By L. Parsons The Winslow Unified School District Governing Board met last Wednesday and named Connie Gover as superintendent for the next year. The decision came after an extensive executive session and a long list of letters to the board. Governing board clerk Debbie Martinez read aloud 13 letters of support during the call to the public section of the agenda. Each one was in support of naming Gover as superintendent and ending the recruitment process. One such letter, from paraprofessional Terri Kolomitz read, “I would ask that you do not continue with the interview process for superintendent. We have a perfectly well deserved and highly qualified individual already working as the interim. We do not want the problems we had at the beginning of the school year and the added stress that everyone felt with Mrs. Zanin. Please keep Connie Gover as our superintendent.” The remaining 12 letters were similar. All touted Gover’s work ethic, dedication to students and staff and ability to work in a team setting as reasons for their support. Gover took over the position of superintendent on an interim basis in March following the sudden departure of Kathryn Zanin. She was offered a one-year contract to be negotiated by the governing board. In an emailed statement the following day, Gover said, “I am humbled to be selected as the superintendent and to serve the community of Winslow for another year. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the school district employees, the school board and the community at large for their continuous support and encouragement of my transition into this role as superintendent of Winslow Unified School District.” During her report later in the meeting, Gover mentioned Arizona Governor Doug Ducey’s lifting of mask mandates in schools. “At this time WUSD will continue to keep our protocols in place which includes the mask mandate. This is one part of our overall mitigation strategy to keep our district safe and healthy.” According to the dashboard located on the district website, at www.wusd1.org, the district has only reported three new cases of COVID-19 since March 27. Winslow Junior High School Principal Deb Lopez addressed the governing board to congratulate the eighth grade valedictorian and salutatorian. Tyler Shumway, the son of Michael and Sarah Shumway earned the title of valedictorian and Amanda Childers, daughter of Brad and Janice Childers will be salutatorian. Lopez also mentioned the tangible excitement on the Winslow Junior High School campus as the middle school students prepare to move on to Winslow High School. “We took our class photo and were able to take part in a kind of modified Bulldog Day where they were able to see the campus. They are excited to be moving on.” High school principal Sal Hernandez also spoke at the meeting and let the governing board know that prom will take place on Saturday, May 1. “We were going to do it outside,” said Hernandez, “but the wind and weather are not really that predictable, so we will be moving it inside and taking all of the proper precautions.” Hernandez and Lopez also both mentioned summer school. In an effort to help students catch up to the standards they may have missed or fallen behind on during pandemic learning, WUSD is hosting summer school at each school site. Classes will be held from May 24 to June 18. Also being held on the same dates will be Kindercamp, a program designed to help next year’s kindergarten class transition in to a school setting. Kindercamp will be held at Jefferson School, the new home for kindergarten in Winslow. Parents of incoming kindergarten students are encouraged to contact Jefferson Elementary School at a (928) 288-8500. In other business, the governing board: * Heard a presentation from Bonnie Brennan Elementary School Principal Larissa Richards. Winslow schools will implement a new growth assessment system for benchmarking standards beginning in the 2020-21 school year. The new system will discontinue the use of quarterly benchmarks and replace them with more comprehensive evaluations three times a year. * Approved the ratification of vouchers in a routine procedure that allows the board to submit vouchers to the county superintendent between meetings. * Accepted donations of $200 to the junior class from Walmart and $600 in free meal bundles from Chik-Fil-A to the National Honor Society for fundraising purposes. * Approved the hiring of Autumn Burress as a first grade teacher and the hiring of Stephanie Wofford as a high school math teacher. * Approved the transfer of Debra Hearrell from paraprofessional to high needs paraprofessional; Mica Vasquez from health technician to secretary at Bonnie Brennan; and Christi Bratt from first grade teacher to second grade teacher at Jefferson. * Accepted the year end resignation of Jonathan Friedman, WJHS/WHS choir teacher; Leslie Powers, fifth grade teacher; Maria Shepard, special education inclusion teacher; and Carl Turner, paraprofessional. * Approved the retire and return to work request from Ruby Carson, high school secretary; Charlie Hancock, maintenance/custodian supervisor; and Randy Hummel, custodian. * Discussed the continuing of board meetings using the Zoom platform. During the discussion, Gover mentioned the lack of attendance on the platform since offering an in-person option. The governing board decided to table the item until a June meeting. * Discussed the rescheduling of a board training by Jim Ledbetter, WUSD attorney. It was stated that the board was required to do the training during the calendar year but it had not yet been scheduled. The governing board suggested a June date for the training but tabled the item and did not take action. * Heard the monthly financial report from district business manager Shirley Lomeli. The district is currently at 75% of the school year completed and 62% of the budget has been spent. The next meeting of the Winslow Unified School District Governing Board will be held at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, May 5, in the district board room, located at 800 Apache Ave.
