Tempe board approves superintendent contract modification, adopts changes to open-enrollment policy
Summary
The board approved a modification to the superintendent's contract and adopted edits to policy JFB (open enrollment) that terminate existing wait lists at year-end, require families to reapply for open enrollment the following year, and establish a 10-day priority window with sibling and employee priorities.
The Tempe School District Governing Board voted to approve a modification to the superintendent's contract and, in a separate action, adopted revisions to governing board policy JFB (open enrollment) during the same meeting.
Superintendent contract modification: A motion to approve modification of the superintendent's contract was moved and seconded (SEG 1301-1304) and passed by voice vote. The transcript records the motion and that the vote passed by "Aye" but does not provide a roll-call tally or names for each recorded vote; therefore the board-approved outcome is recorded with the motion text but no individual vote-record entries are available in the meeting transcript.
Open-enrollment policy (JFB) adoption: The board conducted a lengthy discussion of proposed changes to the open-enrollment policy, including how wait lists will be handled. Staff and board members explained that, if approved, current wait lists would terminate at the end of the school year and families on existing wait lists would receive emailed instructions about the need to reapply. The revised policy implements a 10-day priority application window during which applicants are sorted into three tiers: siblings, employees' children, then all others; after the window closes, remaining seats are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis or by lottery if demand exceeds capacity. The policy change followed attorney review and was advanced, staff said, in part in response to a prior OCR complaint about open enrollment procedures.
During the discussion board members clarified operational details: staff will notify wait-listed families and remove those who decline offers, and if a family declines an offered seat the district will offer it to the next person on the wait list. Staff said McKamey (specialty school referenced) currently has about 30 students on a wait list for sixth grade.
Motion and voting notes: The motion to adopt the open-enrollment changes was moved and seconded and passed by voice vote (SEG 1596-1601). The transcript again reports voice "Aye" votes but does not include a detailed roll-call in the meeting text.
Whathappens next: Staff said they will implement communications to families on existing wait lists, begin the revised application timeline (specialty school applications opening Dec. 12) and update regulations to reflect the process for terminating and reestablishing wait-list status.
