At last week’s meeting of the Winslow Unified School District Governing Board, the board discussed what to do about two buildings that are currently going unused: the old high school and the alternative education building on Elm Street.

Superintendent Connie Gover said that if board members would like to tour the alternative education building, they must wear a mask. She informed the board, “The ceiling has leaked and it is black. I don’t know if it’s mold.” Gover mentioned that they have assessed the cost of renovating the building for reuse but found it to be extremely expensive.

The board briefly discussed repairing these buildings for use as teacher housing. The housing crisis has made it very difficult for the school district to attract employees, and investing in housing for teachers is not uncommon. Board President Debbie Martinez mentioned hearing horror stories about the problems that arose from housing teachers from Chinle school district during a conference. Martinez also expressed a preference for selling the alternative education building due to its distance from the main high school campus.

Board member Allen Leonard spoke about his frustration with how long these buildings have been sitting unused. The current high school opened in 2004, which means the old building has largely sat vacant for two decades. Leonard stated, “We got to do something with them, either bite the bullet and renovate it or bite the bullet and tear it down.”

Board Member Dodie Montoya suggested that students could possibly fix up part of the property as part of their construction class coursework. Martinez mentioned that any mold would need to be addressed before allowing students to enter, but she was open to the idea beyond that. The board concluded the meeting by agreeing to visit the buildings on their own time and brainstorm solutions.

This meeting also included the passing of the fiscal year 2024-2025 budget. The budget includes small changes from the prioritizations in last year’s budget. The total budget increased by 8.8% with this year’s total expenditure totally nearly $18.7 million and last year’s being nearly $17.2 million. The line items seeing the highest increases are 15.9% more spent on staff, 7.8% more on staff and 9.1% increase in transportation’s budget.

Gover also spoke about the current internship program they have ongoing with the City of Winslow. The city hired eight students from Winslow High School as part of a new internship program where students can earn extra money and gain experience while improving the city’s appearance. Gover expressed satisfaction with the program’s progress so far. Each student is still involved, and the city is pleased with their work. Students are being trained in using power tools, personal protective equipment, landscaping and maintenance techniques, and safety protocols for dealing with chemicals and road work. Every student expressed a desire for the program to continue next year and would be interested in reapplying. Gover also mentioned that one student plans to apply for a job with the city after graduating. She added that she will collaborate with City Manager David Coolidge to expand the program next year.

In other business, the board:

* Approved the following hires: Verlynn Goldtooth, math teacher; Jordan Sawyer, Career and Technical Education (CTE) sports medicine teacher; Brian Sewell, CTE construction teacher; Sarah Willy, English teacher; Billie James, paraprofessional; and substitutes, Alphena Armao Lillian Benallie-Rock, Misty Benham, Isabel Britton, Teri Bumgarner, Donna Duran, Bonnie Garrett, Debra Kamzelski, Lisa Long, Marianne Richardson, Susan St. Germaine, Sarah Breeze, Grace Butler, Roberta Cano, Chuck Hodge, Madison Lymer, April Martinez and Nina Ortiz.

*Approved the resignations of Alyson Puhuhefvaya and Michael Luther, both paraprofessionals.

* Approved extra duty pay for Jordan Payne, Devon Sawyer, Carlos Quesada, Chad Sullivan, Avery Smith, Julie Thomas, Robina Villanueva, Jennifer Yazzie, Janeen Barton, Wilburt Barton, Andrew Macdonald, Mark Gerper, Josue Barrios, Bailee Hardy, Jennifer Brown, Alexa Gilbert, Tamry Ramsey, Katrina Hernandez, Reese Chatwin, Cheyne Lowry, Venton Nelson, Stephanie Nelson, Ferlin Nez, Janeen Barton, Frank Stacey, Kyle Phillips, Sheninkwa Cly, Kendal Ybarra, Bryan Larson, Jeff Hartman, Christopher Garrett, Jordan Payne, Quinten Hayes, Josue Barrios, Brian Wilcox, Rebeca Perez, Alisha Jones, Audra Seel, Sharon Vasquez, Tyler Allen, Stephanie Lymer and Gina Williams.

* Approved the following Bonnie Brennan Elementary School sponsored fundraisers: monthly candy grams, penny wars in spring, climb-a-thon, monthly jean days, quarterly accelerated reading incentive party, and a Little Caesar’s pizza fundraiser in March. Also, a pickle and butter braid fundraiser from Winslow Junior High School Cheer and a pickle sale for Bonnie Brennan Elementary Robotics Club.

* Approved student and employee handbooks for 2024-2025.

* Approved designating Casey Hancock and Connie Gover as authorized representatives to be able to accept grants from Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs.

The next meeting of the WUSD school board will be held at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, July 24, in the meeting room, located at 800 N. Apache Ave.