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OKAY.[1. CALL TO ORDER/PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE/MOMENT OF SILENCE ]
THIS IS A EXCITING MEETING, A JOINT MEETING BETWEEN CITY COUNCIL AND THE SCHOOL BOARD.WE HAVEN'T DONE THIS IN, I DON'T KNOW MY TIME, BUT KAREN TELLS ME WE ONCE DID, YEAH, ABOUT 2008, 2009.
BUT WHEN IT REALTOR PERFORMING ARTS CENTER AT THE HIGH SCHOOL, BACK AROUND THAT
SO I'M CALLING THIS MEETING TO ORDER AT 3 32 ON WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25TH.
WOULD YOU PLEASE JOIN ME? THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE? I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITHIN LIBERTY, JUSTICE FOR, AND NOW A MOMENT OF SILENCE.
THIS IS THE, UH, KB 3, 3, 3, 4 JOINT MEETING WITH THE SEDONA CREEK UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT FOR A PRESENTATION, DISCUSSION, AND POSSIBLE DIRECTION REGARDING THE INITIAL DATA RESULTS FOR THE BALANCED HOUSING STRATEGY IN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT IN YAVAPAI COUNTY PROGRAMS. UH, MADAM CLERK, CAN YOU READ THE ROLL CALL FOR THE CITY COUNCIL, PLEASE? MAYOR PLU HERE.
COUNCILOR FURMAN, PRESIDENT DON LINE TO MY APOLOGIES FOR NOT BEING ABLE TO JOIN YOU IN PERSON.
A ROLL CALL FOR THE GOVERNING BOARD.
UH, I'M HERE OBVIOUSLY LAUREN ROBINSON HERE.
UM, VICE PRESIDENT SAM BLO HERE.
AND OUR, OUR STUDENT REP IS NOT HERE.
[3.a. AB 3334 Joint meeting with the Sedona Oak-Creek Unified School District for a presentation/discussion/possible direction regarding the initial data results for the Balanced Housing Strategy and the School District and Yavapai College programs.]
PRESENTATION, UH, A FOUR PRESENTATION OF HOUSING AND DEMOGRAPHIC DATA BY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR TONY ALLEN.UM, DO I NEED THE MIC? THANK YOU, TONY.
CAN YOU HEAR ME THIS WAY OR DO I NEED THE, DO I NEED THE MIC? WE GOOD? YEAH.
UM, WELL, FIRST OFF, THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO, UH, TO PRESENT THIS INFORMATION.
UH, WE'RE VERY EXCITED AS STAFF TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE IT.
UM, WHAT WE'RE DOING IS, UH, IS PRESENTING A, WHAT I'LL CALL A DOWN PAYMENT TO THE, UH, TO THE BALANCED HOUSING STRATEGY.
SO, UM, THIS WORKS IN TWO PHASES, AS YOU CAN SEE.
UH, THE FIRST BEING OUR UNDERSTANDING AND ANALYSIS.
THE SECOND BEING THE STRATEGIES.
UM, WE HAVE, WE'RE WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP, UM, WITH LOGAN SIMPSON.
UH, WE ARE WORKING AS STAFF ON THE FIRST PART, AND THEN LOGAN SIMPSON WILL TAKE IT FROM HERE AND DO THE BEST PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES AND SOLUTIONS.
SO, UM, WE WANTED TO START OFF BY, UM, WHEN WE STARTED THIS PROCESS, UM, LOOKING AT BALANCE.
AND WE THINK THAT THAT'S INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT.
UM, YOU'VE HAD A NUMBER OF OTHER HOUSING STUDIES IN THE PAST, AND THOSE STUDIES HAVE FOCUSED VERY STRONGLY ON YOUR NEED.
UM, WE WANTED TO BE ABLE TO COUPLE THAT NEED, UM, WITH LOOKING AT THE COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE, UNDERSTANDING WHAT THE SENSE OF COMMUNITY IS TO PEOPLE, AND BALANCING THAT WITH WHAT LEVEL OF GROWTH THE CITY, UM, CAN HAVE WITHOUT NECESSARILY NEGATIVELY TRANSFORMING THE CITY.
SO IT ALLOWS US TO CONTINUE TO KEEP OUR SENSE OF CHARACTER, UM, BUT ALLOWS US TO MEET OUR TARGETED NEEDS AT THE SAME TIME OVER THE COURSE OF 10 YEARS.
AND SO THAT'S WHAT WE SET OUT TO DO.
AND, UH, SO WE'LL RUN THROUGH SOME OF THE, WHAT THE ANALYSIS HAS SHOWN AND, UH, AND GET SOME OF YOUR THOUGHTS.
SO WE'RE GONNA GO STRAIGHT TO GENERAL POPULATION, AND I'LL TRY TO GO THROUGH THESE RELATIVELY QUICKLY AND I'LL APOLOGIZE 'CAUSE I KNOW I'M LONG-WINDED.
UM, BUT, UH, SO WE LOOKED AT A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT, UH, STATISTICS TO UNDERSTAND, UM, THE CHARACTER OF THE COMMUNITY AND WHAT THE COMMUNITY COMPOSITION IS, AND HOW IT HAS TRENDED OVER TIME.
UM, MOST OF THE ANALYSIS WE'RE GONNA BE TALKING TO IS GOING TO BE DEALING WITH THE PERIOD BETWEEN 2000 AND 2025.
UM, YOU CAN SEE WE START OFF BY LOOKING AT 1970.
AND THE REASON WE START AT 1970 IS YOU CAN SEE THE POPULATION GROWTH
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OVER TIME WAS PRETTY SUBSTANTIAL UNTIL YOU GOT TO THE BALLPARK OF 2000.UM, SO YOU CAN SEE THAT OUR GROWTH IN 20, IN 2000 WAS 10,192.
UM, THAT WAS OUR HIGH POINT, UM, UNTIL, AND THEN WE STARTED TO DECLINE.
AND NOW WE'VE STARTED TO PICK UP JUST A LITTLE BIT.
UM, WHEN WE, UH, WHEN WE LOOKED AT THE ESTIMATE FOR 2025, WE LOOKED AT THREE DIFFERENT METHODOLOGIES, UM, TO SEE WHICH ONE WOULD, UH, WOULD GIVE US THE MOST DEFENSIBLE STORY.
UM, WE HAD TWO THAT SHOWED A, UM, SHOWED US BASICALLY STAYING EXACTLY WHERE WE ARE.
