[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6666929,"mediaKeyId","2292496-312e888d57f0d1ead7544be1faa3ffd9","parentId",2292496,"title","Parents, staff press Chandler Unified for grooming training and policy reviews after allegations","audioSeconds",2566,"startMs",7020000,"endMs",9586000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2292496-312e888d57f0d1ead7544be1faa3ffd9&start=7020&end=9586","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2292496-312e888d57f0d1ead7544be1faa3ffd9/thumbnail_7020000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6666929/Arizona/Parents-staff-press-Chandler-Unified-for-grooming-training-and-policy-reviews-after-allegations","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6666929-6ad7513e195d5b8ae371259002b23b69/orig.mp4?Expires=1771153967&Signature=jp4Jq-sn1NbpmoXMwENkamhclwPdGIQYheOfshqnHpt6ukg9ieCBE4uG~x6xlMmpiHwTxNDFMMVWoCnKpEbVjFViN7MDtBUos3L5uFzJe-3GL4l2-k-lyn98fQ4elZojSOg2oLKBuBqPiRn~3inaizrdJY9n0Fy2Jm2bRiex31f0sCzTOYFjQb3CxECMPqZQuP-3UKqg3CVRE5qEhzPsySgrNS~srMHLet97SIbzVxkeHJZG670guHtYkhPMrX3D-~Lt0eCBtUES2S0LH-x3-qWybRxcZQ1vOTcCAIy34X-8HrD2JyjZ8xUl0-I9J~pBN0HxjakMg4hbZqxPxpgC8w__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Chandler Unified District #80 (4242)","date","2025-02-13T04:18:00.137Z","article","Public comment at the Chandler Unified School District board meeting on Feb. 12 focused heavily on allegations of staff misconduct and community calls for policy changes, training and clearer communication.

More than 30 people signed up to speak during the meeting’s public-comment period. Several students and staff described direct, positive experiences with Castile High assistant principal Shalomay Woodworth and urged the board not to impose harsh discipline before due process. Tessa Chadwick, a Castile High senior, said Woodworth “is more than an assistant principal. To many students, she is a mentor, a role model, and the driving force behind the positive culture” at the school. Jenna Shear, a counselor at Castile, told the board Woodworth assisted with an investigation in 2021 at staff direction and could face a possible one-year license suspension; Shear framed her comments as a question about whether district employees who follow direction will be protected.

Other speakers pressed the board on safety, training and support for victims. Carissa Arnold, who identified herself as the parent of a child who was groomed and sexually assaulted, urged the district to adopt policies to teach students about appropriate and inappropriate touch and to provide clear protocols for staff. Several speakers referenced recommendations from the Arizona Professional Practices Advisory Commission (PPAC) and asked the district to implement training to help staff recognize grooming behaviors and to hold a public town hall that would include law-enforcement and parents.

An anonymous student’s written testimony read aloud by a teacher said that, as a ninth grader, the student was struggling with depression and felt personally supported by Woodworth when the school intervened and contacted the student’s parent. The testimony concluded: “She made me feel heard and important. I will always be so grateful.”

Speakers on multiple sides asked for transparency about investigations while also emphasizing that disciplinary actions must follow due process and state law. Several public commentators said they had relocated specifically to Chandler for the District’s schools and asked the board and administration to protect staff as well as students. Others urged the board to respond to PPAC recommendations and to adopt grooming awareness training district-wide.

Board President (addressing the public later in the meeting) said state public-meeting law limits what the board can discuss during the meeting but pledged to review the matters raised and follow up. The board also noted that mandatory reporting and annual training for staff are embedded in district practice, and board leadership said it would work with district staff to review policies, procedures and communication channels.

