YCESA

The First Choice for Responsive Educational Services

Yavapai County Education Service Agency

Volume 12, Issue 9

September 2018

Teacher pay in Arizona and Yavapai County p. 3

Funding not everything--Goldwater Institute p. 6

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News

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Sept 26, 2018

Nov 6, 2018

Jan 30, 2019

AzMERIT scores continueto show improvement p. 2

Quad City Administrators Meetings- 1:30 pm @ YCESA Training Room

Sep 19Oct 17Nov 14Dec 12Jan 16

Feb 20Mar 20Apr 17May 15Jun 19

Verde Valley Superintendents Meetings Sep 20 MingusOct 18 Cottonwood Nov 15 ClarkdaleDec 20 Page Springs (YCESA)

Jan 17 Camp VerdeFeb 22 SedonaMar 21 VACTEApr 18 Yavapai CollegeMay 20 Barb Uren’s (Trust)

Mark your calendar2018 - 2019

The consolidation of Mingus Union High School District with Cottonwood-Oak Creek Elementary School District will not be on the general election ballot in November. That was the outcome in Yavapai County Superior Court after a full day of legal arguments in late August. On the second day of hearings, Superior Court Judge David Mackey proposed an alternate solution and attorneys for Mingus Union and the pro-consolidation Committee for Better Upper Verde Valley Schools reached a settlement.

The ruling cancels the consolidation election, but directs the two sides to work together with the Yavapai County School Superin-tendent to craft petition language for a future effort on a merger of the two districts. The initial proposal requiring Mingus Union to not legally challenge future consolidation efforts was rejected by the Mingus Union Governing Board. They approved the settle-ment with the change regarding the ability to oppose the consolidation. After a significant amount of discussion and disagreement among the lawyers of all parties, Judge Mackey ruled the issue was not a material change to the original agreement.

The settlement agreement was affirmed. The next Status Conference is scheduled for September 5th.

Countywide Administrators’ Meeting, Washington Traditional School, Prescott, 7:45 am - 4:00 pm

General Election

Countywide Administrators’ Meeting, Verde area TBA, 7:45 am - 4:00 pm

CONSOLIDATION AGREEMENT REACHED

Source: Supt. Tim Carter, Yavapai County

In accordance with A.R.S. §15-424, Yavapai County School Superintendent Tim Carter has requested that the Yavapai County Board of Supervisors cancel the school district elect-ions and appoint those qualified governing board candidates as indicated here. This action is expected to be on the Super-isors’ September 5th consent agenda. Please direct any questions to Jenn Nelson at jenn.nelson@yavapai.us or Mr. Carter at tim.carter@yavapai.us.

REQUEST TO CANCEL SOME BOARD ELECTIONS

Source: Supt. Tim Carter, Yavapai County

In Memoriam

Our Senator John McCain served the United States of

America faithfully for sixty years.

We shall miss him.

9/01/18

Yavapai District Seats Term Candidate Name

Ash Fork JUSD 3 4 yr Melvin Stump, Mike Wilson, Joe Fairchild

Bagdad USD 3 4 yr Teresa Price, William Webster

Beaver Creek ESD 3 4 yr Betty Hart, Brandi Bateman, Daniel Dubien

Camp Verde USD 3 4 yr Tim Roth, Robert Simbric

Clarkdale-Jerome ESD 3 4 yr Laurie Lozano, Dale William, Chad Backus

Congress ESD 3 4 yr Charmaine McKaskle, Brian DeShazo, James Grogan

Cottonwood -Oak Creek ESD 3 2 yr Mindy Bejarno

4 yr Eric Marcus, Neil Manzenberger

Crown King ESD 2 4 yr Kristine Gray, Sheila Coleman

Hillside ESD 2 4 yr Kelly Hill, Anthony Koch

Humboldt USD 3 2 yr J. Suzie Roth

4 yr Ryan Gray, Corey Christians

Mingus Union H SD 4 yr Stephen Currie, John McTurk

Mountain Institute JTED 3 4 yr Ted Coleman (Ash Fork), Beth Cummins (Bagdad), Bryan Bullington (Humboldt)

Sedona- Oak Creek USD 2 4 yr Karen McClelland, Lauren Robinson

Seligman USD 3 2 yr Cheryl James

4 yr JD (Jerome) Simpson

Skull Valley ESD 2 4 yr Lise Arensberg, Sheri Denny

Valley Academy for Career and Technology Education JTED

2 4 yr Leland Wieweck (Mingus Union), Steve Pike (Camp Verde)

Walnut Grove ESD 2 4 yr Joyce Dennison, C. Arden Carter III

Williamson Valley ESD 2 4 hr Leanna Johnson, L ynda Kieckhefer

Yarnell ESD 2 4 yr Frazier Mayer

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Arizona public school students' proficiency levels statewide on the AzMERIT have shown steady growth over the four years it has been the measure of students' mastery of Arizona academic standards. Yet 40% of Arizona students continue to score “minimally proficient,” the lowest performance level.

