Performance pay was unanimously approved for all staff in the Snowflake Unified School District (SUSD) at the Governing Board meeting on Nov. 8. All board members were present at the meeting, including Carole Owens, president; Cory Johnson, vice president; and members Carol Palmer, Charles Foote and Shea Flake.
Superintendent Hollis Merrell said, “We have been fortunate to provide this performance pay right before Christmas for our employees and there are a lot of very appreciative people.”
The supporting documentation for the performance pay recommended that all staff receive it with two inferences: the certified teaching staff will receive a prorated amount of $538 each; and the classified, administrative and other staff will receive 56 cents per hour for hours worked through the 12th payroll ending Dec. 12.
The total cost to the district is estimated at $148,500. The certified teachers will be paid from the Classroom Improvement Fund for the estimated amount of $78,000. The remaining funds will be paid from the Forest Fee Funds.
Federal Programs Curriculum Director Jason Owens updated the board on trainings that have been ongoing in the district. “Since July, we have provided 26 different trainings in this room,” shared Owens. “By having the trainings here, we are able to minimize the cost of professional development for the district.”
Superintendent Hollis Merrell said, “This is nothing new. The SUSD has been a regional training hub for some time and we have ramped that up.”
The most recent training was Teaching Reading Effectively, which involved an eight-hour day on a Saturday. Teachers came as far away as Round Rock and Chinle with approximately 12 teachers from Snowflake attending.
Owens further noted, “We also have been providing different trainings at the site for the various communities, and are also a hub for business meetings. We have even had flu shots that were given out in this room.”
Hollis also commented, “The schools that perform the best have the most people at the trainings. When Jason put all these trainings out on paper, it comes up to a lot of trainings that we have had. We try to get our new teachers to be on the text book trainings throughout the year.”
The board passed the Apache County Schools Business Consortium Service Level agreement. Internet Technology Director C.C. LaGrange said, “This is something we have participated in for several years. We use them as backup to help our techs.”
LaGrange further explained the consortium has been very helpful as their technicians are able to step in behind the scenes and help find problems. “They have full-round of expertise that we don’t have.”
The board also passed the revisions to SUSD Evaluations. Merrell explained, “These revisions allow for an expedited process when evaluating teachers who have been highly effective in the district for three years or more. Our principals met and made a shortened version of the categories.”
According to Merrell, the principals met together with the original copy and consolidated a number of redundancies for the regular evaluation, which is still seven pages. The shortened version of the evaluation is now one page, front and back, making it easier for the principal to complete. The shortened evaluation still contains all the components required by law.
Foote asked, “Is there research to establish a connection between teacher evaluation and teacher effectiveness?” To which Merrill said that there was. He further stated that research indicates that more of the improvement for teachers comes from other areas, but the evaluations allow the teacher and principal to get on the same page.
“The evaluation can identify the areas that can be improved upon and the process the teacher might go through to gain that improvement,” said Merrell.
Snowflake High School (SHS) Principal Larry Titus spoke stating, “I like the short evaluation because it opens up lines of communication; it’s a greater asset to let the teachers think out of the box. A lot of teachers work hard to get to the one page evaluation, which is a reward.”
It was also noted that by law, every three years the principals are required to go through a long form evaluation with their teachers.
In other business, the board:
* Authorized the December board meeting to be changed to Thursday, Dec. 6.
* Approved the request to seek proposals for food service vendors.
* Approved Arizona School Board Policy Advisory 644-645.
* Authorized the employment of Zane Owens, SHS assistant wrestling coach; Mike Solomon, SHS junior varsity basketball coach; Russell Peterson, volunteer for SHS boys basketball coach.
The next meeting will be at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 6, at the District Office Conference Room, located at 682 School Bus Lane.
