AJO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 15

Governing Board Members: Administration:
Mr. John Byrnes President Dr. Robert Dooley Superintendent
Mrs. Rose Cameron Clerk Mr. Frederick Fout Principal
Mrs. Lisa Rossi Member Ms. Patricia Spencer Director of Finance
Mr. Hollister David Member  
Mrs. Amy Runge Member  

MINUTES
REGULAR SESSION BOARD MEETING

Ajo Unified School District Board Room #23, 5:30 p.m.
June 19, 2008

  1. Call to Order at 5:30 p.m.
  2. Opening Exercises

    1. Roll Call:
      • P - John Byrnes, President
      • P - Rose Cameron, Clerk
      • P - Lisa Rossi, Member
      • P - Hollister David, Member
      • Tardy - Amy Runge, Member
      • P - Robert Dooley, Superintendent
      • P - Frederick Fout, Principal
      • Ab - Patricia Spencer, Financial Director
    2. Pledge of Allegiance
    3. Statement of Welcome
    4. Appointment of Acting Clerk, if necessary
    5. Superintendent's Report
      • Asphalt project is complete, not content with placement of parking stones. The company will be back out to rearrange them.
      • Hiring is almost complete. Interviews are still being conducted.
      • The Copper News had a very good article about new classes for the school.
      • In the process of replacing the water line that goes through campus, another water line was broken. Freeport-McMoRan will be digging through campus to replace water lines between the 26th and 27th. Freeport-McMoRan assures the district that the waterline will be replaced by the first day of school August 11, 2008.
      • Reminder there will be a short Board meeting June 30, 2008 at 5:30 p.m.
      • Superintendent will be on vacation from the 20th to the 27th of June. No Weekly Board Letter on the 20th or 27th of June.
      • At the Board table is a voucher signature sheet for the Board to sign.
    6. Adoption of Agenda

      Mrs. Runge made the motion to adopt the agenda. Mrs. Rossi seconded the motion. The motion passed 5-0 to adopt the agenda.
  3. Visitor Comments

    Visitors are welcome to speak on non-agenda items. Comments are limited to 3 minutes. Please state your name and address prior to making your comments. The Board will not take any legal action on issues raised during this position of the meeting.
  4. Consent Agenda
    1. Financial Report
    2. Voucher Approval
    3. Board Minutes

      Mrs. Rossi made the motion to approve the Consent Agenda. Mrs. Runge seconded the motion. The motion passed 5-0.
  5. Personnel

    1. Certified Employment - Terri Marsoobian

      Terri Marsoobian has been interviewed and reference checks completed for the position of elementary teacher. She will be assigned to the 1st grade for the 08/09 academic year.

      Mrs. Rossi made the motion to approve the employment of Mrs. Marsoobian. Mrs. Cameron seconded the motion. The motion passed 5-0.

    2. Certified Employment - Margret Foley

      Margaret Foley has been interviewed and reference checks completed. She will replace Ms. Lucie Linhova as a High School teacher of English.

      Mrs. Rossi made the motion to approve the employment of Mrs. Foley. Mrs. Runge seconded the motion. The motion passed 5-0.

    3. Employment of JTED Automotive Program Instructor - Ronald Hunter

      Interviews have been held and reference checks completed for the position of JTED Automotive Program. This position will be a 1/6th contract.

      Mrs. Runge made the motion to accept the employment of Mr. Hunter. Mrs. Rossi seconded the motion. The motion passed 5-0.

    4. Request for Release from Contract - Crable

      Bruce Crable signed his contract on May 12, 2008, for the 2008/2009 school year. On May 15, 2008, he submitted a letter asking to be release from his contract. In conversation with Mr. Crable, I reminded him of paragraph T-2 which states that to be release from his contract; He has repaid the district for the amount of $245.00

      Mrs. Rossi made the motion to release Mr. Crable from his contract. Mrs. Cameron seconded the motion. The motion passed 5-0.

    5. Employment of Summer School Art Instructor - Danell Kenny

      Interviews have been held and reference checks have been completed for Danell Kenny. She is filling the summer School Art position. This contract will consist of 5 hours per day for 16 days.

      Mrs. Rossi made the motion to approve the employment of Mrs. Kenny. Mrs. Runge seconded the motion. The motion passed 5-0.

    6. Certified Employment of Art Teacher - Zoë Walsh

      Interviews and reference checks have been completed for Zoë Walsh. She is being recommended for the art teacher position for the 08/09 school year.

      Mr. Byrnes made the motion to approve the employment of Mrs. Walsh. Mrs. Runge seconded the motion. The motion passed 4-1.

    7. Adjustment of School Improvement Plan

      This district currently budgets $11,990 for the areas of Teacher Mentor (2) and School Improvement Plan (committee) Members (3). The Administration is recommending that this structure be changed to:
      2 - Teacher Mentor/Data Management (Power school, Accelerated Reading & Math) 2 positions at $1,500 each
      3 - Teacher Mentor/School Improvement Team Positions at $3,000 each.

      Rational: The data management positions require less on going time commitment with other staff. The teacher mentor positions are ongoing throughout the school year. The data management position could be done by classified or certified staff. The mentor positions must be done by a certified staff member.

      Mrs. Rossi made the motion to approve the proposed Teacher Mentor/Data Management/School Improvement change to the Extra Pay Allocation. Mrs. Runge seconded them motion. The motion passed 5-0.

