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Joseph City Unified School District Superintendent Bryan Fields says his district has many goals for the New Year.
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With the failure of the override in the last election, Joseph City schools are concerned for their funding future. Fields explained, “It was narrowly defeated, so that is going to cause us to have to make some adjustments here. This was a continuation of an increase in property taxes and it is already in place at 10 percent, but we had asked for an increase to 15 percent. It phases out over the next three years but we will begin to feel the impact July 1 when our fiscal year starts. It will continue to phase out unless it is brought before voters again. But that wouldn’t take place until the following fiscal year. So, either way, we are going to feel it.
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“It is going to mean cuts for us in some way or another. Maybe not filling some positions through attrition, maybe an increase in fees for certain programs, it could impact our food service.” Fields added the district intends to get input from stakeholders for ideas and suggestions about moving forward and where cuts should be made. “For example, we may not be able to keep our swimming pool open all summer. A decision has not been made on that, it is just one of the options that is on our radar.”
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Despite facing funding changes Fields remains positive. “We are a relatively small district, but we are pretty proud of the different things we are doing to help our students be successful. Not just now, but after they leave school as well.”
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For example, Fields said, “We started an aquaponics program in the agricultural department at the high school. It is quite a program. We have a greenhouse and we are growing tilapia and crawdads at the same time that we are growing lettuce and vegetables. It is forward thinking and progressive. Maybe we will be able to use the vegetables in our food service, it is exciting.”
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Agricultural skills are valuable even as the students graduate from Joseph City High School. “We feel like the community, the students, the parents–they all saw value in this right away. That has given us momentum and drive to continue with it all the way.” Support has come in the form of funding as well, “The School Facilities Board has helped quite a bit and we have received some grants but our biggest contributor has been APS (Arizona Public Service). They always step up to help out our district.”
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Recently, the district has brought in major events such as plays and concerts that have been held at the BG Bennett Auditorium. “Those are revenue streams and are very popular with our community. But any money that we do make on those goes right back into the auditorium. We do have plans to bring even more entertainment this year.”
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There are plans to improve the auditorium and other infrastructure in Joseph City schools in 2019. “We will be working on lighting and HVAC issues throughout both of our schools with help from the School Facilities Board and our capital improvements budget. Those things just have to be done.”
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Fields gave praise to the staff in the district. He mentioned that they are routinely attending and seeking out training programs to improve their abilities in the classroom. “They are having to train on subjects like technology,” Fields said. “These kids were born with technology in their hands and our teachers want to be able to use that tech to their advantage.” Joseph City schools currently offer classes to the students in technical areas such as digital and three-dimensional printing, basic computer coding and other software related skills. “This is the time we live in. Our kids need to be ready for the world when they leave us.”
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The most exciting thing that will happen next year, according to Fields is, “We are going to continue to offer as much as we can to help our students succeed in every way that we are able. We have great staff and we have amazing students.”
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