School board receives annual audit findings

Areas of compliance that are looked into during the audit range from budgeting to purchasing to governing board management. The audit found a list of 20 non-compliant items that are being addressed by the staff. It was noted that the district is in the process of making the recommended changes to bring the district into full compliance.

Koerperich explained that 20 items tend to be the district’s average findings per year. “This is something that we do want to be 100% at, we don’t want to have these audit findings,” he stated, “This is out of literally 200-plus items that they check and make sure that we’re doing things correctly.”

The board accepted the Independent Auditor’s Report and the Uniform System of Financial Records Compliance Questionnaire findings for the 2022 fiscal year, which ended on June 30, 2022. Board member Debbie Shumway was absent from the meeting.

Also, in other business, the board:

* Approved the school year 2023-24 Open Enrollment Insurance Program. The program outlines insurance options and the implementation of an employee wellness plan.

* Approved the renewal of the client service agreement with Educational Services Incorporated (ESI) for the 2023-2024 school year. ESI specializes in providing temporary and long-term contract employees in schools. The agreement allows HUSD to retain highly qualified retired staff as well as substitute teachers benefiting both the district and the employees. Employees are hired through ESI as per the district’s Post Retirement Employment Option Plan and as a third-party employment agency. All associated rates will remain the same for next school year.

* Approved the renewal of the current Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with the Greater Phoenix Educational Management Council and AZ Educational Management Council. The IGA will allow HUSD to participate with other school districts throughout Arizona to engage in educational advocacy to improve and influence educational policy and programs throughout Arizona.

* Approved an IGA between HUSD and the Winslow Unified School District to provide business manager services for HUSD through June 30, 2023.

* Approved an update of the administrative procedure for the Bus Driver Attraction and Retention Plan. The update reflects the new driver rate for first year placement at $16.55 per hour.

* Approved the new academic advisor job position for school year 2023-24. The academic advisor position will work with Holbrook High School (HHS) students on academic focus areas such as student scheduling, attendance, tracking graduation credits, monitoring academic status, post-secondary planning and other academic areas as outlined in the job description. The position will be placed on the classified salary placement schedule.

* Approved the special education mental health specialist job description and position opening for school year 2023-24 as presented. The Special Education Mental Health Specialist will assist with the social and emotional needs of identified special education students.

* Approved the revised First Year Administrator Salary Placement Schedule for fiscal year 2024 as presented. The revision includes a $1,530 salary increase for administrators who are placed on the “Other Admin” placement schedule that possess a Master’s level or acquire a Master’s level degree in their field of work.

* Approved the fiscal year 2024 Classified Staff Salary Placement Schedule. The placement schedule will be utilized for support staff employees hired after July 1, 2023.

* Approved Steven Carbonneau’s out of state travel to attend the Acquisition Academy for Spanish professional development. The Acquisition Academy is presented by The Comprehensible Classroom, which is the recently adopted Spanish curriculum that Carbonneau is currently teaching in HHS Spanish courses. Funding for this professional development will be provided by Title II funds.

* Approved Kyle Gardner’s out of state travel to attend the Broadway Teaching Group Workshop from July 11-13. Gardner attended this workshop in the summer of 2017 and found the workshop to be beneficial. Funding for the professional development will be provided by the HHS maintenance and operations budget.

* Approved designating Sun Clan Consulting as the sole source provider for student leadership training. HUSD, along with Window Rock, Winslow and Sanders unified school districts will utilize Sun Clan Consulting to lead a new Native Student Leadership Program to help build leadership skills amongst our Native American high school students. This is a pilot program for school year 2022-23. Each school will share expenses, but HUSD will be the primary fiscal agent for the program. Funding for the program will be provided by Johnson O’Malley and Title VI funding.

* Approved the Child Care Stabilization Grant received by the PALS Daycare. Part of the grant is a stabilization grant that allows funding to update health and wellness measures throughout daycare.

* Approved the open enrollment administrative procedure that outlines guidelines for accepting both resident and non-resident students based on open enrollment capacities.

* Approve Policy GDBA Support Staff Salary for first reading. The policy revision reflects that an employee must work one day more than one-half of the year to receive an advancement in wages. This policy provision is standing policy but was omitted during a recent policy revision.

* Approved support staff employments of Britney Burgan, district payroll; Anne Lang, district human resources director; and Jesus Ponce, substitute Northern Arizona Vocational Institute of Technology (NAVIT) driver.

* Approved support staff resignation of Veronica Nelson, Holbrook Junior High School (HJHS)/Hulet library.

* Approved the certified employment of Allison Gardner and Josh Meeks, both as Hulet Elementary teachers; Michael Nilsson, HHS certified training education teacher; and Kevin Self, district substitute teacher.

* Approved certified resignation of Donna Campbell, HHS academic advisor; Paul Demuth, HHS student services; Ramona Joe, Indian Wells Elementary School (IWES) fourth grade teacher; David Smith, HHS construction teacher; and Hoby Wilhelm, HHS construction teacher.

* Approved certified retirement of Cindy McDaniel, Hulet Elementary fourth grade teacher.

* Approved extra duty for Davina Begay, Abrian Dickson, Lea Gishie and Lori Williams, all for IWES game help/sports official; Bernice Gover, IWES softball; Sally O’Dell, business office mentoring school year 2023/24; Loren Silver, HJHS bus driver; and Hoby Wilhelm, IWES soccer.

* Approved professional leave for Ray McLaws, School Nutrition Association of AZ (SNAAZ) School Nutrition Industry Conference, cost to the district is $691; Shawn Tow, Leadership in Training, cost to the district is use of a school vehicle; Shawn Tow, Leadership in Training, cost to the district is $970; Melissa John, Inclusion Work Conference, cost to the district is use of a school vehicle; and Heidi Hunsaker, Arizona Orff Workshop, cost to the district is $30 and use of a school vehicle.

* Approved expense and revolving vouchers totaling nearly $800,000.

* Approved payroll and expense vouchers totaling nearly $1.6 million.

* Approved personnel pay for Lena Begay, driver recruitment stipend, $200; Victoria Dawson, Professional Growth move from BA+39 to MA; Ericka Hunt, Park kindergarten entry assessment PD, $240; Karalyn Reidhead, Hulet/SPED professional development, $1,000; Amanda Remos, Park/SPED professional development, $1,000; Pattu Singer, IWES/SPED professional development, $1,000; District mentors, $17,000; and March bus driver attraction and retention, $3,840.

* Approved requests by HHS student council for a football clinic, expected to earn $625-$800; HHS student council for a silent auction, expected to earn $100-$200; HHS class of 2025 for graduation candy leis, expected to earn $2,000-$3,000; and HHS student council for a wrestling clinic, expected to earn $700-$1,750.

* Approved a donation received from the Holbrook Elks Lodge for $500 to the HHS Special Olympics as well as 48 dictionaries to IWES.

* Approved consent agenda items and expense vouchers in items. Detailed information for all District expenditures may be obtained by contacting the School District business office located at 1000 North 8th Ave.