PUSD Governing Board’s first meeting of school year set for tonight

With school back in session, the Prescott Unified School District Governing Board will be back in action, too, with the first board meeting of the school year scheduled for 5 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 6 at the district office conference room at Washington School on East Gurley Street.

The opening agenda will include an information-only presentation about how Mile High Middle and Prescott High School will be addressing library services this school year now that they do not have full-time librarians.

The Governing Board this past spring approved a $25 million budget that required some $700,000 worth of school-level budget reductions. In those cuts were dollars to cover salaries for two librarians.

District Superintendent Joe Howard said the idea would be to rotate existing staff to assist with library operations, but he left the details of how that would work, and how the library spaces will be used, to the principals.

In other voting business, the board will be asked to approve hiring two AmeriCorps VISTA employees, one as an attendance success coordinator and one to focus on a new Farm-to-School initiative. The request is to add one VISTA worker for the coming school year. The cost for both is to be $10,000.

The board also will be asked to ratify the agreement with the city for the school resource officer at the high school. Under the arrangement, the school district will pay 75 percent of the officer’s salary, and the city will cover the remaining 25 percent.

In addition, District Superintendent Joe Howard will be asking to approve his recommendation of Prescott High senior Madison Jackson as this year’s Governing Board student representative.

The district every year selects a senior to represent students at the board level. The board representative is part of Student Council and is able to keep members abreast of school events and activities, as well as student views on curriculum and other board legislative matters.