Votes at a glance: Peoria Unified board approves master-capital plan contract, Liberty High GMP; declines ASBA membership

Peoria Unified School District's Governing Board took a string of formal actions at its Aug. 14 meeting, including approving a master capital planning contract with Grace Design Studios, approving guaranteed maximum price (GMP) No. 1 for Liberty High School classroom additions, revising internal organizational charts and salary schedules, and voting to decline renewal of the district's Arizona School Boards Association membership.

Why it matters: Several of the votes move capital projects and long-range planning forward while others are administrative decisions that affect how the district procures services and organizes central-office functions. The ASBA vote was contested by board members and followed public advocacy both for and against continued membership.

Key outcomes (motions, movers/seconds, and results):

- Motion to convene executive session (motion passed by voice vote: 5 yays). - Motion to table agenda items 8.3 (digital tracking of student behavior) and 8.5 (no-DEI initiatives policy) (motion passed: 5 ayes). - Approve engagement of Grace Design Studios for master capital planning, cost not to exceed $569,283 funded through developer assistance funds (motion made by Mrs. Proudfit; second by Mrs. Ewing; voice vote: motion passes with 5 yeas). - Approve Guaranteed Maximum Price No. 1 for Liberty High School classroom building addition (long-lead items) in the amount of $430,474 (motion made by Mrs. Proudfit; second by Mrs. Ewing; voice vote: motion passes with 5 yeas). Construction phase (GMP No. 2) will be brought later; estimated construction completion October 2026, classrooms available January 2027. - Approve revised organizational chart for 2025–26 (motion approved; voice vote: 5 ayes). - Add new cooperative contracts for FY2026 (motion approved; voice vote: 5 ayes). - Approve revisions to 2025–26 coaching and extra-duty salary schedule (motion approved; voice vote: 5 ayes). - Decline renewal of Arizona School Boards Association (ASBA) membership for 2025–26 (motion made by Mrs. Bowles; second by President Rooks; voice vote: 4 yeas, 1 nay; motion passes). - Direct the superintendent to develop and present policy options on eligibility of full‑time online charter school students for district extracurricular activities, including legal/operational/fiscal analysis (motion made by Mrs. Bowles; second by Mrs. Ewing; voice vote: 5 ayes). - Approve revision to procedure 5‑404‑A (administration of medication) as a first-and-only read (motion approved; voice vote: 5 ayes). - Approve the consent agenda (with listed removals handled on the floor); several personnel items approved (motions recorded in minutes; selected personnel approvals were passed following board discussion).

What the votes do not do: The board tabled two controversial draft policies (digital behavior tracking and a proposed no‑DEI-initiatives policy) for further process or study rather than adopting or rejecting them at this meeting. The online-charter eligibility action directs staff to return recommendations; it does not itself change eligibility rules.

Next steps and timeline highlights: Grace Design Studios will begin master capital planning work; staff will return with additional GMPs and policy options on online-charter extracurricular eligibility as instructed. The Liberty High construction team will bring GMP No. 2 to the board in November 2025 for the construction-phase authorization.

Votes and formal action details are recorded in official meeting minutes and shown in the board's adopted actions list.