The highlights of the results include:· About 54% of third graders passed AzMERIT math, up

6% from last year, and 98% of eighth graders taking Algebra II passed, a 1% increase;

· 48% of fifth graders passed English/language arts, up 4%;

· 41% of ninth graders passed English/language arts, a 5% increase; and

· 39% of eighth graders passed English/language arts, a 5% rise.

AzMERIT results figure prominently in the calculation of school letter grades in the state's A-F accountability system for schools, which will be released to the public in the Fall on azreportcards.com

The Arizona Republic has compiled the 2017-18 data publicly released by the Arizona Department of Education. The searchable database includes all district and charter schools' results in English language arts and math, as well as their passing rates for 2016-17. You can find it at AzMERIT Results

Infographic and Source: AZEdNews, Lisa Irish, 8/23/18

AzMERIT Scores ContinueTo Show Growth

The Invest in Ed proposition would have raised the income tax rate for single taxpayers who earn more than $250,000 in taxable income and married persons who earn more than $500,000 from 4.54% to 8%. It also would have increased the tax rate to 9% for individuals who earn more than $500,000 in taxable income and couples who earn more than $1 million. The measure, backed by a coalition of teachers, parents and education advocates, needed at least 150,642 signatures. Educators rejoiced when more than 187,000 were

submitted to the Arizona Secretary of State.

Then at the end of the month, an Arizona Supreme Court ruling removed the Invest in Education Act from the November ballot. On behalf of the court, Chief Justice Scott Bales stated that the proposition's description of the change in tax rate combined with the omission of any discussion of changes in indexing for inflation collectively “creates a significant danger of confusion or unfairness” and found the ballot language inadequate by law.

The ruling is a significant setback for teachers and education advocates who supported the initiative as a way to generate more money for public education through a dedicated revenue stream. However, it is a victory for the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry which led the fight to block a public vote on the Invest in Ed initiative. Read more at Initiative Off Ballot

Source: AZEdNews, Lisa Irish, 8/30/18

Invest in Ed Initiative On Ballot, Off Ballot

The IRS issued proposed regulations that may remove the ability for you to deduct contributions made to organizations that also provide a state or local tax credit. In plain English, if you make a contribution to a school tuition organization, public school, or qualifying charity and receive a dollar-for-dollar state tax credit for the contribution, you will not receive a benefit from the contribution as a deduction on your federal tax return. The state tax credit benefit should not be affected. This proposed rule would apply to contributions made after August 27, 2018.

These regulations are proposed, so they are subject to change until they are finalized. Please give YCESA or your tax professional a call with any questions about your individual tax situation.

Source: Supt. Tim Carter, Yavapai County

ALERT: Federal Tax Credit May Change

9/01/18

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About 200 Arizona school districts and 300 charter holders have reported teacher pay data to the Arizona Department of Education as part of a new state requirement. The financial data schools submitted to the state has not yet been audited, and the data indicates that some schools incorrectly reported their information.

The Arizona Republic compiled a database that includes information as reported by school districts and charters. Check out the information on teacher pay at 2018-19 Teacher Pay.

Here’s the data for Yavapai County district schools:

Source: AZCentral, 8/6/18

Reported Teacher Pay in Arizona

Between now and the end of the year, members of Congress will spend a significant amount of time in their home districts and states on work periods, due in part to the August recess and the upcoming midterm elections. This break in the congressional calendar provides a unique opportunity for county leaders to advocate for legislative and regulatory priorities at home.

To assist with your advocacy efforts, the National Association of Counties (NACo) has created this Summer Advocacy Toolkitfeaturing in-depth information, talking points, media guides and other exclusive NACo materials on the following county priorities:

· Transportation and Infrastructure· Farm Bill Reauthorization· National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)

Reauthorization· Full Funding for Payments In Lieu of Taxes (PILT)· Reauthorization of the Secure Rural Schools (SRS)

Program· Authorization of the Water Resources Development Act

(WRDA)· Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) Regulations· The Collection of Existing Sales Taxes on Remote and

Online Sales

For questions and additional information, contact Zach George at 202-661-8819 or zgeorge@naco.org .

Source: National Association of Counties

The Milestones Project Trainings scheduled for Thursday, August 30th, are being postponed until a date in October. The change will allow the Milestones Steering Committee additional time to align their program with concerns raised in the Listening Sessions as well as with best practices as defined by the National Sheriffs' Association School Safety Committee, chaired by Yavapai County Sheriff Scott Mascher.

Milestones’ goals remain critical: to provide immediate services to the student and to communicate effectively with all partners (schools, law enforcement, mental health, probation, courts, providers) about what is known.