UM, WE OPTED FOR THE, UM, THE PROJECTION BY ESRI.
UM, THE REASON WE DID WAS ONE, THEIR DATA TENDS TO BE PROBABLY THE MOST RELIABLE OF THE THREE.
UM, AND TWO, IT CORRESPONDS WITH WHAT YOU SAW IN TERMS OF WHAT HAPPENED IN THE COMMUNITY AFTER COVID.
SO YOU SEE A BIT OF A COVID BUMP IN THE PEOPLE THAT DECIDED THAT THEY, THAT THEY WANTED TO LIVE HERE AT THE SAME TIME.
NOW, HAVING SAID THAT, UM, THE ESTIMATES ACROSS THE BOARD WITH ALL THREE DIFFERENT METHODOLOGIES SHOW THAT, YES, WE'RE GONNA RIDE THIS TIDE UNTIL ABOUT 20, UH, 2030, AND THEN IT'S GONNA GET RIGHT BACK TO DECLINING AGAIN.
SO IT WAS, IT, IT IS IN FACT A BUMP ACCORDING TO THE WAY THE ESTIMATES SHOW.
SO, BUT WHAT THAT TELLS US IS A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT THINGS.
AND WE WANT TO POINT THESE OUT.
UM, ONE, YES, WE ARE ABOVE 10,000.
UM, WE DO EXPECT THAT THAT WILL CONTINUE TO SEE A DECLINE AFTER ABOUT 2035, UM, BACK TO WHAT IT HAD BEEN DOING OVER THE LAST, UM, YOU KNOW, PRIOR TO COVID.
UM, BUT A COUPLE CHARACTERISTICS ABOUT YOUR POPULATION THAT'S CRITICAL.
ONE, YOU 10,048 PEOPLE, YOUR DAYTIME POPULATION IS 15,571.
UM, WHAT THAT TELLS US FROM DEMOGRAPHY LAND IS YOU ARE AN EMPLOYMENT CENTER.
UM, ONE, THE PIECE THAT IS A LITTLE BIT SURPRISING IS THAT THE NUMBER OF WORKERS IS ACTUALLY LARGER THAN YOUR NORMAL POPULATION.
MOST OFTEN, THAT IS NOT THE CASE.
SO THAT SAYS SOMETHING ABOUT THE STRENGTH OF SEDONA AS AN EMPLOYMENT CENTER.
UM, AND IT WILL, IT WILL PLAY OUT AS WE GO FURTHER ON INTO THE DISCUSSION.
SO, UM, SO WE CONTINUE AS A DAYTIME POPULATION.
WE RANK NUMBER ONE, UM, AMONG THE VERDE VALLEY COMMUNITIES.
AND, UM, AND THEN WE ALSO TOOK A LOOK AT THAT FROM A POPULATION DENSITY STANDPOINT TOO, JUST TO SHOW THE NUMBER OF PERSONS PER SQUARE MILE.
AND SO WE'RE MIDDLE OF THE PACK AS FAR AS THAT GOES.
BUT AS THE STORY GOES, AS WE LOOK AT AGING, AGING, AND THIS IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE MORE SURPRISING OF THE STATISTICS, IF YOU LOOK AT WHERE WE BEGAN IN 2000, OUR MEDIAN AGE WAS 50 POINT 50 OR 50.5 YEARS.
UM, OUR AGE, 65 AND OVERPOPULATION REPRESENTED ONE QUARTER OF OUR POPULATION.
TODAY, OUR MEDIAN AGE IS 64.1.
UM, AND 48% OF OUR POPULATION IS, UM, IS AGE 65 OR OLDER.
ESTIMATES SHOW THAT BY THE TIME WE HIT 2030, UM, OVER 50% OF OUR POPULATION WILL BE OF RETIREMENT AGE.
IF WE TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION, LOOKING AT, OOPS, DID I DO SOMETHING? OKAY, PERFECT.
UM, IF WE COMPARE THAT, THEN AS FAR AS OUR AGE CATEGORIES, WHAT IT SHOWS IS THAT WE HAVE A PRETTY SUBSTANTIAL GAP IN THE GROUPS THAT OUR CHILDREN AND THE GROUPS THAT ARE WORKING AGE.
AND I'LL POP BACK REAL QUICK 'CAUSE I THINK I MISSED THAT PART OF THE PRESENTATION.
SO IF WE LOOK AT WHAT THIS HAS DONE OVER TIME TO OUR POPULATION, OUR WORKING AGE POPULATION USED TO BE 60% OF THE POPULATION HERE.
NOW IT REPRESENTS 44% THE NUMBER OF CHILDREN, 13.7% OF OUR POPULATION.
THAT'S 18 AND UNDER, UM, IN 2000 NOW IS DOWN TO 7.7%.
SO THAT SHOWS US A SUBSTANTIAL AGE, AGE GAP.
WHEN WE COMPARE THIS TO THE STATE OF ARIZONA, WHAT WE SEE IS THAT, UM, OF COURSE WE HAVE A PRE A PRETTY SUBSTANTIAL SURPLUS IN THE NUMBER OF SENIORS LIVING HERE IN COMPARISON TO THE STATE.
UM, AND ALSO IN COMPARISON TO YAVAPAI COUNTY.
UM, BUT WE SEE A PRETTY SUBSTANTIAL GAP IN, IN THE, UH, NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT ARE BELOW THE AGE OF 65 THAT PLAYS OUT IN OUR HOUSEHOLD TYPE.
UM, REMEMBER, OVER TIME, OUR POPULATION REALLY HAS NOT GROWN MUCH, AND IN SOME CASES DECREASED.
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WE SEE A PRETTY FLAT LINE.IF WE LOOK AT 2010 TO 20 25, 0 0.1%.
IF WE DO THAT AT 2000 TO 2025, IT'S ACTUALLY A NEGATIVE 1.4%.
BUT WE DO 2010 IN THIS CASE BECAUSE WE WANTED TO SHOW YOU THE POPULATION COMPARED TO THE NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLDS AND THE NUMBER OF FAMILIES.
YOU KNOW, YOUR POPULATION MAY NOT HAVE GROWN, BUT THE NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLDS GREW BY 6%.
SO WHAT THAT'S TELLING US IS THAT THE NUMBER OF PERSONS PER HOUSEHOLD HAS, HAS SHRUNK SUBSTANTIALLY.
SO WE'RE STILL SEEING MORE PEOPLE INTERESTED, THE PEOPLE BE INTERESTED, OUR TWO PERSONS OR LESS.
