April 23, 2024 at 6:00 PM - Governing Board Meeting

A. Opening of Meeting

A.1. Call to Order

A.2. Pledge of Allegiance

B. Student Report

B.1. Report from Flowing Wells Junior High School Student Representatives

B.1.a. Student representatives will provide a review of events and activities at Flowing Wells Junior High School in academics, sports, and other extracurricular programs.

B.2. Report from Sentinel Peak High School and Flowing Wells Digital Campus Student Representatives

B.2.a. Student representatives will provide a review of events and activities at Sentinel Peak High School and Flowing Wells Digital Campus in academics, sports, and other extracurricular programs.

C. Superintendent’s Report

C.1. Recognition of FWHS Athletes and Coaches who Qualified for State Playoffs

C.1.a. Flowing Wells Athletic Director Mark Brunenkant will introduce FWHS athletes and coaches who qualified for state playoffs in Season 2 and 3 sports.

C.2. Presentation of Flowing Wells Junior High Yearbook for 2023-2024

C.2.a. Flowing Wells Junior High School Yearbook Advisor Shawna McGlamery and student representatives will present the yearbook for the 2023-2024 school year.

C.3. Report from Flowing Wells Educational Foundation

C.3.a. Flowing Wells Educational Foundation (FWEF) President Patrick Burns and other FWEF members will provide a brief update regarding a fundraising initiative.

C.4. Update on District Events and Activities

C.4.a. Superintendent Dr. Kevin Stoltzfus will provide an update on Flowing Wells School District Events and Activities.
BREAK- The brief break provides an opportunity for families and friends to leave the meeting.

D. Public Comments
Flowing Wells School District welcomes public comment. As outlined in A.R.S. §38-431.02, no action will be taken on issues raised in Public Comments unless items are found on agenda below. Other than this, the response to public comments will be limited to directing staff to study the matter or scheduling the matter as a future agenda item.

E. Consent Agenda
These items of Board business that are addressed routinely at every meeting are presented as a Consent Agenda. The Board may elect to take action on all items collectively in one motion or may individually consider any item(s) as separate agenda subjects for action.

E.1. Approval of Agenda for this Meeting

E.1.a. Request approval for the adoption of the agenda for this meeting, April 23, 2024.

E.2. Approval of Minutes of Governing Board Meetings

E.2.a. The following Governing Board meeting minutes are presented for Governing Board approval: April 09, 2024 (Open Session Minutes).

E.3. Approval of District Expense and Payroll Vouchers

E.3.a. Sign vouchers for upcoming check batches (to be reviewed at the next Board Meeting). None for this meeting
Expense and payroll vouchers are presented for Board approval: Expense vouchers #6869-6872 and Payroll voucher #2307.

E.4. Approval of Requests for Use of District Facilities

E.4.a. None for this meeting.

E.5. Approval of Requests for Open Enrollment Students

E.5.a. Requests for open enrollment students are submitted for approval.

E.6. Approval of Requests for Student Trips

E.6.a. None for this meeting. 

E.7. Approval of Requests for Staff Travel

E.7.a. Staff travel requests are submitted for approval.

E.8. Approval of Personnel Actions

E.8.a. Personnel Actions are submitted for approval.

E.9. Acceptance of Gifts and Donations

E.9.a. None for this meeting.

E.10. Review of District Financial Statements

E.10.a. None for this meeting.

E.11. Approval of Asset Retirement and Disposals

E.11.a. Approval is requested for the retirement and disposal of assets no longer used by the district as of April 17, 2024.

E.12. Approval of District Calendars

E.12.a. The following calendars are submitted for approval, with no significant changes other than dates adjusted for the new year: Summer 2024 Schedule; 2024-2025 Classified Calendar by Group; 2024-2025 Paid Holidays; 2024-2025 Payroll Dates Calendar; 2024-2025 Governing Board Meetings; and 2024-2025 Governing Board and School Visitations Calendar.

F. New Business

F.1. Recommend Approval to Table K-5 Science Curriculum

F.1.a. District administration recommends approval to table the science curriculum for kindergarten through fifth grade to allow for public review and comment prior to a formal request to adopt for use across all District elementary schools. This curriculum was developed internally by District Science Specialist Anna Heyer and a team of teacher leaders working collaboratively to develop, pilot, and refine the various modules over the course of multiple years. The curriculum engages students in the science and engineering practices across the areas of physical science, earth and space science, and life science, developing the habits of mind necessary for more advanced study of the sciences in upper grades.

