Phoenix Union board narrows and rewords guardrails, sets attendance target and outreach plan

Phoenix Union High School District trustees spent much of an April 3 retreat revising a set of proposed "guardrails" that would tell Superintendent Shauna Andrade what the board expects the district to stop allowing or to make a priority, and agreed to take the revised items into the community for feedback and to ask the superintendent for measurable interim actions.

The board focused first on an academics guardrail aimed at ensuring campus leaders are accountable and that staffing decisions consider campus performance. After extended wording changes, trustees agreed to a streamlined sentence: "The superintendent shall not fail to address leadership and staff that negatively impact a school's performance and will consider the school's performance levels when making assignments and evaluating their contributions to proven outcomes," wording Superintendent Andrade said she would use to return measurable interim steps.

Why it matters: trustees framed guardrails as a tool to give the superintendent a clear directive and to hold her publicly accountable on matters the board campaigned on. Dr. Julio Ramos, the retreat facilitator, told trustees the intent of the framing was to remove “wiggle room” so the community sees action. "You're telling her, we don't want this to be an issue anymore," Ramos said during the discussion.

What the board changed and debated - Leadership and assignments: Board members objected to a long, double‑negative draft phrasing. Trustee discussion led to shortening and removing redundant clauses; Clerk Oliver recommended "evaluating their contributions" rather than the longer language. Superintendent Andrade said the revised sentence would allow her to return "1 to 3 measurables" for the board to vet.

- Vulnerable students: The board left a guardrail that calls for "additional resources and support for vulnerable students," and debated whether to name subgroups. Representative Marquez and others discussed whether to explicitly call out Exceptional Student Services (ESS), English Learners (ELL), foster youth and students experiencing homelessness (McKinney‑Vento). Superintendent Andrade said such students will be disaggregated in goal reporting and that ESS students may require different measures (for example, internships or workforce readiness rather than standard ACT/college‑readiness tests).

- Safety and School Resource Officers: Trustees added explicit language tying safety to district policy and added a clause read into the guardrails by President Napa: the superintendent "shall not compromise the safety of students or staff while utilizing multifaceted safety measures and shall not allow SROs to enforce immigration policies on school grounds." The phrase was raised repeatedly in discussion and kept as a distinct item for community review.

- Teachers, retention and well‑being: Board members agreed to keep a guardrail that the superintendent "shall not overlook the necessity of providing adequate benefits, support, and resources to staff members to enhance their effectiveness and personal well‑being." Trustees flagged salary/benefits, workload and classroom size as factors that affect retention, and Superintendent Andrade noted that some compensation items are negotiated through the district's interest‑based negotiation process.

- Discipline, engagement and technology in classrooms: A guardrail asks the superintendent to avoid implementing punitive discipline that prevents students from accessing education and to address distractions in class (for example, portable electronic devices). Representative Marquez said recently passed state legislation requires districts to adopt a policy limiting portable electronics and to restrict certain social‑media access on district Wi‑Fi; she said no state funding accompanies that law.

- Attendance target / chronic absenteeism: Trustees discussed a proposed guardrail on chronic absenteeism and heard district data showing the problem is large. The retreat record includes a proposed district benchmark: "The superintendent shall not allow the rate of chronic absenteeism to exceed 35 percent over a period of five years" (chronic absenteeism was defined in discussion as missing 18 full days or more in a year). Board members debated whether 35 percent is ambitious enough; some urged interim, year‑by‑year percentage reductions. Superintendent Andrade and consultants said they will return SMART interim measures and a baseline so the board can monitor progress.

Next steps and community outreach: The board directed staff to finalize a survey and session script before the May board meeting and to schedule community listening sessions and districtwide surveying during May. Dr. Ramos advised trustees to vet the superintendent's interim metrics once the community input is collected and then to monitor progress quarterly.

Trustees emphasized wording clarity for community audiences: "When you get out into the community ... parents look at us like, can you just tell me what you mean by that?" Board member Cross said. President Napa said trustees should be prepared to articulate what each guardrail would mean in practice when they present it to the public.

Ending: Trustees did not adopt the guardrails at the retreat; they refined wording and agreed to post the proposed guardrails for public comment and to ask Superintendent Andrade to return measurable interim actions after community engagement.