A Message from the Board President
I am encouraged to see so many recent examples of alliance building throughout TUSD. I
continue to believe that if our students are to compete and succeed in a global society,
we as a district must model the networking and outreach efforts that create such success.
The Governing Board is playing an active role in such cooperative efforts. We are
unified in our commitment to fostering greater inclusion within our schools and to
increasing collaboration among the teachers, students, parents and other members of our
educational community.
At the April meeting, for example, the Governing Board voted unanimously to approve the
TUSD/TEA Joint Task Force recommendations for implementing Proposition 301 (see article on
page 2). We also were united in our approval of the new Shared Decision-Making Policy,
which will establish independent school councils and provide opportunities for each school
community to make critical decisions affecting students.
We also welcomed City Councilmember Steve Leal, who shared with us his proposal for a
municipal healthcare consortium. Examining such resource-sharing possibilities is
representative of our ongoing attempts to interact with community government at the city
and county levels as we seek to improve the lives of students and employees.
Recognizing the importance of cultivating additional funding sources for district
initiatives, the Governing Board continues to review funding proposals for unique
educational programming.
This month, we were pleased to approve the submission of proposals for the Lawrence
Riparian Habitat Study Center and Naylor Middle School's Sano Y Salvo Project to the
Arizona Game & Fish Department and AmeriCorps VISTA Project, respectively (click here for details).
Now that the summer heat is on, I'm happy to report that Townsend Middle School was
just approved for conversion from evaporative cooling to air conditioning. The project is
scheduled to start in June and will be completed in March 2002.
We will continue to make such improvements to our buildings to enhance the educational
experience (along with improving students' and teachers' environmental comfort!).
Our goal is to keep moving forward in a positive direction as we take on the challenges
of forging new and better ways to collaborate with others for the benefit of our students.
As we enter the final weeks of the 2000-2001 school year, we are already planning the
implementation of the BOLD! Game in 2001-2002. We are all looking forward with optimism to
the challenges ahead.
Carolyn Kemmeries
Board Report
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