At last Wednesday’s Winslow Unified School District Governing Board meeting, Superintendent Dr. Amber Martinez opened her report with an update on Bonnie Brennan Elementary School, which had been heavily affected by flooding the previous week. She praised Bonnie Brennan Principal Larissa Richards for leading staff through the disruption and said the school was back in operation so smoothly, “you would have never known that it was quite a disaster last week.” Superintendent Martinez added that with repairs continuing on schedule, the campus should be fully ready by the spring semester to hold classes again. Staff from across the district were credited for helping with the emergency cleanup.
During call to the public head volleyball coach Julie Thomas addressed concerns raised in August about the hiring process for her freshman coach. Thomas described how, with little notice before the start of the season, she moved her existing freshman coach up to junior varsity and sought to bring on Samantha Sam to handle the freshman squad. Thomas expressed concerns with comments made by the board during their late August regular meeting about Sam coaching without board approval.
Thomas said Sam never coached before board approval, only observing from a table off to the side while Thomas and her junior varsity coach handled tryouts and practices. She recounted the difficulty of managing 40 to 50 players with only two adults and stressed that Sam did not run drills or coach until the day after board approval. She concluded her remarks by saying, “I sincerely believe that Samantha Sam deserves a public apology from this board and the…Tribune because all of the comments were posted, were printed for thousands of readers and they were inaccurate.” Board President Debbie Martinez responded with an on-the-record apology to Thomas and Sam, acknowledging the hiring process had been mishandled. The Tribune affirms that its coverage of the meeting accurately reflects the comments made by the board and staff during their public meeting.
Later in the meeting, after an executive session, the board reconvened to hear a grievance from sixth grade teacher Terrirae Milligan regarding changes to the payout date for unused leave days. She argued that because she signed her contract in April, the original policy setting May 1 as the payout date should have been honored instead of the date passed in a June board meeting and asked to have her 37.5 days restored in exchange for returning the money she was paid in July. President Martinez explained their attorney had advised that contracts can be modified mid-year except for base salary and benefits and emphasized that staff should follow agenda postings where such items are noticed and voted on so they can raise the grievance before the item gets passed. By a 4-0 vote, the board decided to keep the existing policy in place.
The board also heard from Winslow Residential Hall Homeliving Supervisor Vada Begay, who reported an enrollment of 92 students, with 20 in junior high and 72 in high school. The hall operates on a five-day schedule, checking students in on Sundays and returning them home on Fridays with buses running to several Navajo Nation communities. Begay said the program had recently been reauthorized for three years following clean financial and personnel audits and noted that the current working capacity is about 130 due to the addition of honor rooms. She described mandatory tutoring requirements for junior high students, student mentor tutors for younger residents and accommodations for dual enrollment and athletes during breaks.
In other action, the board unanimously approved continuing the administrative action research program. Under the plan, principals and assistant principals design a year-long project tied to the district’s strategic plan, collect data and present results at year’s end. 70% of their performance stipend is tied to the project, with the remaining 30% linked to their evaluations.
Members also approved the 2025–26 performance-based 301 pay plan for certified staff, which includes $2,000 to be paid in August, $2,500 in December and a final payout in May depending on available funds and evaluation ratings. The plan had been endorsed unanimously by teachers before coming to the board.
In other business, the board:
* Approved donation from Josue Barrios for a free professional photo taken for the high school girls soccer team.
* Approved Susan Reigel as a substitute teacher, Harmony Wells as a special education paraprofessional and Edith Ibarra as a paraprofessional.
* Approved the following extra duty pay: Tyler Allen, band and orchestra; Alicia Vigil-O’Haco, yearbook and career center; Michelle Jones, honor society; Denise Estudillo as performing arts center manager and chorus and Cheyne Lowry, student council.
*Approved the following fundraisers: Art Club, shrink rings/Hawaiian Sun juice drinks; Band Club, World’s Finest Chocolate; Class of 2027, school spirit fan wear and spirit rousers; cross country, timing at Payson meet; Game Club, game tournament/Super Smash Bros; Game Club, game tournament/Mario Kart; Spiritline, game programs; Spiritline, face painting at Standing on a Corner; Spiritline, face painting at games; Volleyball Club, youth camp; Winslow Junior High School (WJHS) Art Club, sports concessions; WJHS Club, parking spaces; WJHS Student Council, sports concessions; Spiritline/Honor Society/Student Council, Zag catalog fundraiser.
* Approved out of state travel for the high school Spanish club to travel to Agua Prieta, Mexico, for a service project.
* Approval of Memorandum of Understanding with HealthCorps, Inc for a weekly college age student mentorship program called Teens Make Health Happen.
The next meeting of the board will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 17, in the meeting room located at 800 N. Apache Ave.