AND THAT PLAYS OUT, IF YOU LOOK AT THE, UH, THE FOLLOWING PAGE, UM, LOOKING AT HOUSEHOLD SIZE, UM, WE HAVE ROUGHLY 1.9, UM, PEOPLE PER HOUSEHOLD, UM, COMPARE THAT AGAINST EVERYONE ELSE IN THE VIRGIN VALLEY.
IF WE COMPARE IT TO THE, UH, THE STATE OF ARIZONA, 2.54.
SO WE ARE, UH, IT'S, IT SHOWS THE NUMBER OF PERSONS PER HOUSEHOLD, GIVES US AN IDEA OF WHY WE ARE ABSENT IN OUR WORKING AGE POPULATION AND IN THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS ALONG THAT LINE, IT ALSO SHOWS UP IN OUR EDUCATION AND ENROLLMENT.
UM, THE, WHEN WE TOOK A LOOK AT THE EDUCATION OR THE ENROLLMENT NUMBERS FOR SEDONA OAK CREEK, UM, UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT 2001, UM, ROUGHLY 1,365 STUDENTS TODAY, 695 STUDENTS, WE HAVE LOST 49% OF OUR STUDENT ENROLLMENT POPULATION WITHIN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT.
SO, UM, WHEN WE ARE TAKING A LOOK AT WHERE OUR DEFICITS ARE, AND AGAIN, THIS IS, WE DO THIS AGAIN TO SHOW BALANCE.
IT'S NOT TO SAY THAT ANYTHING TERRIBLE HAS HAPPENED, AS MUCH AS WE WANNA POINT OUT WHERE OUR GAPS ARE AND, AND WE'LL GET TO THE MEANING OF THAT AND WHY IT CARE, WHY WE, WHY WE CARE.
UM, AT THE END OF THE PRESENTATION, TOTAL ENROLLMENT, 917 PEOPLE WHEN YOU INCLUDE ALL SCHOOLS, UM, WITHIN SEDONA.
UM, BUT ON THE OTHER HAND, THE, UH, THE BENEFIT OF HAVING A MUCH OLDER, WELL EDUCATED POPULATION IS WE ARE INCREDIBLY WELL EDUCATED.
UM, WE HAVE, UM, WE ARE NUMBER ONE
OAK CREEK IS PRETTY CLOSE BEHIND.
UH, BUT YOU CAN SEE THAT NORTH OF 50% OF OUR POPULATION HAS A, UH, BACHELOR'S DEGREE OR HIGHER.
SO WE ARE REALLY SMART AS A COMMUNITY.
WELL, WE'RE EDUCATED
SOMEBODY ELSE TOLD ME THAT TODAY TOO, AND I THOUGHT, SHOULD I USE THAT? SO THAT PLAYS OUT ALSO IN THE INCOME CATEGORIES.
SO IF YOU LOOK AT INCOME WITHIN OUR AREA, NO SURPRISE, WE ARE, UM, WE ARE PRETTY WEALTHY COMMUNITY.
UM, WHAT WE FIND IF WE LOOK AT THE DATA, IS THAT WE HAVE, AS FAR AS HOUSEHOLDS EARNING $200,000 OR MORE, WE HAVE A LOT, WE ARE DOING VERY WELL.
BUT WHAT WE'RE ALSO SEEING THEN IS THAT HOUSEHOLDS EARNING ROUGHLY BETWEEN $50,000 AND $200,000, YOU KNOW, DON'T LIVE HERE.
UM, AND, UM, THAT'S IMPORTANT.
WHEN WE THINK ABOUT THE TYPES OF, UM, FAMILIES OR HOUSEHOLDS THAT WE HAVE WITHIN THE COMMUNITY, ESSENTIALLY WHAT IT LEADS TO IS THOSE INDIVIDUALS THAT HAVE WEALTH CAN AFFORD TO LIVE HERE.
AND WEALTH, MEANING WEALTH, NOT INCOME, UM, BUT IT'S INCOME PLUS THE OTHER THINGS THAT YOU HAVE AVAILABLE TO YOU.
IF YOU ARE A YOUNG FAMILY THAT HASN'T HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO BUILD A WEALTH YET, YOU ARE AT A DEFICIT IN TERMS OF YOUR ABILITY TO COME TO THIS COMMUNITY.
SO LET ME GO BACK TO THAT PAGE JUST VERY QUICKLY.
'CAUSE THE OTHER PIECE I WANTED TO POINT OUT, AND THIS IS IMPORTANT.
IF, WHEN WE LOOK AT OUR COMMUNITY, 50%, ONLY HALF OF OUR COMMUNITY RECEIVES A SALARY.
YOU KNOW, 40% RECEIVE INTEREST IN DIVIDENDS.
SO AGAIN, WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT WEALTH AND WE'RE LOOKING AT INCOME, UM, WE HAVE TO KEEP THAT IN MIND.
OVER A QUARTER OF OUR INDIVIDUALS ARE SELF-EMPLOYED.
UM, A THIRD OF OUR PEOPLE ARE RECEIVING RETIREMENT INCOME.
SO TO GIVE AN IDEA OF REVENUE STREAMS THAT ARE COMING IN FOR OUR HOUSEHOLDS, UM, ON AVERAGE, IT'S IMPORTANT TO RECOGNIZE THAT MOST OF OUR, UM, NOT MOST, BUT HALF OF OUR COMMUNITY IS, UH, HAS REVENUE STREAMS OUTSIDE OF SIMPLY NEEDING TO WORK.
SO AS FAR AS INDUSTRY AND OCCUPATION, IT'S PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD, NO BIG SURPRISE.
UH, WHEN YOU THINK OF THE NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE INVOLVED IN, UH, RETAIL TRADE OR SERVICES, UM, WE'RE LOOKING AT MORE THAN THREE QUARTERS OF OUR POPULATION ARE INVOLVED IN THOSE INDUSTRIES.
BUT, UM, TO THAT POINT, OVER 50% OF THOSE INDIVIDUALS,
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AND THESE ARE INDIVIDUALS THAT LIVE IN SEDONA, NOT NECESSARILY ARE WORKERS, UM, BUT THE PEOPLE THAT LIVE IN, IN SEDONA THAT ARE INVOLVED IN THOSE INDUSTRIES, OVER 50% OF THEM ARE MANAGEMENT, BUSINESS, FINANCIAL, OR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES.SO WE STILL END UP WITH ANOTHER 20% THAT ARE DOING THE ACTUAL SERVICE WORK.
