- Scottsdale Unified School District
- Superintendent
- Superintendent Menzel's Blog
Superintendent’s Message
Posted by Scott A. Menzel, Ph.D. on 1/6/2023
Happy New Year, and welcome back to school!
It’s hard to believe the academic year is half over, and I suspect we will all be surprised by how quickly this spring semester flies by, too, making it all that much more important that students be present for all of it. Every day counts!
Attendance is critical to the academic success of students. It doesn’t take much to fall behind. Regardless of whether an absence is excused or unexcused, any instructional time missed can jeopardize a student’s understanding and ultimate mastery of skills or key concepts. Missing school is missing out. We look forward to seeing everyone in school, in class, and on time.
This month is Governing Board Appreciation Month, and we are happy to welcome our Governing Board’s two new members, Amy Carney and Carine Werner. This week, at the Board’s first meeting of 2023, members elected Julie Cieniawski to again serve as Board President; Carine Werner was elected Vice President. Governing Board members, no matter where they serve, devote extraordinary amounts of time to the positions to which they were elected. We appreciate our members’ commitment to our community of schools and for always putting our students’ needs first.
2023 Board member Learning Community assignments were also announced at this week’s meeting, and are as follows:
- Arcadia Learning Community – Amy Carney
- Chaparral Learning Community and Scottsdale Online – Dr. Libby Hart-Wells
- Coronado Learning Community – Carine Werner
- Desert Mountain Learning Community – Julie Cieniawski
- Saguaro Learning Community – Zach Lindsay
We’re proud to report that Scottsdale schools have earned another $600,000 in Arizona Department of Education-granted Results-Based Funding (RBF) for the current school year. These are additional dollars the state allocates to those schools making the greatest impact on student achievement. We thank SUSD’s educators and their site leaders for their joint commitment to support all students as they pursue academic success. You can learn more about RBF dollars and calculations here.
On the matter of state funding, and as we have previously shared, the Aggregate Expenditure Limit, or AEL, continues to loom large over public school districts all across Arizona. Adopted in 1980, the AEL relies on an outdated funding formula that caps how much school districts can spend each fiscal year. While the state Legislature last year voted to increase public school funding for the current budget year, school districts will be unable to spend a portion of those already-allocated dollars unless lawmakers vote to override the AEL, and they must do it soon. If the Legislature does not address this issue by February 28th, Arizona’s K-12 public schools will be required to cut a collective $1.38 billion from their current school year budgets. For SUSD, that equates to $30,196,497, basically what it takes to operate our schools and the district for 45 days. Please consider sharing your thoughts on this topic with your newly elected state lawmakers.
Earlier this week, a truly scary scene unfolded during the Monday Night Football game when Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field following a tackle. Thankfully, his condition at a Cincinnati hospital is reportedly improving, and much of that can be attributed to the quick medical attention he received from first responders staffing the game. It is worth noting that each of SUSD’s high schools has a certified athletic trainer on staff who is ready to respond to student athletes in need. Each of our 29 school campuses also has at least one AED device, along with staff trained in CPR. The health and wellness of our students is at the forefront of all that we do, and we continue to offer CPR training opportunities to any additional staff members who are interested in becoming CPR-certified.
We are coming up on a very busy time of year for the Valley, with the annual Barrett-Jackson auto auction, the Phoenix Open and, this year, Super Bowl LVII. The fun and games draw large crowds and deliver great economic benefits; however, they also present some risk. The safety and security of our students is always top-of-mind, and leading up to this exciting time, local law enforcement has been preparing for an increase in human trafficking. We share this to make you aware of this risk and take proper precautions at this time when the community hosts many out-of-town visitors for multiple weeks.
This month, SUSD will once again celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and his extraordinary legacy. On Thursday, January 12th, Saguaro High School will host the 23rd annual MLK Youth Voices event, held in conjunction with other local celebrations sponsored by the City of Scottsdale’s Community Celebrating Diversity Board. It is an event I look forward to each and every year. The student performances and speeches are always reflective, insightful and inspiring, and serve as a reminder of just how important dignity and a strong sense of belonging is, for all. Please note that there is no school on Monday, January 16th in observance of the state and federal MLK Jr. holidays.
Have a great January,
Scott
For more on the Superintendent's office, visit www.susd.org/superintendent.
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