The Boarder
A Summary Report of the October 13, 2020
C F S D Governing Board Meeting
Associate Superintendent Mary Jo Conery shared the
following student and staff achievements.
National Merit Semifinalists
Nine (9) CFHS seniors have been named National Merit
Semifinalists: Muhammad Dahshan, Rebecca Han,
Sevren Jackson, Claire Kross, Margot Nicholson,
Robert Pawloski, Ty Pham-Swann, Maxon Rubin-Toles,
and Joshua Tint.
The National Merit Scholarship Corporation named
more than 40 Tucson-area students as semifinalists in
the 66th annual National Merit Scholarship Program.
Two hundred and ninety-five (295) students from
Arizona qualified as semifinalists.
The Corporation chose 16,200 semifinalists nationwide
to compete for 7,600 National Merit Scholarships worth
more than $30 million that will be offered next spring.
National Merit Commended Students
Four (4) CFHS seniors were named National Merit
Commended Students: Joseph Cohen, Daniel Popov,
Ava Shepard, and Cameron Strong. They were
recognized for the exceptional academic promise
demonstrated by their outstanding performance on the
2019 PSAT (Preliminary SAT).
Students Taking Advantage of Research (S.T.A.R.) Lab
Program
Nine (9) CFHS science students were accepted into the
University of Arizona's S.T.A.R. Lab program. The Lab
is a high school outreach collaboration between the U of
A's Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology and
the Southern Arizona Research Science and
Engineering Foundation. The S.T.A.R. Lab supports
high school student research and engineering projects.
Research began September 28, 2020 and will run
through January 29, 2021. Research questions/projects
Page 1 of 3
may involve big data, bioinformatics, biomedical
research data., climate GPS/ArcView, virtual
computing, programming and other questions that can
be completed virtually.
Our students and their research topics: Andreana
Zavros-Finnegan - Animal Behavior in Zoos, Annalise
Mendoza - Psychology; Gabriel Declercq - Climate
Change, Jeronimo Barela - Cardiovascular Disease,
Khadeeja Khalil - Psychology, Kulindu Vithanachchi -
Psychology, Megan Bime - Microbiome, Zachary Keyes
- Cardiovascular Disease, and Eli Lefkowitz -
Cardiovascular Disease.
Poetry Winners
Orange Grove students, Avery Maland and Hannah
Levin, were winners in the University of Arizona Poetry
Center's K-12 Poetry Contest. Avery's poem, "Face
Mask," won 1st place in 6th-8th grade, and Hannah's
"Untitled" poem garnered an honorable mention.
GRAMMY Music Educator Award
Patricia Moore, Canyon View music teacher, has been
selected as a quarterfinalist for the Music Educator
Award presented by the Recording Academy and
GRAMMY Museum. Only 216 music teachers from 199
cities have been announced as quarterfinalists.
A late breaking update from a press release on
10/13/2020: Ms. Moore is now one of 25 semifinalists
nationwide. Wow. Congratulations!
CFSD Legendary Teacher
Laura Williams, Esperero math teacher, was named
CFSD's Legendary Teacher. She was honored at a
virtual Pima County Legendary Teacher Celebration on
October 1st.
A student who nominated Ms. Williams wrote, "Despite
not being in school right now, she is always creating new
ways for us to learn. She is always working hard to help
me improve in my math and helping me get better
grades. Mrs. Williams stays after school with me and the
other students. Mrs. Williams you are the best math
teacher EVER."
Great Beginnings Induction Program
Congratulations to our teachers who completed
CFSD’s Great Beginnings: Systems for
Success induction program in June 2020. For 2-3 years,
teachers who were new to the profession and those who
transferred from other school districts participated in a
variety of experiences to expand their teaching toolkit
and develop their skills on the job. They participated in
New Teacher Orientation, worked with an experienced
mentor, participated in instructional coaching and
collegial coaching, and collaborated with colleagues in
learning seminars and Summer Institutes on
instructional best practices and differentiated
instruction. We appreciate the commitment of our
teachers to make a difference in the lives of our students
every day.
Elementary School: Roby Althaus, Kylie Baker, Alicia
Barrios, Sandy Bramhill, Lynn Bush-Stephens, Sarah
Carton, Michael Ching, Mandy Davidson, Clara Felix,
Mary Florek, Ellie Galligan, Lizeth Gonzalez, Amber
Grilli, Meghan Gulley, Nancy Hayes, Ning He, Jon
Helleson, Cristina Henikman, Kylie Koepsel, Lizbeth
Lutz-Rodriguez, Shannon Marchal, Christy McCoy,
John McGraugh, Savannah Miller, Kirsten Tobin, Paola
Villarreal, and Hui Zhou. Middle School: Terry
Alexander, Jennifer Braun, Myranda Christensen,
Marshall Hart, Trish Hillman, Jamie McLain, Sarah
Merry, Micki Skerik, Melinda Skinner, Kathy Spencer,
and Kristin Vanderford. High school: Tiffanie Bialis, Amy
Byroad, Kevin Duong, Lindsay Fairbanks-Tecco, Miriam
Frieden, Sheldon Ham, Blake Hinson, Robin Larson,
Alex Merideth, Dee Ann Perez, Amy Peterson, Rob
Rathbun, Lara Savage, and Emily Yantis.
Update on the CFSD In-Person Reopening Plan
Assistant Superintendent Denise Bartlett presented the
update about the 2020-2021 in-person reopening plan,
timeline, and fact sheets for each school’s reopening
plan scheduled for October 26. She reported that each
site distributed the fact sheets to parents and hosted
town hall meetings to help families understand the
options for in-person and remote learning pathways for
their students. The learning pathway survey has been
available since Thursday, October 8, requesting a
binding commitment from families by Wednesday,
October 14, at 11:59 p.m. Dr. Bartlett reported that the
information received from the survey would enable
schools to finalize student schedules and determine
final staffing assignments. She indicated that principals
and other district administrators were participating in
this presentation through the board’s Google Meet
format to answer any questions from the board. Board
members asked about site capacity, dedicated teams,
guidelines and parameters that helped in the
development of each site’s reopening plan, and
transportation for resident and non-resident students.
Page 2 of 3
Approval of Revisions to Policy and Regulation ACA
and ACA-R, Sexual Harassment (second reading)
Dr. Bartlett presented the second reading of revisions to
the policy and regulation. The recommended revisions
were directly related to the issues that would occur in
the workplace. She reviewed the board-recommended
retaliatory language addition that was discussed in the
first reading on September 22. Board members
provided feedback on the added wording in the
retaliation paragraph and recommended that more
specific language be added for clarity. All other
revisions from the first reading were not modified. The
policy and regulation will be brought back to the board
for a third reading at its next meeting on October 27.
Approval of Fiscal Year 2020 Annual Financial
Report
Director of Finance Lisa Taetle presented a summary of
the fiscal year 2020 Annual Financial Report, including
the following areas:
• Maintenance and Operations
• Classroom Site Fund
• Unrestricted Capital Outlay
• Bond Building Fund
• Federal and State Projects
• Other Funds
• School-Level Reporting
Ms. Taetle and board members discussed the revenue
and expenditure activity of the food service program.
The board approved the 2020 Annual Financial Report,
as presented.
Annual Bond and Capital Override Report
Dr. Conery presented the annual bond and capital
override report that included an update on the progress
of capital improvements financed through bonds and
capital override funds. She reported that the district sold
the first bond issuance in April 2016 for $7,500,000, a
second issuance in May 2018 for $9,185,000, and in
April 2020 a third issuance for $5,315,000. These
issuances were part of the CFSD voters’ approval of $22
million of bond funds in a November 2015 election.
Dr. Conery also presented information about the 2015
capital override approved by voters in the amount of $2
million annually to pay for technology equipment and
software, technology infrastructure, and curriculum and
library resources. The capital override has a seven-year
life with two years remaining (FY2021-2022 and FY
2022-2023).
2020 Arizona Legislative / Governmental Activity
There was no discussion.
Consent Agenda Items
The governing board approved the following consent
agenda items. CFSD

