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Board weighs switching district model-policy service from ASBA to The Trust
Summary
The PUSD governing board discussed replacing ASBA’s model policy service with Arizona Schools Risk Retention Trust (the Trust) policies, citing easier navigation, more concise text, and lower initial cost — but no final vote was taken.
The Prescott Unified School District governing board spent substantial time on Sept. 9 discussing whether to replace the Arizona School Boards Association (ASBA) model-policy service with the Arizona Schools Risk Retention Trust (“the Trust”) policy service.
Andy, a district staff member leading the presentation, summarized staff research and feedback from other districts. He told the board the Trust’s portal is easier to navigate, its policy texts are often more concise and prescriptive, and the initial subscription cost shown to the district is substantially lower than ASBA’s current fee. Staff also reported that several Arizona districts of varying sizes have adopted the Trust model.
Board members asked detailed questions about costs, updating procedures and legal review. Sarah, a district staff member who manages policy updates, told the board that, under the Trust, the provider would perform updates on behalf of the district; under ASBA the district’s staff would perform more of the manual input. Andy said the Trust’s attorneys help draft policies and that the district’s counsel has in some Trust scenarios participated in policy drafting.
Some board members raised caution. One board member recalled prior legal advice the district received that later proved incorrect in an Open Meeting Law matter and said that experience made them wary of outsourcing legal interpretation to any single provider. Other board members asked staff to identify any districts that considered switching but elected to remain with ASBA.
No final vote was taken. District staff recommended a possible vote next month to approve a contract with the Trust; if the board chooses to proceed staff said they would perform a crosswalk between current policies and the Trust’s proposals, present recommended language and plan implementation with a target of July 1 for any new system to take effect.
Board direction: Staff were asked to return a contract and implementation plan for board consideration, and to gather any remaining comparisons from districts that had chosen not to switch to the Trust.
