Show Low board approves personnel, benefits and policy updates; hears Title IX public comment and first reading on data-sharing

The Show Low Unified School District Governing Board on April 22 approved a series of personnel and policy measures for the 2025–26 school year and received a first reading on a district-college data-sharing agreement.

The board voted to adopt a districtwide classified compensation and salary-placement recommendation that includes a baseline 4% adjustment and directs staff to develop a new salary schedule next year to place employees according to experience and step. Board members also approved multiple routine personnel items and new or revised job descriptions, and voted to renew several contracts and policies, including the district’s group health coverage through Kairos and an athletics handbook update.

The board’s actions follow presentations from Superintendent Dr. Farnsworth and district staff about recruiting, testing supports for special-education students and efforts to align curriculum. Dr. Farnsworth described the first reading on a regional data-sharing agreement with the Arizona Board of Regents as an extension of earlier work with Grand Canyon University and said the model is a “push not pull type of agreement” that keeps the district in control of what student information is shared. “We’re the ones that dictate the confidentiality, who gets the information, and then when we push it to them,” Farnsworth said.

Why it matters: the measures affect pay and staffing for hundreds of employees, change benefit choices available to staff, establish permanent procedural language for student travel per diems and meal balances, and set district practice on Title IX interpretation after recent federal and court developments.

Key details

- Classified compensation and salary placement: The board approved a recommended compensation package that starts with a 4% across‑the‑board adjustment and directs district staff to create a new salary schedule for FY27 that accounts for years of service and placement. Dr. Farnsworth told the board that most classified employees will receive increases that exceed 4% once placements are finalized.

- Health insurance (Kairos) renewal: The district will renew its Kairos health plans and add a $1,200 PPO option. Miss Davis described the change and said Kairos is dropping a $16.50 high-deductible plan; the package gives employees two copay…