Maricopa Unified School District’s governing board, administration and staff, along with D.L. Withers Construction Company hosted a dedication ceremony for the new district office administration building Wednesday. Tours of the facility began at 4 p.m. followed by a 5 p.m. reception in the central courtyard with music provided by the Maricopa High School Marching Band. Speakers included city of Maricopa Mayor Anthony Smith, who congratulated the district, “I am quite impressed with the spaciousness, efficiency and openness of this facility, but beyond brick and mortar there is more when it comes to education. I hope you will continue to hire top notch professionals.” Other speakers included Neil Peiratt of Gilleland Brubaker Architects, who said he was there to “celebrate the future of MUSD.” Peiratt called MUSD “a growing district with optimism about the future and a focus on students and staff.” David Bradley, representing D.L. Withers, presented an aerial photo of the site to Superintendent Jeff Kleck, thanking the design team and the district for “the honor of participating in this project.” Kleck talked about the Nation at Risk report some 25 years ago that indicated schools were not performing. Yet, he noted, test scores are still about the same. He explained the difference; “American leads the world in opportunities for people to better themselves.” Some of the supporting details he cited: America ranks number one out of 139 countries on the global competitiveness index; 70 percent of all Nobel Prize winners have been Americans; American has 75 percent of all top universities in the world; 85 percent of all Americans over age 25 have completed high school, and 25 percent of those have gone on to receive a bachelors’ degree. In other countries, Kleck explained, the emphasis is on practicing to take tests. “We need more than people that know how to take tests; we need people with passion and the combined strength of what a community has to offer students inside and outside of school. That is what makes a great school system.” Following the speeches, Kleck and governing board president Geoff Goddard cut the ribbon, officially dedicating the building. During the regularly scheduled governing board meeting that followed, Kleck announced that future agenda items with dates would be listed at the end of meeting agendas. “This provides an accountability piece for the administration,” he said. “We know when we have things to prepare for the board.” In a 4-1 vote the board approved the appointment of members to community panels or committees, with only one board member appointed to each. Vice president Tracy Davis, who serves on the education task force, suggested that community involvement be summarized at board meetings for the other members. Board member Tim White did not favor such appointments. “We weren’t elected for anything but to sit in this chair,” he said. “We need to be above reproach, but even though we aren’t representing the school board per se, expectations exist that we can do something miraculous because we’re on the board. I don’t agree with this; if we want to be citizens and go to meetings, we can do so.” Davis replied, “As board members we’re leading by example and doing our civic duty.” She explained her stance as a community committee member: “I may serve on the board on Wednesday nights, but I have no authority right now.” Board members also discussed their top legislative action proposals from a list provided by the Arizona School Boards Association. This is an annual local school board assignment. Photo by Joyce Hollis Pictured in the photo (left to right): David Bradley (D. L. Withers Construction), governing board members Tracy Davis, Lori Glenn, Carrie Vargas, Geoff Goddard, Superintendent Jeff Kleck, Mayor Anthony Smith, board member Tim White and Neil Peiratt (Gilleland Brubaker Architects). |