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L. Parsons

501 stories filed ✉ l-parsons@tribunenewsnow.com
Stories by L. Parsons
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Photo by L. ParsonsWinslow Denny’s General Manager and member of The Cherry Bombs, Jennifer McNair places ornaments on a holiday tree. Guests are encouraged to take a tag from the tree and fulfill the wish to assist Alice’s Place this season.

Opportunities abound to serve those less fortunate this season

Dec 2
By L. Parsons The Winslow Unified School District governing board met where a remodeling project was unanimously improved for restrooms district wide. The $713,564 project, slated to begin by the end of the calendar year, will be funded by the district ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) grant provided by the federal government’s Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act distributed by the Arizona Department of Education. District business manager Shirley Lomeli explained that restrooms will not be completely rebuilt, but that fixtures including toilets, sinks, urinals and doors will be replaced. Touchless versions of these will be installed to ensure ongoing safety of students and staff. The contract has been awarded to LOR Construction through the standard bidding process. In a unanimous vote, the governing board voted to offer an incentive to new substitute bus drivers in the form of a higher rate of pay. “We are proposing to pay our substitute drivers $24 per hour in an effort to bring more drivers in to our district. They will receive no insurance, retirement or vacation pay. They can still earn sick leave, but at a smaller rate than regular employees,” said Lomeli. Current full time transportation employees will also receive incentives in the form of adding vacation accrual to their employee contracts. In her report, Superintendent Connie Gover explained that OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) is actively working toward health mandates for employers with more than 100 employees, which includes the district. Gover said, “If OSHA is successful, districts should be prepared to comply with vaccination requirements and implementation of weekly testing and face coverings for non-vaccinated employees and keep records of vaccinations. Right now, this is on hold for the State of Arizona but this is something we need to be prepared for.” For the week of Nov. 8-17, the district reported 35 active COVID cases. Gover said, “This is still only 1% of our student and staff population. You can get updates on this on our website every day.” The district site is www.wusd1.org. Girls on the Run is a program for female students from third to seventh grade in the Winslow district that is intended to encourage physical activity among young girls as well as to act as a support group for the athletes. Northern Arizona has several teams and this is Winslow’s fifth year participating. Coach Taylor Mills presented to the district governing board on the recently completed season. She said, “It was nice to get back to Girls on the Run after the year we had last year. It is a fun program that has a great impact on young girls. There was a study done a few years ago about the impact of Girls on the Run that include improved self-confidence, stamina and the ability to make good choices. The study showed that 97% of girls who participate in Girls on the Run use things they learn in the program later in life. All of our girls finished a 5K at the end of our season in less than an hour. In other business, the governing board: * Raised minimum wage for district employees from $12.15 to $12.80. This will affect the pay schedules for extra duty, media technicians, classroom aides and transportation. This increase is in accordance with state mandates and will go into effect in January 2022. * Heard the monthly financial report for October in which Business Manager Shirley Lomeli explained 33% of the school year had elapsed, with 22% of the budget spent. * Ratified vouchers in a routine procedure that allows the board to submit vouchers to the county superintendent between meetings. * Approved a donation of four hotel rooms from ASTA Roofing and Construction for the girls volleyball team while competing at the state tournament. * Approved the transfer of Alyssa Howeth from Jefferson Elementary paraprofessional to district emergency substitute upon issuance of her certificate. * Approved the following Winslow High School fundraisers: Lady Diamonds Softball to sell team items at basketball games, National Honor Society to conduct a Krispy Kreme donut sale, Science Club to garner donations from donorschoose.org for gardening supplies, Science Club to sell Sonic Discount cards and the Senior Class to sell Growl Towels. * Approved the Leadership Action Research Project, an administration-led project to help department heads across the district improve their departments in accordance with the district strategic plan. * Heard information regarding the December revised budget. The district is mandated to revise their budget if they exceed the general or unrestricted balances by 1%. WUSD has not exceeded their projected numbers, so a budget revision was not necessary. The next meeting of the Winslow Unified School District Governing Board will be held at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 8, in the board meeting room, located at 800 N. Apache Ave.

Restrooms in WUSD getting an upgrade

Nov 26
City of Winslow

Senator Allen asks council for rural redistricting resolution

Nov 16

COVID-19 outbreak

Mar 17
Photo by L. ParsonsKerwin Lawrence (pictured) was sworn in as the new member of the Winslow City Council.

Winslow names Kerwin Lawrence as councilman

Mar 17
Nav County

Taking part in the census means funds for Navajo County

Mar 17
Photo by L. ParsonsWJHS Principal Deb Lopez (pictured) shared her opinion on neighborhood schools versus grade level schools.

Public comment prompts discussion at WUSD

Mar 10

Arizona Forest Power secures property for a potential contract

Mar 3
NPC 1

A majority of local college funding comes from taxpayers

Mar 3
Denise Lynch spoke on the need for social emotional education.

Four candidates vie for superintendent’s position

Mar 3