School board addresses child advocacy and student needs as priorities for legislative action

The Maricopa Unified School District’s governing board met Saturday to discuss local school district issues that need to be included as legislative recommendations to the Arizona School Board Association (ASBA).

The ASBA has identified eight critical areas within the public school system; at Saturday’s meeting board members discussed specific district concerns and where they fit into the specific topics given.

“This is more of a brainstorm session than anything else. What do we need specifically in our district that we can focus on?” said Board President Jim Chaston at the outset of the meeting.

School Board President Jim Chaston led Saturday’s session to categorize district needs and issues into eight areas for legislative action. The eight areas were provided by the Arizona School Board Association.

Advocacy for children was listed as the number one priority, and within this topic board members were adamant about increasing communication between the board, educators and the community. In an effort to improve that communication, the board was in favor of communicating and publishing critical items directed at parents in languages other than English.

Furthering the second topic of student needs, Superintendent Dr. John Flores suggested providing alternative educational pathways for students with learning deficiencies. He said that once teachers have identified a learning problem, even as early as first grade, this alternative could provide a classroom with a specialist able to address the student’s needs and hopefully increase that student’s chance for success.

Student needs such as basic supplies and textbooks are district specific needs, which will fall under the funding category. The board suggested turning land donations from developers into forced impact fees to aid in funding. We need to be able to collect what we need, as opposed to being at the mercy of the developer, explained President Chaston.

Along with student needs, policies concerning the governance of public schools were cited as a priority topic. The policies stress the ASBA’s desire to retain district control at a local level rather than at a state level; the board was in agreement.

The tax structure that supports public schools was also listed as one of the eight priority topics. The ASBA opposes any measure that requires a two-thirds vote to increase state or local revenues. President Chaston explained that no one will ever vote for increasing taxes, but they will still want the services those taxes would have provided; for that reason board members are in support of this measure.

Accountability, personnel and federal concerns were among the remaining topics listed by the ASBA. In an effort to better identify the needs that are necessary and specific to the community, the board has asked that leadership at district schools as well as members of the community bring their ideas to the next board meeting on April 11.