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Higley Unified District board meeting, Sep 1, 2026

2 h 49 min · 0 public speakers

This board doesn’t post agenda times. Click a board member to jump to where they first speak; we list only members whose voice our check named. Video length 2 h 49 min.

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What happened

What happened at this meeting

Higley board ratifies expense voucher 1013 without Born a Crime book purchase 2:33:21

  • The board heard work study presentations on career and technical education programs, 2025⁠-⁠2026 state assessment results and professional learning communities, followed by questions from board members. 4:06
  • The board voted 4⁠-⁠0 to ratify expense voucher 1013 with the exception of the book Born a Crime. 2:33:48

Until Nov 4, lines where a board member takes a side don't name the member. Why →

Item by item (11)
  1. Opening and agenda approval 1:37
    • Amanda Wade called the meeting to order, and a staff member reported 3 members in attendance and 1 member expected to arrive late. 1:37
    • Amanda Wade moved to approve the agenda. 1:58
    • The motion carried 3 to 0. 2:52
  2. Superintendent's report 2:52
    • The superintendent said the report was reduced because the meeting was a work study and listed upcoming events, including a business partner breakfast on Friday, September 18th and the next board business meeting on Tuesday, September 22nd. 2:58
    • The superintendent also noted a board and cabinet school visit on Thursday, September 24th and fall break on October 5th. 2:58
  3. Consent agenda and donations 3:50
    • Amanda Wade moved to approve consent agenda items 4.1 through 4.13. 3:50
    • Amanda Wade thanked Bridges PTO and Step It Up Rise Above Fundraising for their donation to the district and its schools. 4:06
    • The motion carried 3 to 0. 4:06
  4. Career and technical education update 4:06
    • A district staff member reported 2,457 students participating in CTE in the district and 429 students at the central campuses, and said 90.9% of students who took the state technical assessments passed. 4:35
    • The staff member said the district expects about $2.3 million in satellite funding and an operating budget of about $2.6 million for CTE programs this year. 17:18
    • Anna Van Hoek asked what happens to programs that do not meet the quality benchmark, and the staff member said programs would have 3 years to show improvement before they could potentially be put on a performance improvement plan. 23:45
  5. State assessment results 43:42
    • The executive director of teaching and learning said the district outperformed the state average in every grade level in ELA and math. 43:55
    • The executive director said a drop in math proficiency between 4th and 5th grade is a statewide trend. 50:35
    • Anna Van Hoek asked about grade 11 ACT math college readiness falling from 42 to 37 and asked for results broken down by school and subgroup. 1:07:24
  6. Professional learning communities 1:26:24
    • The executive director said a team developed a district framework for professional learning communities 2 years ago, and administrators from three schools described their campus practices. 1:30:58
    • Anna Van Hoek asked what measurable evidence shows the district's PLC implementation has improved student achievement. 1:53:41
    • The executive director said last year was the first full year of implementation and asked for 3 to 5 years, and said PLC meetings take place during early release Wednesdays with no instructional time lost. 1:56:59
  7. October 13 board meeting scheduling 2:07:46
    • Amanda Wade said the October 13th meeting falls during break and is needed to handle an AFR before the 15th, and asked staff to email board members about daytime availability for a 30-minute Zoom meeting. 2:07:46
    • A staff member said the meeting would include only the AFR presentation, with no consent agenda or superintendent's report. 2:09:02
  8. Expense voucher and book purchase 2:09:29
    • One board member raised concerns about the voucher's purchase of the book Born a Crime, citing profanity and mature content, and asked how digital subscriptions on the voucher comply with state statute 15⁠-⁠721 and 15⁠-⁠722. 2:09:39
    • A staff member said the MindPlay digital library was narrowed to 1,000 books reviewed by staff, and another staff member said the novel is on the board-approved list with a permission slip required for 11th grade. 2:13:42
    • One board member said the book should be pulled from the voucher, and another board member moved to ratify the voucher with the exception of Born a Crime. 2:19:10
    • The motion carried 4⁠-⁠0. 2:33:49
  9. Expense voucher and digital library license 2:33:49
    • Anna Van Hoek asked about compliance for a digital library in another program on the voucher, and a staff member said the program is on the approved supplemental list and the voucher renews its license. 2:34:01
    • The motion to ratify expense voucher 1128 carried 4⁠-⁠0. 2:35:04
  10. Staff travel for CASE 2:35:06
    • One board member said they do not support paying for conferences where employees need an agreement not to attend DEI content, citing Arizona law on public money for certain training. 2:35:16
    • A staff member said 6 of the 149 conference sessions involve DEI and that the staff member would not attend those sessions. 2:37:16
    • One board member said they support the funding, and another board member moved to approve the travel. 2:37:45
    • The motion carried 3 to 1. 2:47:26
  11. Future agenda items and adjournment 2:47:26
    • A speaker requested a future agenda item about communication involving individual schools, and a staff member said a meeting could be scheduled to discuss it. 2:47:34
    • The motion to adjourn carried 4 to 0. 2:48:40

Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.

What was said

What board members said, in order

Something else I think, um, that I think at least deserves mentioning is 5th grade also has science. And so we're asking kids to do yet another multi-day test kind of deal. Same thing for 8th grade.Amanda Wade · Governing Board President53:14
Other meetings

Other meetings of this board

Video: posted by the district as “HUSD Governing Board Meeting Sept 1, 2026”