Locations, date and time will be announced as soon as they are determined. Check out the website for more information on the Milestones Project at http://ycesa.com/teachers-and-administrators/milestones/

Source: Supt. Tim Carter, Yavapai County

Milestones Training Postponed

9/01/18

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Source: Supt. Tim Carter, Yavapai County

Great news from Frank Vander Horst, the YCESA eRate Manager!

He recently received notification that the Yavapai County Educational Technology Consortium (YCETC) was fully funded for the Broadband Initiative for 2018-19. Universal Service Administration Company (USAC), the FCC's administrator for programs and funds, also supported YCETC at the correct discount rate of 79%.

The funding amount for this year is $606,530.40. Adding last year's approval of $1.8 million for construction and the monthly service funding, the total federal and state funding for this project is $2.5 million to date.

Please contact Vander Horst at frank.vander.horst@yavapai.us or 928- 499-8421 if you have any questions.

Funding for 2018-19

Source: Supt. Tim Carter, Yavapai County

YCESA eRate Manager Frank Vander Horst updates users of eRate services for 2018-19 with the following information:

Total eRate funding requests through USAC for 2018-19 are $2.77 billion against a budget of $4.06 billion. In addition to this surplus funding, the FCC also swept unused eRate funds from previous years in the amount of $1.2 billion, resulting in a surplus of about $2.5 billion going into the 2019-20 school year.

Vander Horst points out that there has been a continuous drop in the total dollar amount of eRate funding requests over the last five years. He suggests that many believe this decrease is due to the new “user friendly” online portal implemented by USAC. His office, in fact, has found this portal to be extremely hard to use, not intuitive, and frequently just does not work.

The YCESA eRate Services are available to help you with eRate needs at .frank.vander.horst@yavapai.us

...More on eRate funding

Source: Frank Vander Horst, YCESA eRate Services

Register at h�p://ycesa.com/countywide-registra�on/

Questions? Need information? Jenn Nelson at jenn.nelson@yavapai.us

Attention Yavapai County School Administrators...join us for the next countywide meeting!

Trying to understand all the possible ways to better manage your student loans is a daunting task. We are pleased to offer a new Loan Relief benefit from Fiducius (formerly ISLoan Solutions). With their financial planning approach, the student loan Advisors at Fiducius help you navigate and determine your best option, including forgiveness, refinancing and consolidation.

It's easy to get started with this new benefit. You can determine your eligibility and potential savings in just a few minutes by visiting

h�ps://aacss-yavapai.myfiducius.com/register

Contributed by Fiducius

The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Forest Service recently announced a new strategy to better manage the National Forest System. The strategy will be based on new authorities granted to the Forest Service under the 2018 Omni-bus Appropriations Act. These authorities include new categorical exclusions to improve forest health, road construction and longer stewardship contracting. Additionally, state and local govern-ments will now have a stronger voice and greater opportunities to coordinate on forest health projects and use new technologies in forest management. Included is a detailed report on this new strategy. You can download the report at this . link

Yavapai County School Superintendent Tim Carter points out that this is an important step in improving forest health and ensuring that counties have a seat at the table…very good long-term news for the Secure and Rural Schools Act (Forest Fees).

Good News for Forest Fees

9/01/18

The Yavapai County Education Service Agency welcomed the Arizona Association of County School Superintendents (AACSS) back to Prescott in August for their annual three-day Legislative Retreat. Among the highlights of the event was honoring the following education partners and advocates:

· “Friend of Education” -- Dr. Mark Joraanstad, the Executive Director of the Arizona School Administrators;· “Good for Kids Award” -- Rep. Paul Boyer, House Education Committee Chairman; · “Educational Advocate Award” – Sen. David Bradley;· “Legislators of the Year” – Sen. Kate Brophy-McGee and Sen. Bob Worsley; and · “Lifetime Achievement Award” -- Rep. Doug Coleman, House Education Committee Vice-Chair.

YCESA greatly appreciates the efforts of these leaders on behalf of our schools, staff, and students.

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County School Superintendents Honor Education Advocates

Arizona State Treasurer Eileen Klein recently reported that Proposition 123 has generated $884 million with $823 million of that going directly to public schools. She attributed this success to “the strong market performance and smart investment strategy.”

Prop 123 was designed to settle a long-running lawsuit over K-12 school funding. Approved by voters in May 2016, it was enacted to put $3.5 billion into K-12 education over the next 10 years. The measure provides about 70% of what schools said they were owed and stopped a court fight that had dragged out for more than five years.

Klein adds that while anything can change over time, her office anticipates “greater change in the future.”

Source: KTAR.com, 8/13/18

Prop 123 Update

Are you a teacher who is looking for strategies to increase your students' academic engagement? Are you a parent seeking ways to give your kids vital skills and virtues like empathy, leadership, and confidence? Youth Service America provides resources to help you integrate community service into the lives of young people this school year, making a critical impact on youth volunteers AND your community.

