The Winslow Unified School District governing board approved a 3.5% salary increase for district employees Wednesday night, providing a raise for staff after the district was unable to offer an increase the previous year. District Business Manager Casey Hancock told board members the district’s financial outlook had improved enough to support the increase for employees across the district.
“Last year we weren’t able to give a raise,” Hancock said. “This year we’d like to be able to do a 3 1/2% for everybody in the district, and we’re not going to differentiate between anything.” Hancock said the increase would apply to both certified and classified staff, with the exception of classified employees hired after Jan. 1, who had already been placed on updated salary schedules earlier this year.
When Board President Debbie Martinez asked whether the district could afford the raise, Hancock said conditions had stabilized following earlier uncertainty around grants and funding. He said, “A lot was up in the air with grants and different things and everything seems to have settled down a little bit. So yes, we can do it.” The board voted unanimously to approve the measure, raising base salaries by 3.5% for district employees. Superintendent Dr. Amber Martinez later praised the decision during her report to the board, saying staff had earned the increase.
Following the vote, the board heard a presentation from the district’s counseling staff and Winslow High School Principal Sal Hernandez about the Arizona School Counselors Association conference they attended earlier this year and the information they plan to bring back to students. Hernandez said the conference gives counselors and administrators an opportunity to exchange ideas with educators from across Arizona and gather new resources that can help guide students as they prepare for life after high school. “Back in February we went to the ASCO conference,” Hernandez said. “It’s a great opportunity for us to collaborate and get some good ideas and some fresh ideas based on counseling services.” Hernandez said sessions covered topics ranging from college admissions to career exploration and student support strategies.
He emphasized that counselors are working to show students that there are multiple pathways available after graduation, not just the traditional four-year university route. Hernandez said the conference included presentations from trade programs and training organizations focused on careers that can be entered through certification programs or two-year schools. “One thing I really liked about this session is that there were training programs for fields such as refrigeration and HVAC as examples. “It’s not all about kids wanting to go down the career or avenue of the university,” he said. “It’s more specific to what they choose to do outside of school.” Hernandez said counselors meet with students to review their grades, credits and interests and help them understand the options available to them. “The counselors really are advocating to meet with the kids to figure out some of their options,” he said. “And they take it back to the kids to say, these are some of your options.”
Counselors also discussed scholarship resources they plan to promote with students, including the Arizona Community Foundation scholarship portal. The system allows students to complete one application and be matched with hundreds of scholarship opportunities across the state.
“There’s one application that students within Arizona fill out, and there are over 250 scholarships available,” Cecilia Estudillo, a counselor at Winslow High School (WHS) told the board. “It matches them to all of these different scholarships that they can apply for.”
The portal typically opens in January and remains available through March and that the district has already shared information with students and families encouraging them to apply. “One of my favorite things this year and years to come is having students fill out this one application for all of these scholarships,” Estudillo said.
The counseling team also described conference sessions covering career development, intervention strategies and student support services. Stacy Jefferson, also a WHS counselor, said the conference reinforced the importance of supporting students through a broad range of needs, including mental health and academic challenges. “What I really keyed in on was supporting every student with wraparound services,” she said. Board members thanked the counselors for their work and said the information would help the district expand the resources available to students as they plan for college, careers and other opportunities after graduation.
In other business, the board:
* Approved a $10,000 donation from Jarvis Kerr to fund five $2,000 scholarships for WHS seniors.
* Approved hiring Lillian Benallie-Rock and Gary Rock as substitutes.
* Approved the resignation of Alshina Nez, a paraprofessional.
* Approved transferring Megan Lymer from substitute to high school math teacher and Angela Payne from parent liaison to secretary.
*Approved Jordan Sawyer, Brian Sewell and Vlad Titov as track and field volunteers.
* Approved the following student fundraisers: FBLA, Captain Tonys night, Snap Raise Donations and movie night; Indian Club, Pow Wow admission and high school student council, tattoo a teacher.
