Higley board names three applicants to forward for vacancy amid concerns about survey duplicates

The Higley Unified School District governing board voted 3–1 to forward three names to the Maricopa County superintendent to fill a vacant governing-board seat, approving Brooke Garrett, Kimberly Jackson and Travis White as the board’s recommendations.

President Wade moved to submit those three names to the county superintendent; Miss Jarman seconded the motion. President Wade stated, “I am going to motion to approve Brooke Garrett, Kimberly Jackson, and Travis White as the 3 recommendations from this board to send forth to the superintendent,” and the motion passed with a 3–1 recorded vote.

The decision followed an extended discussion about how to treat an online community survey used to inform recommendations. The superintendent presented two tabulations—the raw total results and a version with duplicate submissions removed—and board members debated whether to use total responses or in-boundary-only results. Board member Van Hook said she had “significant concerns” about the survey’s methodology, noting that IP addresses with five or more submissions had been removed but that multiple (two-to-four) repeated submissions could remain in the count.

Van Hook explained that the top three individuals included names with many removed duplicates and said she worried the apparent irregularity suggested unethical behavior and potential disenfranchisement of in-district voters; she recorded the lone no vote on the final motion. Other board members said the survey was imperfect but still useful given the tight time frame and county appointment process.

The board’s action is procedural: the three names will be sent to the Maricopa County superintendent for consideration and further steps, including interviews and final appointment by that office. The county superintendent has the authority to determine how to proceed with applications submitted by the district.