One of the main focuses at the Douglas Unified School Board meeting on September 4 was the approval of the top 10 legislative action proposals compiled for them by the Arizona School Boards Association.

The ASBA compiled a list of legislative action proposals and requested the governing boards select the 10 their school district believes are the most important for ASBA to pursue in a Special Session on Education and or in the Fifty First Legislation, First Regular Session.

The following are the 10 that Douglas Unified School Districts Board and Superintendent Shelia Rogers chose.

· Encourage, assists and provides adequate financial support of the curriculum and instructional needs of Arizona’s public school to ensure college and career readiness of all students.

· Fund programs to prepare and support children and families for success in public schools.

· Oppose unfunded and burdenso legislative mandates.

· Provide Governing Boards with flexibility in committing and prioritizing the use of education funds.

· Ensure that all schools receiving public funds are equally accountable financially to the public by complying with conflict of interest laws. Further, seek to ensure that charter funding systems are transparent, do not allow comingling of funds, and reverts all public funds and property to the state, if a charter school ceases to operate or loses its charter.

· Advocate structural change to Arizona’s tax system to ensure adequate funding for public education while opposing any change to the existing property tax structure unless a comprehensive tax reform proposal is implemented to adequately address the needs of public education.

· Ensure full funding for inflation, especially in years in which the rate in inflation is greater than two percent and vigorously oppose at the legislature and in the courts any attempts to not fully fund at least the two percent inflation factor as approved by the voters in Proposition 301 (2000).

· Enable Joint Technological Education Districts (JTEDs) to:

a. To promote and expand Career and Technical Education programs, including summer programs, for high school students through JTED central campus programs and allow communities wishing to form a JTED to do so following all regulations as required by law and to receive similar funding as existing JTEDs.

b. Receive equal recognition and funding benefits under state statutes of K-12 public school districts and Joint Technological Education Districts.

c. Revise the definition of a JTED Centralized Campus Model to include virtual campuses.

d. Continue to work with the Legislature to ensure 100 percent funding for JTED and full funding for inflation, especially in years in which the rate of inflation is greater than two percent.

e. Reinstate ninth grade funding for JTED career and technical education.

f. Restore funding from 91.8 percent to the full 100 percent.

· Provide increased funding for school personnel salaries.

· Urge the Arizona congressional delegation to ensure that adequate federal funds are available to support and sustain federally initiated supplemental programs such as Title 1, Title 2 and gifted programs as well as federally mandated programs and oppose efforts to make these programs into competitive grants.

Board approved the hiring of Jeff McRoberts as teacher and also the hiring of substitute teachers, Margaret Bowles, Sergio Mendez and Irma Cinch.

Addendums were made to counselor’s Lucy Rosario, Family Leadership Institute Coordinator, funding source MIPS, and Richard Acosta, GED Chief Examiner, funding source community service cash account.

Diane Berry and Tamara Samaniego were both approved as parent volunteers at Sarah Marley Elementary.

New hires for classified staff were approved: Ana Molina and Erika Buelna, Special Education Aides; Samantha Renova, Instructional Aide and Rose Maria Robles, part-time cafeteria worker.

A $300 donation from Mt. Moriah Lodge to the Paul Huber Middle School band was approved along with $1000 to both Faras and Sarah Marley Elementary Schools from the Arizona Department of Corrections Douglas Complex Mohave Unit.

A donation of school supplies with an approximate value of $30 from Dollar General to Clawson Elementary School was also approved by the board.

Discussion and action on the first reading of the following policies were approved:

· I-6500 IJOA, Field Trips

· K1650-K1683 Community Use of School Facilities

· E-3900 EGAD Copyright

Policies K-1250, Media Coverage and K-2150 KH, Public sales on school property were both approved to be removed.

Policy G-2550 GCCA, Professional and Support Staff Sick Leave was table for the next meeting.

Other future agenda items will be Boarddocs Training, September 18 to follow the regular board meeting. Boarddocs is a paperless meeting solution that provides a web-based service.

Agenda items for joint meeting with the Douglas City Council will be development of recreation program and community strategic plan.

Upcoming events for DUSD: Joint meeting with the Douglas City Council on September 13 at the Douglas Visitors Center 6p.m. There will be no school on September 17. The next regular board meeting will be held September 18 at 5:30p.m.