Area high schools are recognized for maintaining safe campuses

High schools around Yuma and San Luis, Ariz., were recognized Wednesday for maintaining safe campuses last year.

And what better way to be recognized them than with dollars at the regular meeting of the Yuma Union High School District.

Representatives of the each of the six campuses received distributions of board-approved insurance proceeds in amounts based on their success during the prior 2020-21 academic year in eliminating safety risks and preventing accidents on their respective campuses.

Vista and Gila Ridge high schools each received $8,300 for having the best safety records in 2020-21.

They were followed by Kofa High School, which received $5,700; Cibola High School, $4,300; San Luis High School, $4,200, and Yuma High, $3,900.

This marks the third consecutive year Vista has either received the largest share or tied for the largest.

To be eligible for shares of the district’s rebated insurance money, the campuses must each have a safety committee that meets quarterly and conducts safety inspections twice a year, says Eric Patten, chief communications officer for YUHSD.

The amounts of their shares are further determined by the number of safety violations found in the inspections, steps taken by the committees to correct those deficiencies and the number of accident-free days the campuses record.

The schools use their shares of the money to make additional safety upgrades recommended by their safety committees and approved by faculty and student bodies, Patten said.

In other action, the board heard a student attendance report from Superintendent Gina Thompson.

As of Wednesday, the district had a total of 11,834 students registered for the new school year and 10,505 on the respective campuses that day, she said. Wednesday was the fifth day of the new school year.

Enrollment in the district’s online program, the Yuma Online Distance Academy has more than doubled, she said.

Thompson also took the occasion of Wednesday’s meeting to recognize AEA Federal Credit Union and its senior marketing director, Miriam Limon, for contributions made to the district over the years.

Limon has served as AEA’s liaison in providing the district financial and other forms of support, among them contributions toward programs and activities to welcome new teachers to the district.