","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","February 12, 2025, Chandler USD Governing Board Study Session and Regular Business Meeting","oneSentenceSummary","Public comment at the Chandler Unified School District board meeting on Feb. 12 focused heavily on allegations of staff misconduct and community calls for policy changes, training and clearer communication.","taxTitle","Chandler Unified District #80 (4242), School Districts, Arizona","taxId",12979,"location","Arizona","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6666935,"Chandler Unified outlines special-education continuum, reports preschool inclusion gains",3238,774000,4012000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2292496-312e888d57f0d1ead7544be1faa3ffd9&start=774&end=4012","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2292496-312e888d57f0d1ead7544be1faa3ffd9/thumbnail_774000.jpg","/articles/6666935/Arizona/Chandler-Unified-outlines-special-education-continuum-reports-preschool-inclusion-gains","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6666935-77a645bd555f2312fa8ffea5d1ffc76f/orig.mp4?Expires=1771153967&Signature=KyxmiWtv2R8o1SUmCR806yHhIh0hUE7Jll5XfH8JrmxzSF5HKGZQEp-j0a35rsxlfOuMhvFNVbeVlvTqPp4MO7Pyx1giL5S6t6ofcx8Y8W17VticVqk1udcdjY3fJ~F~ISmxmlOJ5oi~4iVWC4ivt84t~mydfL-i0MGhaSUJZhysLQ9uM6UEUiVdW4NxsYHGPWUU6gHhXGSk913vpscA924nZEl9BHyt3XN8IMZkOQdBLw~LEBAco8BhH6vBuONwK9kQxmNtpmCFOmbnuAIrGyBoKdmPp4Fblaj2f29mD1yr~GiX16pYw6hg-LEf8H0uiVfOGDOE57Ash-Y6e4s9hA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Kim Marshall, the district’s executive director of student personalized learning, outlined Chandler Unified School District’s special-education continuum in a study session on Feb. 12, describing how services range from general-education inclusion to residential and homebound instruction and noting recent gains in preschool inclusion.

Marshall said 69.3% of students with disabilities are currently included in the general-education curriculum — a figure the district has targeted at 70%. “Our goal has always been to have at least 70% of our students in the generalized setting so that they have access to the content and to the skills that our teachers have,” Marshall said.

The presentation walked the board through placement levels used in district records — from brief pull-out resource supports to specialized classrooms, public specialized day programs and residential placements — and described counseling, paraeducator supports and related services that accompany each placement. Marshall stressed that placements are based on a student’s “skills, abilities and needs,” not a diagnosis: “We do not say that if a student has autism, you’re going to this specific program,” she said.

Marshall highlighted preschool changes the district has made through collaborative funding with community education and Title I, noting the district reduced specialized preschool classrooms from 19 to 8 by creating inclusive 3- and 4-year-old programs at selected sites. She said the district’s preschool inclusion rate is now about 69% and that the move was recognized at the state level. “We flipped the continuum from having a very highly segregated setting for preschool to now having a very inclusive setting for our preschoolers,” Marshall said.

Megan Davis, the district’s 504 lead and assistant director of student services, described the difference between Section 504 accommodation plans and IDEA-based individualized education programs (IEPs): “The biggest difference between a Section 504 accommodation plan and an IEP is goals and services,” Davis said. She told the board the district currently serves about 5,071 students on IEPs and approximately 1,700 students on Section 504 plans (the 504 figure she gave as an estimate).

April Vaye Shulkin, specialist for public and private day placements, described the Chandler Learning Center (CLC), a district-operated public specialized day program next to Willis Junior High that serves students with intellectual disabilities and autism and provides transition and life-skills instruction for older students. She said the district now operates four or five transition classrooms for students ages 18–22 in the PLACE program, which focuses on vocational and daily-living skills.

Board members asked for clarifications about funding and operations. In response to a question about average cost to educate a student with a disability, Marshall cited a prior cost study and an informal rule of thumb used locally: “it typically costs twice as much for the district to educate a student with a disability,” she said, while noting that individual student costs vary widely depending on the services required. Marshall also referenced a $377,000 contract approved earlier in the fall for real-time captioning for two students with hearing impairments as an example of high-cost supports the district pays for regardless of whether additional funding fully covers those costs.