BUT IT'S IMPORTANT TO LOOK AT BOTH OF THOSE BECAUSE IF YOU LOOK JUST AT INDUSTRY, THEN YOU SEE A DIFFERENT STORY.
BUT WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE OCCUPATIONS, YOU SEE WHAT TYPES OF OCCUPATIONS THE INDIVIDUALS THAT CAN AFFORD TO LIVE HERE HAVE TAKING A LOOK AT, AT OUR WORKERS NOW, SWITCHING SIDES AND LOOKING AT THE EMPLOYEES, UM, AND WHERE THEY COME FROM.
WE HAVE 39% OF INVOLVED IN ACCOMMODATIONS AND FOOD AND SERVICES.
UM, ANOTHER 24 AND A HALF WITH OTHER SERVICES.
SO A LOT OF SERVICES INDUSTRY FOLKS EMPLOYED HERE.
UM, COMPARE THE EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT OF THE EMPLOYEES VERSUS THE EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT WE JUST TALKED ABOUT, ABOUT THE HOUSEHOLDS THAT LIVE HERE.
SO, INDIVIDUALS COMING IN, UM, ROUGHLY 46% OF THEM HAVE A HIGH SCHOOL EQUIVALENT OR SOME COLLEGE.
SO IT'S A LITTLE BIT OF A DIFFERENT STORY.
80% OF OUR FOLKS COME IN THAT WORK HERE, COME IN, UH, FROM OTHER PLACES.
AND, UM, AND THAT'S AN IMPORTANT PIECE TO NOTE.
UM, 20% OF, OF OUR POPULATION, OR OUR EMPLOYEES DO LIVE IN SEDONA.
BUT IF YOU LOOK AT THE STATISTICS, ALMOST 40% OF OUR, OF OUR, OR OUR EMPLOYEES ARE COMING IN FROM UP TO 25 MILES AWAY, BETWEEN 10 AND 25 MILES AWAY.
SO IT CAN BE A SUBSTANTIAL COMMUTE FOR SOME SWITCHING OVER TO THE HOUSING SUPPLY.
UM, AGAIN, WE WANTED TO BE ABLE TO SHOW THE DIFFERENCE YOUR POPULATION.
LOOK AT 2000 TO 2025, OUR POPULATION, UM, ONE NEGATIVE 1.4%.
YOUR HOUSING UNITS GREW BY 22%.
SO IT'S, IT'S A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT STORY.
YOU ARE GROWING HOUSING UNITS, YOU'RE NOT GROWING PEOPLE, YOU'RE GROWING HOUSEHOLDS, BUT YOUR HOUSING UNITS ARE OUTPACING YOUR HOUSEHOLDS OR, SO WHEN WE TAKE A LOOK AT THAT, IT TELLS ANOTHER STORY.
YOU KNOW, WE LOOK AT SINGLE, WE LOOK AT SECOND HOMES, WE START TO LOOK AT SHORT TERM RENTALS, UM, AND YOU'LL START TO SEE WHERE THOSE SHOW UP LATER IN THE PRESENTATION.
BUT WHEN WE START TO TALK ABOUT THE IDEA OF THIS COMMUNITY GROWING AND HOW FAST IT'S GROWING, WE HAVE TO RECOGNIZE THE WAY IT'S GROWING.
AND THAT TELLS A DIFFERENT STORY.
SO WHAT'S HAPPENING HERE WITHIN THE COMMUNITY IS, YEAH, WE'RE GROWING ADDITIONAL HOUSING UNITS, BUT WE'RE NOT GROWING POPULATION AND WE'RE NOT NECESSARILY GROWING THE POPULATION THAT WILL BE ABLE TO SUSTAIN THE COMMUNITY.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE PERCENTAGE OF INDIVIDUALS THAT, UM, THAT HAVE PARCELS HERE, OR THAT HAVE RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY HERE THAT LIVE OUTSIDE, 38% OF INDIVIDUALS THAT OWN HOUSES HERE, UM, HAVE AN ADDRESS OUTSIDE OF THE CITY OF SEDONA.
TO PUT THINGS IN PERSPECTIVE WITHIN THE VERDE VALLEY, UM, WE STILL HAVE THE MOST HOUSING UNITS.
UM, WE ARE FOURTH IN POPULATION AMONG VERDE VALLEY COMMUNITY.
UM, OUR HOUSING GROWTH RATE IS NEAR LAST, ACTUALLY.
SO WE ALSO ARE SEEING THE OTHER COMMUNITIES GROWING AT A PRETTY FAST CLIP CLIP, UM, IN TERMS OF BEING ABLE TO BUILD HOUSING, HOUSING TENURE.
WHEN WE LOOK AT TENURE, WE SEE THAT IN 2000, UH, 63%, 62.8% OF OUR POPULATION OR OUR HOUSING UNITS WAS OWNER OCCUPIED.
UM, IN 2025, THAT SHRUNK TO 58.6.
RENTER OCCUPIED WENT FROM 23.8 TO 17.6.
WHAT FILLED THE GAP IS WHAT'S CALLED VACANT.
I THINK WE ALL KNOW THAT 23.8% OF OUR HOUSING UNITS ARE NOT VACANT.
UM, THAT IS THE PLACE WHERE SHORT TERM RENTALS RESIDE.
SO SECOND HOMES ALSO RESIDE WITHIN THE VACANT CATEGORY.
UM, THAT'S WHERE THE CENSUS CAN SAFELY PUT IT.
WHEN WE LOOK AT THE PERCENT OF HOUSING CLASSIFIED AS RENTER OCCUPIED, YOU CAN SEE THAT WE SIT SOMEWHERE TOWARDS THE BOTTOM OF THE PACK, UM, IN COMPARISON TO SOME OF OUR PEER COMMUNITIES.
UM, BUT, UH, BUT THE MAJORITY OF OUR PEER COMMUNITIES ALSO ARE IN GENERALLY THE SAME, THE SAME BACK, UM, THE SAME BOAT WITH THE EXCEPTION OF COTTONWOOD.
COTTONWOOD HAS A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT COMPOSITION, PERCENT OF HOUSING CLASSIFIED AS VACANT.