    8. Auxiliary/Coaches Employment
      National Honor Society Semilla Jr. H.S. Student Council Garcia
      High School Student Council Powell 8th Grade Advisor Garcia
      Band Director Spitzer Raider Review Sedillo
      K-8 & H.S. Yearbook Advisor Sedillo Gifted Semilla
      VOCED Director Sedillo Boy's Baseball Emmers
      Asst. Baseball Morales Varsity Basketball Allvillar, Ray
      Football McGoldrick Assistant Football Seeley
      Golf Tiell Track Williams, Lyle
      Girl's Basketball Emmers Asst. Girl's Basketball Alvillar, Moni
      Volleyball Lopez Asst. Volleyball Alvillar, Moni
      Softball Sepulveda, J JOM/Indian Education Fober

      Mr. David made the motion to table the following positions: Assistant Girls' Basketball, Assistant Girls' Volleyball, and Boys' Head Baseball Coach until the July 15th meeting. Mrs. Runge seconded the motion. The motion passed 5-0.

      Mrs. Runge made the motion to approve all other items in 5h. Mrs. Rossi seconded the motion. The motion passed 5-0.

    9. Certified Employment - Deborah England

      Interviews have been held and reference checks completed for Deborah England. Deborah is being recommended for the position of ELD teacher.

      Mrs. Rossi made the motion to approve the employment of Ms. England. Mrs. Runge seconded the motion. The motion passed 5-0.

  6. Curriculum
    1. High School English/Literature Adoption

      A high school English textbook curriculum form publishers, Prentice Hall, McDougal Littell, and Pearson Education have been on display in the library for the past two months. The teaching staff has selected the McDougal Littell series commencing with the 2008/2009 school year.

      Mrs. Runge made the motion to approve the adoption of the McDougal Littell High School English/Literature series. Mrs. Rossi seconded the motion. The motion passed 5-0.

    2. National Reading Styles Institute (Carbo) - Curriculum Augmentation Adoption

      NRSI has conducted two in-services for the Ajo teachers. These trainings and materials have been well accepted by the staff. Strategies include but are not limited to recorded books, Scotopic Syndrome Sensitivity and reading progress monitoring.

      Mrs. Runge made the motion to adopt the NRSI (Carbo) as a supplementary reading program. Mrs. Rossi seconded the motion. The motion passed 5-0.

    3. Adoption - Tools 4 Literacy/Four Blocks

      Teachers in grades K-6 have worked on the literacy model entitled For Blocks in the past. Last year the Board adopted this as apart of our school curriculum.

      Mrs. Rossi made the motion to adopt the Four Blocks/Tools for Literacy as part of the Ajo Elementary School's literacy curriculum. The motion passed 5-0.

  7. Business
    1. Out of State Travel - A/P Statistics - Semilla

      Milagros Semilla, our High School math teacher, was originally slotted to attend an A/P statistics workshop in Phoenix, AZ from the 20-23rd of June. This conference was cancelled due to lack of enrollment. Logging on to the A/P website, the same class was found in San Diego, CA from the 7-11 of July 2008. The workshop will be held at the University of San Diego, who is also offering lodging.

      Mrs. Runge made the motion to approve the above out of state travel. Mrs. Rossi seconded the motion. The motion passed 5-0.

    2. AVID Implementation Agreement Approval

      Each year it is required by the AVID organization to approve the AVID Implementation Agreement which allows us to provide this program for the following school year.

      Mrs. Rossi made the motion to approve the implementation between AVID and AUSD. Mrs. Runge seconded the motion. The motion passed 5-0.

    3. Food Program Service Agreement

      The Child Nutrition Programs, a division of the Arizona Department of Education, is requesting an agreement between the Ajo Unified School District and CNP. This agreement will allow AUSD to continue to be apart of ADE's federally funded program and remain serving breakfast and lunch to students.

      Mrs. Rossi made the motion to approve the food program agreement between AUSD and ADE's CNP. Mrs. Runge seconded the motion. The motion passed 5-0.

    4. Special Education Contract Awards

      Attached is a list of the vendors who have responded to our invitation to bid for related services. These services include Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Speech Therapy, and a School Psychologist.
      The following companies/individuals are being recommended for these positions:

      Service Company/Individual Amount per day
      Physical Therapy Physical Therapy Services $900
      Occupational Therapy Arr Occupational Therapy $920
      Speech Therapy Taylor Therapy Services $900
      School Psychologist Dr. Ken Newman $1,500

      Mrs. Runge made the motion to approve the above companies/individuals for the corresponding positions. Mrs. Rossi seconded the motion. The motion passed 5-0.

  8. Student Activities/Athletics
    1. Eligibility Requirement Change

      During the May Study Session, the Board was presented with the possibility of adjusting the current eligibility requirements to enable more students to participate in student activities and athletics. The proposal states that students must maintain a "C" average of at least a 70% with no "F"s to be eligible to participate in student activities and athletics.

      Mrs. Cameron made the motion to accept the above proposal that states students must maintain a "C" average to participate in sports or student activities with no "F"s. Mrs. Rossi seconded the motion. The motion passed 5-0.

Noting no other business before the Board, Mr. Byrnes, President of the Board, adjourned the meeting at 6:37 p.m.

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