School District Redistricting Commission

 

Minutes of the Meeting

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

2:00 p.m., House Hearing Room 5

 

 

Members Present:

Martin Shultz, Chairman

Rita Leyva

Vicki Anderson

Dave Naugle

Jay Blanchard

Thomas Schoaf

Dr. Sandra Dowling

Kent Scribner

Doris Goodale

Joseph Thomas

Art Harding

 

 

Members Absent:

Susan Bitter Smith

 

Jay Kaprosy

 

 

Chairman Shultz called the meeting to order at 2:01 p.m. and the attendance was noted.

 

WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS

 

Each member of the Commission introduced themselves and gave a brief description of their backgrounds.

 

REVIEW OF THE REVISED SDRC FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

 

Ken Behringer, General Counsel of Legislative Council, reviewed the revised School District Redistricting Commission (SDRC) frequently asked questions index, referring to a handout entitled “School District Redistricting Commission Frequently Asked Questions About Arizona School Redistricting” (Attachment A).

 

FINAL DETERMINATION OF UNIFICATION PLANS

 

Mr. Schultz stated Ms. Bitter Smith was unable to attend the meeting and she requested that her vote be counted via an e-mail she sent to the Commission.  Mr. Schultz asked the Commission members for their feedback regarding her request.

 

Mr. Thomas and Ms. Leyva both agreed Ms. Bitter Smith’s vote should not be counted.

 

Mr. Schoaf stated he did not have a problem counting Ms. Bitter Smith’s vote as long as it was not a deciding vote.

 

Mr. Schultz ruled Ms. Bitter Smith’s vote would not be counted based on the concerns of the Commission members.

 

 

 

Maricopa County West Valley Plan

 

Mr. Harding moved the Maricopa County West Valley Plan 2 proposed redistricting plan be recommended and included in the final report that is to be submitted to the Governor.  The motion was seconded by Mr. Blanchard.

 

Mr. Schoaf explained the substitute motion he would be making to the Maricopa County West Valley Plan 2 and answered questions posed by the Committee members.

 

Mr. Schoaf moved that the common school districts designated as Maricopa West in this Commission’s district breakdown be recommended to remain as common school districts at this time in the final report that is to be submitted to the Governor with our encouragement and future assistance towards crafting an alternative to unification based on the districts willingness to enter into intergovernmental agreements in areas including the sharing of administrative duties and tasks and the coordination of curriculum.  The motion was seconded by Ms. Leyva.

 

Kelli Watson, President, Littleton Elementary School District Governing Board, testified in support of the substitute motion and answered questions posed by the Committee members.

 

Dr. Cathy Stafford, Superintendent, Avondale Elementary School District, testified in support of the substitute motion.

 

Robin Berry, Superintendent, Palo Verde Elementary School District, testified in support of the substitute motion.

 

The substitute motion FAILED with a roll call vote of                                5-6-2 (Attachment 1).

 

The original motion CARRIED with a roll call vote of                                7-4-2 (Attachment 1).

 

Pinal County Plan

 

Mr. Naugle moved the Pinal County Plan 1 proposed redistricting plan be recommended and included in the final report that is to be submitted to the Governor.  The motion was seconded by Mr. Blanchard.

 

Mr. Naugle further explained the Pinal County Plan 1.

 

The motion CARRIED with a roll call vote of                                8-3-2 (Attachment 1).

REVIEW OF THE FINAL REPORT TO THE GOVERNOR ON PROPOSED SCHOOL DISTRICT UNIFICATION PLANS

 

Mr. Schultz explained the details of the final report that will be submitted to the Governor, referring to a handout entitled “School District Redistricting Commission Recommendations to the Governor of Arizona The Honorable Janet Napolitano” (Attachment B).

 

Steve Schimpp, Joint Legislative Budget Committee, reviewed a handout entitled “Potential Maximum Impact of Proposed Unifications on Career Ladder Funding (FY 2008 basis)” (Attachment C) and answered questions posed by the Committee members.

 

Lyle Friesen, Director of School Finance, Arizona Department of   Education, reviewed three handouts entitled “100th Day ADM” (Attachment D),                   “Tax Rate Impact Calculations” (Attachment E), and “SDRC Districts Characteristics 2007” (Attachment F) and answered questions posed by the Committee members.

 

DISCUSSION

 

Senator Linda Gray stated she appreciated the Commission members’ work despite the objections of the Arizona School Administrators and Arizona School Boards Association.  Senator Gray added school districts are not allowed to use school resources to defeat or support election measures and thanked the Commission members for their work.

 

The Commission members discussed their concerns with the final plan that will be submitted to the Governor.

 

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 3:54 p.m.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

 

Bill Ritz

Committee Secretary

 

 

(Audio recordings and attachments on file in the Secretary of Senate’s Office/Resource Center, Room 115).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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School District Redistricting Commission

December 11, 2007

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