UH, WE ARE IN, WE'RE IN, UH, HEAVY COMPETITION WITH THE VILLAGE, UM, TO SEE IF WE CAN, UH, WHICH ONE OF US IS GONNA HAVE THE MOST SHORT TERM RENTALS,
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LOOKING AT VALUE AND AFFORDABILITY.AND I THINK THIS TELLS A GOOD STORY.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE AVERAGE SALES PRICE OVER A PERIOD OF TIME, UH, YOU CAN SEE WHAT HAPPENED TO US, UM, IN COVID.
SO OUR HOUSING PRICES TOOK OFF.
EVERYBODY ELSE'S HOUSING PRICES TOOK OFF TOO, BUT, UH, BUT WE TOOK OFF AT A RATE THAT WAS, WAS SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT.
SO, UM, TODAY THE AVERAGE SALES PRICE OF A HOME IS $886,000.
THAT'S NOT THE AVERAGE ASKING PRICE.
SO THERE'S A DIFFERENCE THERE.
UM, BUT THE AVERAGE SALE PRICE, AND THIS IS ACROSS THE BOARD, SO THAT'S, THAT'S WHY WE SEE THE BIG DIFFERENCE IN THE NUMBERS.
BUT YOU CAN SEE, AND, AND THIS IS IMPORTANT, YOU CAN ALSO SEE THAT THE SALES PRICE IS GROWING FOR EVERYBODY.
UM, OWNED HOUSING UNITS WITH A MORTGAGE.
UM, 53% OF OUR HOMES DON'T HAVE A MORTGAGE.
SO OF THOSE INDIVIDUALS THAT LIVE HERE AND THEY CAN AFFORD TO LIVE HERE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE SEE IT WHEN WE LOOK AT THE ROLES.
A NUMBER OF THEM ARE JUST PAYING STRAIGHT CASH, UM, TO LIVE IN THEIR HOUSES.
OTHERS AREN'T, BUT THEY'RE PAYING THEM OFF FASTER.
THIS ALSO INCLUDES A GROUP OF PEOPLE THAT HAVE LIVED HERE FOR A VERY LONG TIME, UM, AND WE'LL GET TO TALK ABOUT THEM IN A SECOND.
UM, BUT YOU CAN SEE THE AVERAGE GROSS RENT FOR A TWO BEDROOM HOME IN SEDONA, $3,000.
UH, COMPARE THAT WITH THE REMAINDER OF YAL PI COUNTY OR ALL OF YAL PI COUNTY, $2,108.
SO, UM, SO IT GOES TO THE EXPENSE TO LIVE HERE.
WE PUT TOGETHER A TERM CALLED THE HOUSING AFFORDABILITY INDEX.
THE HOUSING AFFORDABILITY INDEX IS, IS, UH, CREATED BY ESRI.
UM, TO GIVE US AN IDEA OF JUST HOW AFFORDABLE YOU ARE AS A COMMUNITY, IF YOU ARE 100, THEN THAT MEANS THAT A HOUSEHOLD EARNING THE MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME WITHIN YOUR COMMUNITY, UM, CAN'T AFFORD YOUR MEDIAN SALES PRICE FOR YOUR HOME.
UM, YOUR HOUSING AFFORDABILITY INDEX IS 40.
SO IT PUTS THAT INTO PERSPECTIVE AS TO HOW MANY PEOPLE CANNOT, UM, AFFORD HOUSING HERE.
UM, COMPARED TO THE OTHER COMMUNITIES, THOUGH, AND THIS IS IMPORTANT, UM, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS AN AFFORDABLE PLACE IN THE VERDE VALLEY.
UM, PEOPLE LIVING IN COTTONWOOD, FOR EXAMPLE, HOUSING AFFORDABILITY INDEX IS 50.
SO FOR THE INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE LIVING THERE, YOU KNOW, IT'S UNAFFORDABLE FOR THOSE INDIVIDUALS TOO.
AND SO THE VERDE VALLEY AS A WHOLE HAS A HOUSING SITUATION, AN AFFORDABILITY SITUATION.
UM, WE JUST HAPPEN TO TOP THE LIST AS, AS IT RELATES TO AFFORDABILITY, TO TAKE A LOOK AT OUR SHORT-TERM RENTALS.
UM, WE HAVE ROUGHLY IN 2020, ROUGHLY 9.8 OR 10% OF OUR, UM, HOUSING STOCK WAS IN SHORT-TERM RENTALS.
UM, AND MY UNDERSTANDING IS THE NUMBER MIGHT JUST BE A LITTLE HIGHER, BUT THESE ARE THE LATEST STATISTICS WE HAD TO WORK WITH.
THE OTHER PIECE TO POINT OUT FOR THE FIRST TIME, THERE ARE MORE SHORT-TERM RENTALS IN OUR COMMUNITY THAN THERE ARE LONG-TERM RENTALS.
17.6% OF OUR HOUSING STOCK IS IN LONG-TERM RENTALS, 18.1% IN SHORT-TERM RENTALS.
THE, UM, WHAT WE SEE AMONG SHORT-TERM RENTALS IS WE'RE STARTING TO SEE TRENDS, UM, IN TERMS OF WHAT IS ATTRACTIVE AS A SHORT-TERM RENTAL.
AND YOU CAN SEE OVER TIME, WE STARTED WITH A LITTLE BIT MORE OF A MIX WITH PEOPLE RENTING OUT THEIR, YOU KNOW, A PLACE IN THEIR, IN THEIR HOME OR USING AN, AN ACCESSORY DWELLING UNIT.
UM, APARTMENTS BEING RENTED OUT.
WE'RE STARTING TO SEE THE MARKET START TO SHED THOSE.
YOU CAN SEE A DECLINE IN THAT NUMBER OF UNITS, BUT WE MADE UP FOR IT IN SINGLE FAMILY HOMES.
IF YOU LOOK AT 2020, THE SINGLE FAMILY HOMES THAT WERE USED FOR SHORT TERM RENTALS WAS 454.
SO THAT IS A 100 AND ALMOST A 130% INCREASE, UH, IN THE NUMBER OF SINGLE FAMILY HOMES DEDICATED TO SHORT-TERM RENTALS.
BUT AGAIN, THIS ALSO DOESN'T TELL THE FULL STORY BECAUSE WHAT WE'RE STARTING TO SEE, UM, IN THE INDUSTRY, AND THIS IS HAPPENING NATIONWIDE, BUT 'CAUSE WE'RE A TOURISM MARKET, UM, WE'RE STARTING TO SEE, WELL AMONG SHORT-TERM RENTALS, MORE OF A DRIVE FOR EXPERIENCE.