• September 18, 2020, special governing board

meeting minutes
• September 22, 2020, regular governing board
meeting minutes
• Expense voucher memorandum
• Fundraising request memorandum Please welcome new CFSD staff members:
• Personnel memorandum
• Gift and Donations memorandum
Kaitlin Saxe, Math Teacher, CFHS
• Update to cooperative purchase list for fiscal year
2020-2021 Jill Baker, EA Classroom, VV
Corrine Burbank, Computer Technician I, ECMS
Upcoming Board Meeting Pam Cline, Elementary Site Lead/Substitute, CS
The next regularly scheduled governing board meeting Kathryn Macdonald, EA Inclusion, VV
is Tuesday, October 27, 2020, 6:30 p.m., at the Nicole Manning, EA Classroom, VV
Professional Learning Center at Valley View Early
Briana Ramirez, EA Inclusion, CFHS
Learning Center.
Jaime Rakoff, EA Classroom, MZ
• Approval of Revisions to Policy and Regulation ACA Destiny Ruiz, EA Inclusion, CFHS
and ACA-R, Sexual Harassment (third reading)
• Update on the CFSD In-Person Reopening Plan
• Consideration of New Policy and Regulation ACAA
and ACAA-R, Title IX Sexual Harassment (first
reading)
• 2020-2021 Comparative Enrollment Report
• Arizona School Board Association (ASBA) Law
Conference Report
• ASBA Pima County Meeting Report (October 1
meeting date)
• ASBA Delegate Assembly Report (October 17
meeting date)

Page 3 of 3