During the last meeting of the Winslow Unified School District’s Governing Board, Miranda Hosteen, director of dining services from Chartwells in Winslow, presented exciting developments in the school’s meal programs. During the presentation Cori Hanson, district manager for Chartwells in Arizona, shared the possibility of introducing fry bread into the school menus.
Acknowledging the culinary challenges, Hanson explained that making fry bread compliant with stringent state sodium and other restrictions would be difficult and would require pan-frying it. “I just want to give the students something they’re used to eating,” Hanson said, emphasizing his commitment to providing familiar yet healthy food options especially those that are culturally significant to the people eating it.
Hosteen spoke about the Global Eats program, an initiative introducing students to a variety of international cuisines. This program has already allowed students to experience foods from countries like India, Italy, and China. Looking ahead, the next Global Eats Day in January will feature Mexican cuisine, a more familiar taste for many students.
The district’s board meeting also had a required budget revision, prompted by a state mandate that demands action if there’s a change exceeding 1%. District Business Manager Casey Hancock reported a significant discrepancy in the special education student count. The district initially reported 334 weighted students, with 154 in special education, but a difference of 179 kids was later identified. This error was discovered by Hancock and was already being addressed by Nathan Lindaman, who oversees the special education program. Lindaman confirmed that the actual figure was closer to the initial 334 and that efforts were underway to rectify the situation with the state.
The discrepancy, caused by a software error in synchronizing school attendance data with the state, resulted in a substantial loss of revenue. However, Hancock assured that the district would be back paid for the lost funds once the data issue is resolved.
Additionally, the board heard from Julie Thomas, coach of the high school volleyball team. She proudly shared that the Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) awarded Winslow’s volleyball team for best sportsmanship. Thomas recounted her surprise upon learning that the team was being judged on sportsmanship by referees.
“I wasn’t even aware we were being judged by the refs for sportsmanship, but one said, ‘You always make it easy for me to grade your team on sportsmanship’,” she noted. Thomas told the board that she decided not to inform the students about this criterion, as they already exemplified excellent sportsmanship. The AIA’s award came as a pleasant surprise to the team, affirming their respect and fair play on the court.
The meeting included the first reading of an amendment to the district’s bereavement policy. Under the proposed revisions, the policy allows employees to request up to five days of paid bereavement leave per year. Before, it allowed a staff member to take up to five days for every immediate family member that passes away, but now that will be capped at five days per year. The leave allocation varies based on the location of funeral services, with a distinction made between in-state and out-of-state events. Three days are designated for in-state services and five days for those held out-of-state.
In other business, the board:
* Approved the following donations $5,328.40 for the Climb-a-Thon; Travis and Tamara Dooley, an iPad; Debra Lopez and Travis Dooley, two $50 gift cards; and Sonic, 35 free food/drink certificates.
* Approved the employment of Lillian Berniallie-Rock, Bonita Garrett, Henry Montiel and Clint Weishan (upon certification), each as substitutes.
* Approved the resignation of paraprofessional Clydene Honyouti.
* Approved Samantha Ybarra as a volunteer for wrestling.
* Approved extra duty pay for Tara Wilcox for seventh grade girls basketball, Robina Villanueva for eighth grade girls basketball, Mark Faust for seventh grade boys basketball, Stacey Berg for eighth grade boys basketball, and both Sabrina Vasquez and Lindsey Williams as cheer coaches; Norwood Foy, Jeff Hartman and Bryan Larson have been appointed as wrestling coaches.
* Approved fundraiser requests including, WHS Student Council for winter formal photos at $10 and winter formal concessions at $1-$2; WHS Speech & Drama for ‘Aesop’s Fables’ play at $6 per ticket; WHS Wrestling Club for e-teams online store with variable prices; WHS Art Club for ceramic mugs at $12-$20; WHS Indian Club for the 4th Annual Pow Wow with free entry and $40 vendor fee; WHS Class of 2027 for concession at Mario Kart Tournament at $1-$2 per participant; WJHS Book Club for basketball concessions ranging from 25 cents to $2; WJHS Student Council for junior high basketball concessions.
* Approved Winslow High School Honor Society’s trip to Anaheim, Calif., for their senior trip.
* Approved memorandum of understanding with Northern Arizona Council of Governments to help the district identify preschool students with special needs.
* Appointed new Human Resources Specialist Brayannen James.
The next meeting of the WUSD school board will be held at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 3, in the meeting room, located at 800 N. Apache Ave.