AND SO THE SMALLER UNITS ARE BECOMING LESS USEFUL FOR SHORT-TERM RENTAL.
YOU'RE STARTING TO SEE PEOPLE COME IN AND ASK FOR PERMITS.
YOU EXPAND HOMES OR TO CONVERT HOMES THAT WERE THREE BEDROOMS TO SEVEN BEDROOMS, SO THAT YOU CAN NOW START TO HAVE MORE OF AN EXPERIENCE.
YOU CAN BRING PEOPLE IN, YOU CAN CATER THINGS, YOU CAN BRING IN YOUR MASSEUSE, ET CETERA.
SO AMONG AIR, AMONG THE SHORT TERM RENTALS, YOU'RE STARTING TO SEE A CHANGE THERE TOO.
WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT SAYS YET.
WE DON'T KNOW IF IT'S GONNA STICK,
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BUT IT'S IMPORTANT TO FOLLOW THE TRENDS AND SEE WHAT THAT MAY DO FOR US.AS FAR AS HOUSING UNITS GO, UM, WE HAVE, WE ARE, AS WE ARE, A COMMUNITY OF HOMEOWNERS, 77.4%, UM, OR I'M NOT HOMEOWNERS, I'M SORRY, 77.4% OF OUR STOCK IS SINGLE FAMILY HOMES.
UM, COMPARE THAT TO 69%, UM, FOR THE STATE, UM, WHERE OUR, I DON'T WANNA CALL THEM DEFICITS 'CAUSE THEY'RE NOT DEFICITS, BUT WHERE OUR DIFFERENCES ARE IS IN OUR MULTIFAMILY UNITS, UM, AND IN OUR DUPLEXES AND QUADPLEXES.
SO, BUT YOU CAN ALSO SEE WHERE OUR TRENDS ARE IN TERMS OF OUR HOUSING STOCK.
YOU CAN SEE, YOU KNOW, NO BIG SURPRISE, A LOT OF OUR HOUSING STOCK WAS BUILT, UM, IN THE AREA BETWEEN 1970 AND, AND BEFORE 2000.
SO, BUT WE'RE STILL GROWING AS FAR AS HOUSING GOES.
SO TO PUT THAT IN PERSPECTIVE, HOUSING BUILT SINCE 2010 FOR US, 5.4%.
YOU START TO LOOK AT OTHER PARTS OF THE COMMUNITIES, THOUGH COTTONWOOD, FOR EXAMPLE, 11.1%.
SO SEVERAL OF OUR OTHER COMMUNITIES ARE STARTING TO GROW AT A FASTER PACE AS IT RELATES TO HOUSING UNITS.
WE PUT ALL OF THIS TOGETHER TO START TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT MEANS FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
AND WE CAME UP WITH FOUR GAPS THAT WE SEE NEED TO BE ADDRESSED.
UM, ONE, IF YOU WANT TO TRULY BE A COMMUNITY, AND WHEN I SAY THAT IT'S, IT'S IMPORTANT THAT I, I DEFINE THAT BECAUSE WHAT I DON'T WANT TO DO IS INDICATE THAT ANYBODY HERE ISN'T IMPORTANT TO BE HERE.
UM, WHEN WE LOOK AT THE CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, INDIVIDUALS THAT HAVE COME HERE AND BEEN ABLE TO BUY INTO THE COMMUNITY, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT'S ME.
YOU KNOW, I WAS ABLE TO DO THAT.
SO, YOU KNOW, I'M ONE OF THOSE FOLKS.
SO I'M NOT TRYING TO CHASE ANYBODY OUT AND SAY THAT ANYBODY THAT HITS THOSE CATEGORIES NEEDS TO LEAVE.
SO, AND THAT'S IMPORTANT TO DIFFERENTIATE BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO LEAVE EITHER
BUT IN ORDER TO CREATE THAT BALANCE AND SENSE OF COMMUNITY, IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE LOOK AT ALL OF THE CATEGORIES.
AND THAT MATTERS FOR A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT REASONS.
ONE, IF WE ARE NOT CAREFUL, WE ARE GOING TO LOSE PEOPLE TO THE POINT THAT WE START TO LOSE THE IMPORTANT FACILITIES AND AMENITIES AND SUCH THAT WE ENJOY OUR SCHOOLS, OUR HEALTHCARE, YOU KNOW, AS WE AGE OUT, HEALTHCARE MATTERS.
SO THE FACT THAT THAT HEALTHCARE MAY NOT BE AVAILABLE HERE ANYMORE IS IMPORTANT.
WE ALSO HAVE TO RECOGNIZE THAT WE ARE NOT THE ONLY ONES BECOMING UNAFFORDABLE TO SOME INDIVIDUALS.
INDIVIDUALS IN OUR HOSPITALITY AND SERVICES, UM, CATEGORIES ARE MOVING FARTHER AND FARTHER OUT TO FIND AFFORDABILITY.
AT WHAT POINT DO THEY DECIDE THE VERDE VALLEY JUST ISN'T FOR THEM ANYMORE? SO, AND THEN WE HAVE A SHORTAGE OF WORKERS.
SO THIS IS WHY WE TAKE A LOOK AT THESE CATEGORIES AND SEE THAT THERE'S OPPORTUNITIES FOR US TO FILL A VOID.
AVOID WORKING AGE WITH CHILDREN IS THE FIRST CATEGORY.
UM, BEING ABLE TO BRING MORE WORKING AGE INDIVIDUALS BACK WITH CHILDREN, UM, TO BE ABLE TO UP THE STUDENT ENROLLMENT IS, IS WHAT WE CONSIDER A CRITICAL CATEGORY.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, WORKING AGE HOUSEHOLDS EARNING 50,000 TO $200,000.
IT HITS THAT DEFICIT, THAT GAP THAT WE TALKED ABOUT EARLIER.
THIRD, WORKING AGE, HOSPITALITY AND SERVICE WORKERS.
YOU CAN SEE A THEME THOSE THREE GROUPS CAN, CAN CROSS, UM, DIFFERENT CATEGORIES, BUT, UM, THE WORKING AGE POPULATION IS, IS IMPORTANT, UM, BEING ABLE TO BRING SOME OF THAT BACK.
THE FOURTH CATEGORY IS COST BURDEN.
SEDONA SENIORS, INDIVIDUALS THAT HAVE LIVED HERE FOR A LONG TIME, UM, A SPOUSE HAS PASSED WHATEVER REASON, UM, LIVING ON SOCIAL SECURITY, UH, YOU NAME IT.
