DISTRICT ONE BOARD MEETING AT A GLANCE
An assortment of topics were on the agenda for Yuma School District One’s December Governing Board meeting Monday night. Here’s a look at some of the items addressed by the board.
SCHOOL SHOWCASE
“The wolves are in the house,” said Superintendent James Sheldahl as he opened his monthly report, recognizing the cheerleaders and musicians posted in the board room on Sixth Street.
As a precursor to their winter concert on Dec. 12, the Ron Watson Middle School band showcased their talent and jazzy Christmas tunes. Sharing the spotlight was the Ron Watson cheer team, who competed in a regional competition in Phoenix last weekend and brought home first place and a spot at nationals.
RECOGNITIONS
The governing board recognized the hard work and diligence of the eight schools that finished the 2018-2019 school year with an ‘A’ or ‘B’ letter grade: Alice Byrne, C.W. McGraw, Desert Mesa, G.W. Carver, James B. Rolle, James D. Price, Palmcroft and Sunrise Elementary Schools.
The board also celebrated the “unmatched dedication” of MCAS Yuma School Liaison Officer Elena McShane, who is retiring later this month following a decade of work that has “enriched the relationship between the base and District One schools,” according to Sheldahl. “She has ensured our students and families experience a smooth transition moving to Yuma, and she has been instrumental in leveraging resources to support students and teachers alike. Mrs. McShane has been a champion for education in Yuma.”
DONATIONS
The district received a number of donations in November – $28,019.27, to be exact.
Among these donations, Alice Byrne Elementary received $10,000 from Carol Clarkson Eklund Foundation for campus technology purchases; Castle Dome Middle and Palmcroft Elementary Schools received donations valuing over $1,000 from Donors Choose; from the National Wildlife Federation, Pecan Grove Elementary received $700 toward gardening, recycling and a tortoise habitat; R. Pete Woodard Junior High received $1,000 for girls’ soccer and basketball uniforms from the United Yuma Firefighters Association.
The donations brought the district’s year-to-date total to $88,000.83.
PHASE II BOND PROJECTS
Utilizing the Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) project delivery method, District One and Pilkington Construction are working together to construct three classrooms at Ron Watson Middle, one being a “bonafide” culinary arts room. On Monday, the governing board approved a Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) for the project, which will be covered with funds from a 2014 bond.
According to Pilkington President Clint Harrington, the project is slated to begin over Christmas break and will be ready by the start of the 2020-2021 school year.
FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS
Last spring, the state legislature appropriated $20 million to expand school safety programs and fund school resource officers, counselors and social workers. In August, the Arizona State Board of Education approved a “competitive grant process” designed by the Department of Education (ADE), which will award grants for three-and-a-half years beginning in January 2020 based on schools’ past compliance with campus safety requirements and data that reflects need for these resources.
District One submitted a request for five school resource officers and five counselors; on Dec. 7, the district was notified that the ADE will submit its recommendations for awards on Sept. 13, 2020, which is reported to include District One’s proposals for continuing school resource officers at the five middle and junior high schools as well as the addition of full-time counselor positions at Palmcroft, O.C. Johnson and C.W. McGraw Elementary Schools. The proposals total $724,793 in annual funding.
The proposals are pending approval until the state board’s meeting Friday, Dec. 13.
“We are hopeful, we have our fingers crossed that the state board will approve the ADE’s recommendation for District One and we hope to have an action item…in January to approve this funding,” Shedahl said. “As soon as that happens, we can go about hiring some counselors.”