F.2. Recommend Approval to Table STEAM Curriculum

F.2.a. District administration recommends approval to table the curriculum for the new K-6 Science Technology Engineering Arts and Math (STEAM) elementary special program to allow for public review and comment prior to a formal request to adopt for use across all District elementary schools. The curriculum was developed by District Science Specialist Anna Heyer and a team of stakeholders that included our STEAM teachers, computer lab technicians, parents, and external scientists and community members. The curriculum includes coding and robotics, art and design, technology tools and typing, and explicit connections to our grade-level science and engineering units.

F.3. Recommend Approval to Table New Literature for High School

F.3.a. District administration recommends approval to table the adoption of a work of literature entitled Bloodchild and Other Stories, by Octavia Butler, to allow for public review and comment prior to a formal request to adopt for use in our high school English classes. This collection of science fiction short stories demonstrates appropriate text complexity coupled with engaging and relevant themes related to aliens, humanity, and alternative worlds.

F.4. Information and Discussion regarding Revision to Policy JKD Student Suspension

F.4.a. District Administration presents a revision to Policy JKD Student Suspension for review and discussion, with no action to be taken during the current meeting. The current Policy JKD reads that parents will be notified of a long-term suspension hearing involving their child at least five working days prior to the hearing.  The policy states that this notification will take place via certified mail or hand delivery (in-person) of a letter to the parent.  The proposed revision seeks to include email as an additional method of formal notification of a long-term hearing for parents. The attached revised policy includes underlined language to indicate the change.

F.5. Information and Discussion regarding Revisions to Sick Leave Policies

F.5.a. District administration presents revisions to the policies summarized below for review and discussion, with no action to be taken at this meeting. The attached memo summarizes the revisions, and the accompanying policy drafts include underlined text to indicate additions and strikethrough text to indicate deletions. Policy GCCA Professional Staff Sick Leave and Policy GDCA Support Staff Sick Leave include revisions providing ten-month employees with flexibility to use any or all of their current-year allocation of ten sick leave days as personal leave. Policy GCQC Resignation of Professional Staff Members and Policy GDQB Resignation of Support Staff Members include revisions that eliminate the current fixed rates for which employees can be compensated for unused sick leave, replacing these with a percentage scale that begins after nine years of employment.

F.6. Recommend Approval to Renew Field Placement Agreement with the University of Arizona

F.6.a. District administration recommends approval to renew the field placement agreement with the University of Arizona for a term of five years, effective from July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2029. This would maintain the current partnership with the University in terms of placing student teachers and other interns in Flowing Wells.

G. Unfinished Business

G.1. Recommend Approval to Adopt Advanced Placement Statistics Textbook

G.1.a. District administration recommends approval to adopt the textbook and curriculum resource entitled The Practice of Statistics for the AP Classroom, 7th Edition to allow for use in the AP Statistics course at Flowing Wells High School. This resource has been tabled for public review for a sixty-day period, and no public comments or concerns were submitted during this time.

H. Business and Finance

H.1. Recommend Approval of Employee Benefit Renewals for FY2024-2025

H.1.a. District administration recommends approval of the following employee benefit contracts for FY2024-2025: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona for health insurance and telehealth (5.0% increase); Health Equity for Health Savings Accounts (no change); Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona for PPO dental (no change); EyeMed for vision (no change); Sun Life for short-term disability (no change); Employers Dental Service for pre-paid dental (no change); Minnesota Life for life/AD&D and supplemental life insurance (no change); WEX for Flexible Spending Accounts (no change).

H.2. Recommend Increase to District Contribution to Employee Health Care for FY2024-2025

H.2.a. District administration recommends increasing the District contribution to employee health insurance for Fiscal Year 2024-2025 by the amount of $327.00 per participating employee. This increase would cover the cost of the rate increase of 5.0% from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona for an individual employee on the PPO plan. For an individual employee on the High Deductible Health Plan, the increased contribution of $327.00 would cover the cost of the 5.0% rate increase ($250.00) and would increase the District contribution to the employee's Health Savings Account by $77.00 per year. The total increased cost to the District is estimated at $147,000.00 for FY2024-2025.

H.3. Recommend Approval of Revisions to Special Activities Compensation (SAC) Schedule for 2024-2025 School Year

H.3.a. District administration recommends approval of revisions to the SAC schedule for the 2024-2025 school year. Revisions are outlined in the attached memo and highlighted in the attached SAC schedule. Most revisions would take effect in the 2024-2025 fiscal year. Compensation increases for high school summer school administrator and teachers would take effect in June, 2024.

I. Executive Session

I.1. In accordance with A.R.S.§38-431.03.A.5, an Executive Session may be called for discussion or consultation with designated representative of the public body in order to consider its position and instruct its representative regarding negotiations with employee organizations regarding the salaries, salary schedules or compensation paid in the form of fringe benefits of employees of the public body; concerning salaries and benefits.

J. Adjourn