WE HAVE A SUBSTANTIAL PORTION OF OUR POPULATION THAT ARE SENIORS THAT ARE COST BURDENED.
SO BEING ABLE TO HELP ADDRESS SOME OF THAT ISSUE.
EQUALLY IMPORTANT, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT AFFORDABILITY, WE WANTED TO BE ABLE TO PUT THIS IN PERSPECTIVE.
AND WE'VE SEEN, AND WE HAVE APPLIED A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT CATEGORIES OF WHAT IS AFFORDABLE.
UM, IF YOU LOOK AT THE, UM, THE ANNUAL MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME CATEGORIES, UM, THAT HAVE BEEN TRADITIONALLY APPLIED, UM, 50% OF A MI OR LESS, 80% IS A COMMON NUMBER.
IF YOU ARE BELOW 80%, YOU ARE CONSIDERED, UM, BY THE DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT AND LOW INCOME.
IF YOU ARE BETWEEN 80 AND 120%, YOU ARE CONSIDERED WORKFORCE.
UM, WE HAVE INCREASED THAT TO 150% IN ORDER TO MAKE IT WORK IN SEDONA.
WHAT WE HAVE FOUND, THOUGH, IF YOU LOOK THE ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME NEEDED TO AFFORD THE MEDIAN PURCHASE PRICE OF A SED FOR A HOME HERE, $214,500, YOU HAVE TO EARN OVER 200% OF THE A MI TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT AND HAVE A FAMILY HERE.
[00:30:01]
SO WE WANTED TO POINT THAT OUT SO THAT WE CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT AFFORDABILITY AND ATTAINABILITY REALLY LOOK LIKE IN THIS COMMUNITY.WE PUT THAT IN COMPARISON TO DIFFERENT CATEGORIES OF OCCUPATIONS THAT WE'RE INTERESTED IN.
JUST SO WE CAN HAVE AN IDEA OF WHAT AT OBTAINABILITY LOOKS LIKE.
IF I'M A HOTEL LINE COOK SALARY HERE, REGULAR SALARY IS $47,500 OR $47,300.
UM, WITH INFORMATION PROVIDED TO US FROM THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, THANKS TO THEM.
UM, WHAT THAT SAYS IS THAT INDIVIDUAL CAN AFFORD A HOME THAT'S WORTH $147,000.
UM, IF I AM A DOCTOR WANTING TO LIVE HERE, IF I'M A YOUNG DOCTOR FOR STARTING OUT, UM, AND I EARN A SALARY OF $188,000, THAT IS 200% OF THE AREA MEDIAN INCOME, I CAN AFFORD A HOUSE $761,000, STILL NOT ENOUGH FOR THE AVERAGE SALES PRICE.
SO THIS GIVES US AN IDEA OF WHAT WE HAVE TO WORK WITH WHEN WE ARE TALKING ABOUT INDIVIDUALS OR HOUSEHOLDS THAT ARE CRITICAL TO THE COMMUNITY.
POLICE OFFICERS, TEACHERS, UM, DOCTORS, NURSES, INDIVIDUALS WORKING IN HOSPITALITY.
THIS GIVES US AN IDEA OF THE FRAME OF REFERENCE OF WHAT THESE INDIVIDUALS ARE EARNING.
SO WE TOOK ALL OF THIS INTO CONSIDERATION TO SAY, WHAT CAN WE DO? WHAT CAN WE DO? HOW MANY NUMBER, HOW MANY UNITS DO WE NEED TO PUT A DENT IN THE PROBLEM, UM, AND WHAT THOSE HOUSING UNITS SHOULD LOOK LIKE? AND WE PUT TOGETHER A MODEL TO DO THAT.
A COUPLE OF THINGS WE NEED TO POINT OUT.
WE KNOW THAT WE AS A COMMUNITY CAN'T HOUSE EVERYONE.
WE COULD, BUT IT WOULD ABSOLUTELY IMPACT THE QUALITY OF LIFE IN THIS COMMUNITY TO ADD THAT NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLDS.
SO WE HAVE TO BE COGNIZANT OF THAT, BUT WE CAN DO SOMETHING.
AND SO WHAT WE PUT TOGETHER WAS AN INITIAL SET OF 10 YEAR TARGETS THAT WE WOULD PROPOSE TO WORK WITH.
THE FIRST ONE BEING THAT WE INCREASE STUDENT ENROLLMENT IN SEDONA SCHOOLS BY 50%.
FROM THERE, INCREASE THE PERCENTAGE OF POPULATION THAT'S BELOW AGE 65 TO 60%.
REMEMBER RIGHT NOW, I BELIEVE IT'S IN THE BALLPARK OF 48.
I'LL APOLOGIZE 'CAUSE I FORGET WHAT THAT NUMBER LOOKS LIKE.
SEVERAL PAGES BACK, UM, INCREASE THE PERCENTAGE OF CRITICAL EMPLOYEES LIVING IN SEDONA TEACHERS, FIREFIGHTERS, LAW ENFORCEMENT, UM, TO 15%.
REDUCE THE NUMBER OF COST BURDEN HOUSEHOLDS BY, UM, COST BURDEN SENIORS BY 35% REDEPLOY 85 UNITS FORMERLY OCCUPIED, UM, BY SENIORS BACK INTO THE MARKETPLACE.
I'LL EXPLAIN WHAT THAT MEANS HERE IN JUST A SECOND.
REDUCE PERCENTAGE OF COST BURDEN, HOSPITALITY AND SERVICE HOUSEHOLDS BY 25%, UM, AND REDUCE THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES THAT COMMUTE INTO SEDONA FORWARD FROM 80 TO 70%.
UM, WE PUT THOSE TOGETHER BECAUSE WE SEE THOSE AS ACHIEVABLE AND ACHIEVABLE WITHOUT NECESSARILY IMPACTING THE QUALITY OF LIFE THAT WE ALL ENJOY IN SEDONA.
UM, WHEN WE PUT THAT TOGETHER, WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE IS 600 UNITS FOR WORKING AGE HOUSEHOLDS AND ADDITIONAL 175 UNITS FOR INCOME RESTRICTED, UM, SENIORS.
SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT 775 UNITS, UM, THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO BRING INTO THE MARKETPLACE OVER THE NEXT 10 YEARS.
CAVEAT 221 OF THOSE ARE ALREADY IN THE WORKS.
SO WE'RE ALREADY DOING A LOT TO MAKE A DENT INTO THIS.
