Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Facilities Water topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
After Petro water line break, Hackberry board approves pay for staff and seeks SFD funding for new well and storage
Summary
A Petro water line break prompted emergency closures Sept. 2–4; the board approved paying employees for the closure days and directed administration to request Arizona School Facilities Division support for a new well, a 50,000‑gallon storage tank and a commercial filtration system.
Hackberry School District (4371) officials told the Governing Board on Sept. 9 that a water‑line break at Petro forced emergency shutdowns of district facilities Sept. 2–4, prompting school closures and temporary operational changes.
Superintendent/Principal Christina Ramirez briefed the board on the closure’s operational effects: communication with families used ParentSquare and follow‑up phone calls by staff, most students were picked up by parents, only two students rode the bus home, and parent‑teacher conferences proceeded using temporary facilities. The board considered two payroll options for employees for the closed days and approved Option 1—formally recognizing staff as working from home and paying hourly and salary employees—by a 3‑0 vote.
Board members raised concerns about the district’s repeated reliance on Petro for water, noting prior reports (2021) indicating the presence of radium, arsenic and petroleum byproducts in Petro‑supplied water and that current contractor testing does not include all contaminants. The district reported that historical agreements naming Petro as the water source are unclear or undocumented and that existing filtration equipment is aged and replacement filters are no longer available.
Superintendent Ramirez recommended pursuing support from the Arizona School Facilities Division for a district‑dedicated well, a 50,000‑gallon potable water storage tank for emergency use, and a commercial‑grade water filtration system maintained by the district. The board approved a motion directing administration to continue researching historical agreements and to formally request SFD funding for those capital items; that motion was recorded as Passed 3‑0.
What happens next: administration will research historical water‑source documentation and prepare a formal funding request to SFD for the well, tank and filtration system. The board expressed strong support for securing safe, independent water access for students and staff.