Ready to Get Started? Visit the YSA Knowledge Center to view and download YSA's free resources for educators and parents. There you'll find dozens of ideas you can adapt to your class and community.

Youth Changing the World

9/01/18

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YCESA continues to track new grant offers for you. New opportunities for funding your project or supporting your services are posted to the cumulative list of grants available. Just go to

YCESA.com →

Support Services Grants →

New funding resources are added at least twice monthly. And, it’s printable.

The latest additions are highlighted in green on the website. Here are just some NEW opportunities you’ll find...

Freeport-MacMoRan Copper and Gold Foundation Minigrants for Education$100-$500 ea To support projects related to one or more of the following areas: environment; mining, mineral, and natural resources; reading and literacy; and STEM; may help fund activities such as field trips or performance incentive.

Arizona Science Center Fund-A-Bus GrantsUp to $1,000 eaTo provide free bus transportation to and from Arizona Science Center for Arizona students.

Lowe's Charitable and Educational Foundation Toolbox for Education Grants$2,000 - $100,000 eaFor technology upgrades, tools for STEM programs, facility renovations and safety improvements. Projects should address a critical need and align with Lowe's company purpose: to help peoplelove where they live.

Register here for this FREE event!

When Arizona teachers participated in a multi-day walkout earlier this year, they argued that increasing state education spending was crucial to improving the quality of education and student outcomes. But a new Goldwater Institute report finds that money is not a cure-all when it comes to bettering the state's K-12 education system.

The Goldwater Institute released the first in a series of reports on public school spending in Arizona. In this report, they stated there was no consistent relationship between increases in education spending and student achievement, saying that student test scores improved during the financial downturn when state education spending was decreasing. Parents care about more than test scores when it comes to choosing how and where their child learns. Furthermore, spending increases don't necessarily mean more money for Arizona teachers. School district offices are responsible for determining school budgets and teacher salaries, so there are no guarantees that if the state spends more on education, teacher pay will go up. Also, the report indicates wasteful spending plagues many school districts.

Instead of looking to spending increases, lawmakers should instead consider solutions that give every child the chance to succeed in Arizona, while holding school districts accountable for budget decisions. Read the full report, Arizona Public School Spending

Goldwater Institute Says Money Not A Cure-All

Source: The Goldwater Institute

9/01/18

GRANTS

79/01/18

A presentation at the recent Arizona Association of County School Superin-tendents (AACSS) Legislative Retreat was by Jeff Carew, the Program Director of Forecast5 Analytics. It addressed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Financial Transparency Reporting Requirements. His information dealt with the “school data” that will be required under ESSA.

You can find the presentation handout at

ESSA Financial. Take a look at what he had to say, especially the “Suggested Actions”.

ESSA Financial Reporting

Source: Supt. Tim Carter, Yavapai County

According to data from the American School Counselor Association, Arizona has the highest ratio in the nation of students per school counselor.

In the state's public schools, there was an average of 903 students to every one counselor in the 2015-16 school year. The national average is 464-to-1. Though improving slowly since the post-recession years before slowly improving, the ratio is still more than three times the recom-mended number and has been criticized by supporters of a national gun control movement led by young people, The Arizona Republic recently reported.

The American School Counselor Associ-ation recommends a ratio of 250-to-1, which can be difficult to reach in cash-strapped schools. Only New Hampshire, Wyoming, and Vermont are within that range, data showed. Arizona is not among about 60% of states that require counselors in high schools, the associ-ation said. Nearly half the states also mandate them in elementary and middle schools.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Secret Service released recommendations to schools last month on avoiding potential school violence. One suggestion is to create teams of teachers, counselors, coaches and others to identify potentially troublesome behavior.

Take a look at the U.S. News and World Report at . Student-to-Counselor Ratios

Source: AZCentral.com, 8/18

Counselor-Student Ratio Highest in Nation

Airbnb is releasing a highlighting the economic benefits that US Teachers Reporthome sharing brings to teacher hosts across the country.

Last summer, teachers hosted more frequently and earned more than the typical host, providing a meaningful boost in income when class is not in session. In fact, teacher hosts earned roughly one third of their total annual earnings during the summer months alone.

The report includes estimates based on our annual host survey, which collects findings on the employment industries of Airbnb hosts, and defines their community of teachers as follows:

· 45,000 teacher hosts in the US· $160 million in total earnings for teacher hosts in 2017· $54 million in summertime earnings for teacher hosts in 2017· $6,500 in typical annual supplemental income earned by teacher hosts

For many teachers, being a host is a natural extension of the knowledge and compassion they have shared throughout their careers.

and Teachers

Source: Airbnb Pressroom