Marshall and staff described regionalized specialized classroom placements at the elementary and secondary levels, transportation responsibilities when a student is placed outside their home school, and models of co-teaching and itinerant services. She said the district’s practice is to provide transition planning by the end of ninth grade and to support students up to age 22 when appropriate under federal law. “All means all,” Marshall said, summarizing the district’s stated approach to inclusion and support.

The presentation closed after questions about procedural responsibilities for 504 plans, private-day enrollment trends, and staffing. District staff credited added behavior specialists and site-based interventions for a decline in private-day placements and emphasized supports to keep students on comprehensive campuses when possible. The study session transitioned to a brief break before the regular board meeting.

","District executive director Kim Marshall told the governing board the district is approaching its 70% inclusion goal for students with disabilities, reduced specialized preschool classrooms from 19 to 8 and described services from preschool through age 22, including the Chandler Learning Center and expanded transition supports.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6666924,"Board approves $2.82 million HVAC contract to replace 52 rooftop units at San Tan K–8",251,9769000,10020000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2292496-312e888d57f0d1ead7544be1faa3ffd9&start=9769&end=10020","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2292496-312e888d57f0d1ead7544be1faa3ffd9/thumbnail_9769000.jpg","/articles/6666924/Arizona/Board-approves-282-million-HVAC-contract-to-replace-52-rooftop-units-at-San-Tan-K8","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6666924-b8da7f2e819e4ccb1d77c4f11b9a3e94/orig.mp4?Expires=1771153967&Signature=AZ~0P5kUvKeanhajfVCpVAxoIPABP9jVh~gc6NQUiXcYgLPOkPsia7~C7Qof0XyuZVuE9QBNDaBLz0IsIozcEhn9l050mIYw4MU8XYiylty1J~71OblC40tQgghVa4vzXCnH4e6FMO61MB2K96mZUActsIn7j1wKFAMbDb53MeYXWa~Ec1RU5q9ezveT9SMw3tIyEb1g7Gj9z94Msah3f86v2QWL0-~6wOBGGLt-1jOM6t48ry2ku1bG6YuVOSoew8JfvGOVJEiDD2-yBX6TAI2awYU-G4KURyuL-aRnt6r6TVmEj61-FcwHJxJpXiE27nXOYx2AhNgPZX~MM2ULWw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Chandler Unified School District governing board voted unanimously Feb. 12 to approve a $2,815,785.91 contract with Pueblo Mechanical to replace 52 rooftop HVAC units at San Tan K–8.

Facilities director (presenter) explained the rooftop units were installed in February 2002 and had reached the end of expected service life. The scope includes removal and replacement of 52 rooftop units, reconnection of existing electrical and gas supplies, start-up and testing of all units, reconnection of controls, and installation of new economizers for each unit. Staff said the contract will be procured using 1GPA cooperative contract 2214PV05 and adheres to school procurement guidelines.

A board member asked whether refrigerant (Freon) is recovered and whether copper and other salvage values are accounted for. Facilities staff said the district collects and reuses recovered refrigerant where appropriate and that scrap value for copper is considered and worked into contract pricing. The presenter said the new rooftop units will be more energy-efficient and that the contract carries a two-year parts-and-labor warranty.

Board member [motion] made the motion to approve the Pueblo Mechanical contract and the motion was seconded by a fellow board member. The motion passed unanimously.

The board also approved a consent agenda earlier in the meeting by a unanimous vote; that agenda covered multiple routine district items as published, with no separate discussion recorded on the floor.

","The board unanimously approved a $2,815,785.91 contract with Pueblo Mechanical under 1GPA contract 2214PV05 to remove and replace 52 rooftop HVAC units at San Tan K–8; the contract includes reconnection of controls and new economizers and carries a two-year parts-and-labor warranty.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Parents, staff press Chandler Unified for grooming training and policy reviews after allegations

Chandler Unified outlines special-education continuum, reports preschool inclusion gains

Board approves $2.82 million HVAC contract to replace 52 rooftop units at San Tan K–8