The Sedona-Oak Creek School District Board of Trustees unanimously approved the academic calendar for the 2024-25 school year at its Tuesday, Feb. 13, meeting. The most significant changes will take place on Wednesdays starting in the fall, which will be the last day of school. To accommodate staff professional development, West Sedona School has changed its start time to 1:05 p.m., and Sedona Red Rock High School has changed its start time to 10 a.m. Bus timetables are not affected by the change.

While SRRHS previously had a late start schedule, early release is now the new schedule for WSS. “Staff are aware of the strain that early redundancy can place on families and are committed to providing free childcare, clubs and tutoring during the early redundancy period,” the draft meeting minutes read. is stated.

If you are a parent or guardian who is unable to pick up your child at 1:30pm on Wednesday or would like to pick your child up later, you can drop them off at aftercare for free. Students can take a later bus route home, or parents can choose to pick up their child at a regular time.

“One of the things we are very mindful of is that early release can impact our parents, especially working parents,” said SOCSD Superintendent Tom Swaninger. mentioned during the meeting. “So our proposal is to continue to provide buses for transportation. We will also provide additional days free of charge for all students who wish to remain on campus and participate in clubs and tutoring that are held that day. So from outside the community, it should have little impact. But inside our organization, we believe it will have a big impact. [and] It has a very positive impact on student performance. ”

Big Park Community School

The board will issue a November general election ballot that would give the district an option to sell the former Big Park Community School in Oak Creek Village to a private entity after the district's negotiations over a land sale to Yavapai County stalled. There was discussion about including questions. , members have expressed concerns about the time and cost of maintaining the facility.

“We're talking about Big Park,” Vice President Lauren Robinson said. “This takes resources away from our main focus, which is educating children, and if we open our doors and lower prices without really looking into how much it will cost. , we would end up doing the same thing we're trying to avoid by removing Big Park. So, I would like to go on record and hopefully make it low-cost for non-profits to participate. You can't pay for it from the money that educates children and provides education. This is the service we should provide. ” The board then directed staff to bring the ballot item question back to a vote at its March meeting.

Sedona Performing Arts Center

SOCSD Director of Operations Jennifer Chilton gave a presentation on the history of the district's management of the Sedona Performing Arts Center, building costs, and rental rates.

The issue of SPAC affordability for local arts organizations is such that Running River School founder Lupita Pollock said in December that the space would be too cost-prohibitive for organizations such as the Sedona Dance Academy. The issue was raised at the January board meeting in response to comments made. She performed “The Nutcracker'' at Camp Verde instead.

“As of today, Sedona Dance Academy has 124 students in its program, most of whom live in Sedona,” said Sedona Dance Academy Director Althea Johnson, along with Academy Founder Jessica Phillips said while reading a written statement. “We are ready to start performing regularly at SPACs at both the spring and winter shows. The reason this can be considered difficult is because, in addition to renting a SPAC for a day, small businesses Hiring lighting, technology, and sound technology is prohibitively expensive.

“Would you consider offering tiered pricing to local art schools to make this beautiful space more accessible to local performers and children?”

Johnson said Sedona Dance Academy is growing rapidly and has performances in Cottonwood and Camp Verde, where “it was standing room only and people still couldn't go.” Ta. Therefore, there needs to be a quality and large enough space for these children to perform. ” The SOCSD administration will investigate the rental rates and will re-present the findings at a future board meeting. Chilton said there have been no price increases for SPAC rentals since 2013, other than storage costs, “so in my opinion, an investigation into a new fee structure is entirely appropriate.”

The challenge, Chilton noted, is that SOCSD cannot subsidize performances and is required to be at least a “break-even business.”

“I don't represent the board of directors on this matter, but I personally would like to establish a third-party organization that would be responsible for promoting the SPAC and securing talent, including fundraising and a volunteer base. , the person who is hired through employment, whatever that may be, and allow Dr. Chilton and the other leaders to do the work that best serves our students,” Swaninger said.

Rays

Finance Director Stacey Sarabo presented the district's proposed 2025 first-year employment contract during the meeting.

“A few weeks ago, when Dr. Swaninger and I started talking about preparing a contract for the 2025 academic year, one of the key things was that we wanted to present a contract as soon as possible so we could begin the recruitment process. .as soon as possible,” Saravo said. “We live in a difficult area. So the sooner we can get out before free time, the better.”

The proposed two-step raise is expected to increase total employee pay by $205,702.54.

“We often hear people say, 'Nobody can afford it in Sedona,' and the way we respond to that is through a market economy and by raising wages,” said board member David Price.

The 2025 budget is expected to be presented to the board in June.