By L. Parsons In a letter addressed to Winslow High School students on April 3, principal Dr. James Donner offered students an option for improving grades. His letter read, “Winslow High School has adopted a Better but Not Worse grading policy. WHS students have the opportunity to improve their grades by completing new work and or resubmitting third quarter assignments.” According to Donner, second semester student grades will be calculated based on third quarter grades already recorded before the school closure on March 30. There will be no penalty for students who do not choose to turn in new work or resubmit past assignments. Also in the Winslow Unified School District, the governing board met virtually on April 2. Board president Sharon Greenwood did not attend. During that meeting, the governing board approved an increase in the payout of sick leave for employees that resign before March 15 in any given year. Previously, certified employees were paid between $30 and $40 per hour of sick leave. The increase raises that to between $40 and $50 per hour based on time spent in the district. To be eligible, employees must have worked for at least five years in the district. Increases were also approved for compensation for all employees in the district as well as insurance rates for those enrolled in district-provided insurance plans. Compensation will be increased at five percent for both certified and classified employees and at three percent for administrators. Superintendent Cyndie Mattox explained that the reason for a compensation increase is due to the fact that state funding will be drastically reduced in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. Increases are effective immediately. An important issue that has garnered ongoing discussion in the Winslow Unified School District is the 2020-2021 school year. Previously, the board had discussed the possibility of moving to a four-day school week, and altering start and end times to compensate for such a schedule. The issue was once again on the April 2 agenda, but was tabled due to uncertainty caused by COVID-19. The board will revisit the issue at a later date. Also tabled was the hiring of Deanna McNamee as the Assistant Principal of Winslow Junior High School. Board member Al Leonard expressed his concern for the process in which McNamee was chosen. “I feel like we should open this back up and do a better job of defining what the job will be. I do feel like Deanna is qualified, I just think we need to do a little more due diligence in hiring someone for this important position.” Leonard was met with agreement from the board and the approval was tabled. The governing board also met on April 15 in a special meeting to approve the rehiring of the district administrative team for the upcoming 2020-2021 school year. The administrative team remains the same as last school year, with the addition of Rob Robertson as an academic coach for the district. In other business, the governing board: * Approved the hiring of: Christie Bratt, track coach at WJHS; James Anway, teacher at Bonnie Brennan; Keri Arthur, teacher at Bonnie Brennan; Matt Carpenter, teacher at WJHS; Christine Chenoweth, teacher at WJHS and WHS; and Danna Hayes, teacher at WHS. * Approved the transfer of Theresa Breeze Del Mar from school counselor to social worker. * Approved the return to work after retirement of Linda Guerrero, secretary at Bonne Brennan. * Recognized employees of the months of January, February and March: Betsy Pollard, Amanda Curnutte, Natalie Barrios, Eddie Joe Gonzales, Marianne Richardson and Laura Osuna. * Revised a previous policy that required governing board approval for any out-of-state travel. The revision will amend the policy to require governing board approval only if the destination is greater than 100 miles of the Arizona border. * Approved the salary schedules for the 2020-2021 school year to include extra duty stipends for classified and certified employees that are working as activity support, such as taking tickets. They will be paid $12 per hour. Teachers pay for professional development (without students) will be increased from $20 to $35 per hour, and the pay while working with students, such as after school tutoring, will be increased from $25 to $40 per hour. * Approved a financial report from business manager Shirley Lomeli stating 67 percent of the school year had passed and 57 percent of the budget had been spent. * Approved donations of pencils, glue sticks and crayons to Jefferson Elementary School and $3,077 in school supplies to the district warehouse from Walmart. * Approved the ratification of vouchers in a routine procedure allowing the board to submit vouchers to the county superintendent between board meetings. * The next meeting of the Winslow Unified School District Governing Board has not yet been announced.
