By Linda Kor The Joseph City Unified School District met last Tuesday and approved a reassignment for Joseph City Elementary School Principal Daniel Hutchens. Hutchens will be retiring as principal for the next school year but will continue with the district through Education Services, Inc. services. Hutchens duties will include Joseph City Junior High/High School assistant principal and activities/athletic director, and districtwide special education director and part-time music teacher, The district approved a one-year contract in the amount of $55,000, which includes a phone stipend of $660, with some hesitation on the part of Board President Eldon Larson and board member Karsten Flake. Both had concerns that other employees in the district could have filled some of those positions being assigned to Hutchens. Superintendent Bryan Fields stated that the positions have posted internally on the district website for the previous week with no response from anyone as of the meeting. The rationale provided by Superintendent Bryan Fields included an increased need for discipline and an additional deterrent for inappropriate behavior as the student numbers have increased at the junior high and high school campus. He stated that it will also provide Principal Eric Miller the opportunity to dedicate more time to classroom observation and instructional improvement. In addition, flexibility of the position will allow for an athletic director to address problems as they arise and not directly impact classroom instruction. Fields noted that the estimated impact to the budget will be $10,000 less than would be otherwise, saying that the savings may allow for the district to add three additional classes at the junior high/high school level without the need to hire an additional teacher. He also added that a new principal for the elementary may come in at a lower salary. With that information, the majority of the board voted in favor including Andrew Bushman, Dayton Flake and Karston Flake, with board president Eldon Larson voting against. Board member Rhonda Roberson was not present for the meeting. Fields reported that the state audit report revealed that the district has some higher costs compared to peer groups. “Our costs to operate our buildings per square foot are high but we know that because we have a big campus at both schools and our food service is a little high. It’s because we’re right there on the line of not being big enough to keep that cost down and so small that if we get any smaller it might want to cancel that out or do something else. Transportation is a little high but not unreasonable.” It was noted by the Superintendent that Gov. Doug Ducey has mandated schools return to in-person instruction according to individual county matrix. This has already been taking place at the district but it continues to offer an online option. Resident Kellie Flake addressed the board regarding graduation to see if a graduation ceremony could be held. Fields stated that the current plan is to proceed with a graduation ceremony. The consideration was to have it outside at the football stadium rather than indoors, with the concern that there is greater seating indoors for 600 people. “The only discussion is do we put a limit on the number of people that can come. Sometimes it’s packed to overflowing and we have to add chairs. We have 33 seniors and even if they each got 10 tickets to bring that’s still 330 out of the 600 seats,” stated Miller, adding that the decision has not been made as of yet. The parents do have a grad night planned for the seniors. Kellie Flake also spoke out regarding the school calendar and had concerns regarding the number of school days allocated. Fields took responsibility for not putting out a survey to the families or conducting a site council prior to seeking approval. The board also approved facility fees for the 2021-22 school year with the fees remaining the same as they were last year. It was estimated that the pool costs $3,000 to $5,000 per month to keep the pool open beyond what is brought in with revenues. Fields noted that it is the students that primarily use the pool in the summer months, which the district believes is important. The board discussed the potential of increasing use of the racquetball court and the weight room in order to increase funding. “I think the school does a good service providing opportunities to a small community that wouldn’t have them otherwise, such as racquetball and weights and whatever it is. So there’s a balance there to remember that we want the community to feel they are a part of the school and that it’s a big deal and that everybody feels we are all working together. So that’s a balance that we have to find,” stated Miller. The fees were passed by a majority of the vote with Bushman voting against, citing the need for more information. The board discussed the travel expense guide for sports travel. Bushman reiterated that he wanted to have more information on how these costs impact the budget. The decision was made to table the item until a budget work session could be held. The board also discussed upcoming budget sessions and the effort to find funding to provide significant raises for teaching staff. The first budget session will be held at 6 p.m. on March 23. “If we need to figure out what we have to do so that teachers can afford to have insurance, we need to do that type of thing,” stated Larson. In other business, the board: * Approved a three-year agreement with the Navajo County Education Services Agency Special Services Consortium to provide special education related services beginning with the 2021-22 school year. * Approved adding the position of a Title I part-time elementary school reading instructional aide. * Approved a contract renewal with Julie Mills as a teacher, librarian and data manager. * Approved volunteers Katie Frost and Mary Spurlock for softball. * Approved the resignation of Brad Fischer as the junior high/high school activities director, effective June 30; Misti Garrison as an elementary aide, effective March 12; and Amy Miller as the elementary school librarian, effective June 30. * Approved the personnel appointments of Ashley Grant, instructional aide at the junior high/high school; and Nichole Neat as an event worker and substitute teacher. * Approved the performance pay for Superintendent Fields for fiscal year 2021.
