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

The Governing Board voted 5 to 0 in favor of sending almost all flyers home with students. However, the moratorium is still in effect until the Board revises the language in the existing flyer policy.

The district had conducted a survey, which approximately 27,000 surveys were sent home with elementary, middle and high school students to determine the public’s preference for the district’s future flyer policy. Of those who responded to the survey, 66 percent were in favor of sending almost all flyers home, 12 percent wanted to send only school flyers home, 6 percent wanted to send standardized forms home, 5 percent wanted flyers to be posted in the office kiosks and 7 percent wanted standardized forms and kiosks.

The district has been under a Board-approved moratorium on flyer distribution since September.
The Board requested the flyer policy be brought back on the March 30 agenda.

In other action, the Board:

• Discussed putting a bond/override election on the November ballot.
   
• Approved the FY2004-2005 Preliminary M&O (Maintenance and Operation) Budget as recommended at the Feb. 24 meeting with the exception of the proposed reduction in Flexible Spending Accounts. The decision means there will be no reduction in Flexible Spending Accounts for employees for the 2004-2005 school year.
   
• Adopted high school science textbooks. Texts and equipment will be purchased from several different publishing companies. 
  
• Adopted textbooks for the K-8 Computer Literacy, and Family and Consumer Science and Business/Computer Technology for high schools.
   
• Was presented with information regarding establishing two new categories, 5 and 6, in the Open Enrollment policy JBF for students in the Unorganized Territory.
  
  Current district policy assigns students from the Unorganized Territory, region outside SUSD boundaries that is not within any public school district boundaries, to specific schools, including Navajo Elementary, Aztec Elementary, Mohave Middle and Saguaro High schools. Because of the distance from the unorganized territory to most of the designated schools, relatively few students from the unorganized territory attend Scottsdale schools.
  
  With the current decline in student enrollment, and spare capacity at some of the schools that are closer in proximity to the Unorganized Territory, the district has the opportunity to offer Open Enrollment to students from the Unorganized Territory to select schools. The district’s first responsibility is to its own students.
  
  In accordance with the district’s policy on Open Enrollment, students from the unorganized territory would be permitted to open enroll to schools where the superintendent determines there is excess capacity rather than be assigned to specific schools. This change would take effect with enrollment for the 2004-2005 school year.
  
  The Board requested this item to be brought back on the March 30 agenda.
   
  
• Accepted gifts valued at $52,915. The gifts were received from Desert Canyon Elementary School, Mountainside Band Boosters, Mountainside Student Government, Saguaro Caring Committee, Saguaro Softball Boosters, Anasazi PTO, Aztec Community Team, Cheyenne PTO, Friends of A.N.L.C., Hopi PTA, Ingleside PTO, Mountainside PTO, Pima PTO, Pueblo PTO, Saguaro PTO, Zuni Community Association, Arizona Public Service, Peter Carbonaro, Daniel Corrigan, E.C.H.O., Richard Dwyer, Fry’s Food Store, Jim May Productions, Mr. And Mrs. Randall Kirsch, Kroger, Kroger Industries, Julie Nideffer, Annette Teeters, Wells Fargo and Wells Fargo Foundation.

The next regular Governing Board meeting, a work/study session on the Student Code of Conduct, is scheduled for 7 p.m., Tuesday, March 30, 2004, at the Education Center.

# # #