
• Approved the Facility Rental Policy Handbook. Detailed information about the facility rental policy and rental fee schedule was presented at the Jan. 13 Governing Board meeting. The revised handbook includes clarification that Parent Council, PTO and PTA organizations are exempt form a utility surcharge fees that are being implemented in the current revision.
  The proposed changes will go into effect June 1, 2004.
  
• Accepted gifts valued at $44,401. The gifts were received from Cherokee APT, Ingleside PTO, Kiva PTO, Mountainside PTO, American Heart Association, Arizona Public Service, Joe Margardino, Shammy Man Car Wash and Tour Wives Association.
  

The next Governing Board meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 10, at the Education Center.