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Students and residents praised athletics and raised curriculum questions on Life of Pi and pop-culture titles
Summary
Trustees heard student reflections on a fifth-grade Grand Canyon trip, recognized spring athletes, and discussed supplemental reading lists — including debate about limiting Life of Pi to upper-level classes — while a parent praised graduation events and retiring teachers.
Trustees spent the early portion of the meeting recognizing spring athletes and hearing a student presentation about a fifth-grade Grand Canyon trip.
Coach introductions noted region honors for baseball, beach volleyball and girls basketball; coaches and staff congratulated seniors moving to collegiate athletics. Fifth grader Finley Hermey described field-trip activities that included Montezuma’s Well, campus scavenger hunts and observatory visits; staff said students raised roughly $5,000 for the trip.
During public comment, Kim Bartman, introduced herself as a parent of a graduate and thanked volunteers and district staff: "I love the fireworks and... the fountain turning blue is so awesome," she said while urging continued community celebration of students. Bartman also asked the board to recognize three retiring teachers.
On supplemental reading, trustees questioned whether titles such as a Caitlin Clark biography or a Taylor Swift tour encyclopedia have clear classroom value but agreed recreational titles can have a place. For Fountain Hills High School, several trustees recommended limiting Life of Pi to juniors and seniors — preferably honors classes — if it is to be used in assigned classroom work. Staff said the book list in the packet represents teacher requests for supplemental or library use and will clarify whether items are assigned or optional for the next meeting.