WHEN WE LOOK THOUGH AT WHAT THIS MEANS IN TERMS OF THE TYPES OF HOUSEHOLDS WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO BE ATTRACTIVE TO, WE HAVE TO ALSO NOT JUST LOOK AT THE NUMBER OF UNITS WE'RE BRINGING IN, BUT THE NUMBER OF BEDROOMS PER UNIT.
IF YOU WANT TO BRING IN FAMILIES, YOU CAN'T JUST DO ONE BEDROOM UNITS.
SO THE MODEL ALLOWS US TO TINKER WITH THAT A LITTLE BIT, AND THAT WAY WE CAN BALANCE THE NUMBER OF UNITS THAT WE WOULD HAVE.
WHAT IT SAYS IS WE NEED MORE THREE AND FOUR BEDROOM UNITS.
WE'VE DONE THIS IN TWO SCENARIOS TO SHOW YOU THE DIFFERENCE.
BUT IF WE DID A 60 40 SPLIT WITH 60% FOCUSED ON WORKING AGE HOUSEHOLDS WITH CHILDREN, UM, WHAT WE SEE IS AN ADDITION OF 470 KIDS, UM, THAT WOULD GET US TO THE 50%, UM, 756 ADDED WORKING AGE ADULTS INTO OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, KEEP IN MIND A NUMBER OF THOSE PEOPLE ARE ALREADY DRIVING HERE.
SO IT'S NOT AS IF WE'RE ADDING ADDITIONAL TRAFFIC BY BRINGING THEM IN.
WE'RE ESSENTIALLY BRINGING THEM CLOSER TO HOME OR CLOSER TO WORK.
88 UNITS FORMERLY OCCUPIED BY SENIORS.
AND WHAT WE'VE, WHAT WE'VE ACCOUNTED FOR, WHICH IS A GUESS, THIS IS THE ONLY GUESS IN HERE.
EVERYTHING ELSE IS DEFENSIBLE.
UM, BUT WHAT WE'RE ANTICIPATING IS OF THOSE 170 PLUS UNITS THAT, UM, COULD POTENTIALLY COME ON THE MARKET AS THE ABILITY TO CREATE
[00:35:01]
A BETTER LIVING ENVIRONMENT FOR SOME OF OUR COST BURDEN SENIORS, WE EXPECT WE WOULD BE ABLE TO CAPTURE ROUGHLY HALF OF THOSE AND THAT WE WOULD LOSE HALF OF IT TO SHORT TERM RENTALS OR TO OTHER SITUATIONS WHERE INDIVIDUALS COME IN AND ARE ABLE TO BUY A HOUSE OUTSIDE OF OUR MARKET.SO WE HAVE TO ANTICIPATE THAT WE CAN'T CAPTURE ALL OF THOSE, THUS THE NUMBER 88.
SO WE HOPE IN OUR, IN OUR TARGETS THAT WE CAN CAPTURE 85 OF THOSE BECAUSE THAT DRIVES THAT NUMBER DOWN EVEN FURTHER.
SO NOW YOU'RE LOOKING AT, UM, EVEN FEWER HOUSEHOLDS THAT WE HAVE TO PUT BRING TO TABLE IN ADDITION TO THE 221 THAT'S ALREADY HERE.
THE NEXT PAGE JUST SHOWS WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE AT A 50 50 SPLIT.
UM, THE NUMBERS DON'T CHANGE TERRIBLY, UM, IF WE DO THAT.
AND THEN, UM, ALSO JUST POINTING OUT THE DIFFERENT HOUSING PROJECTS THAT WE ALREADY HAVE IN PLACE, AND TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF WHAT THOSE LOOK LIKE AND THE GROUPS THAT THEY'RE TRYING TO SERVE.
HOW MANY OF THEM ARE WORKING WITHIN LOW INCOME AND HOW MANY OF THEM ARE WORKING, UM, WITHIN MARKET RATE? AND THE TIGHTEN THE COMPOSITION OF THOSE ALSO NOTED THAT 73% OF THOSE ARE RENTER FOCUSED.
AND THEN JUST THE MAP THAT SHOWS YOU AN IDEA OF WHERE THOSE, UM, DIFFERENT DEVELOPMENTS ARE LOCATED.
SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE NUMBER OF UNITS THAT OVER 10 YEARS, UM, I, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO POINT OUT THAT IF WE'RE DOING 775, WE TAKE 221 OFF OF THAT ALREADY.
WE KNOW THAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN.
IF WE'RE ABLE TO THEN ADD ANOTHER 88, AND AGAIN, IT'S A GUESS WE MAY OR MAY NOT, UM, THAT WE'RE ABLE TO REDEPLOY, THEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT LESS THAN 500 UNITS ADDITIONAL TO ADD OVER THE COURSE OF THE NEXT 10 YEARS.
IT'S NOT AN UNREASONABLE NUMBER.
AND I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT CAN BE ACHIEVABLE.
AND I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT BECAUSE THAT'S A NUMBER THAT WE CAN, WE CAN ADD WITHOUT NECESSARILY IMPACTING THE QUALITY OF LIFE THAT EVERYONE HERE ENJOYS.
AS A MATTER OF FACT, IF WE'RE ABLE TO BRING ADDITIONAL WORKING HOUSEHOLDS WITH CHILDREN, UM, BRING BACK IN MORE HOSPITALITY WORKERS, ET CETERA, WE STAND A BETTER CHANCE OF BEING ABLE TO KEEP OUR BUSINESSES OPEN AND OPEN LONGER.
SOME OF OUR DAILY SERVICE BUSINESSES THAT WE HAVE SLOWLY SEEN ERODE FROM THE COMMUNITY, UM, BECAUSE THEY'RE GOING TO PLACES THAT HAVE FAMILIES, UM, WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO HANG ON TO SOME OF THOSE AND MAYBE BRING SOME OF THEM BACK.
UM, WE'LL ALSO BE ABLE TO BRING BACK HOPEFULLY, UH, SOME OF OUR HEALTHCARE SERVICES SO, AND POTENTIALLY HELP OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT ALONG THE WAY.
SO THAT GIVES US A GENERAL IDEA.
THE OTHER PIECE I WANT TO ADD TO THAT IN 2022 WAS THE LARGEST WE HAVE SEEN IN SINCE 2013.
I COULDN'T GO PAST 2013 AND I APOLOGIZE,
I WANTED TO GO AS FAR BACK AS I COULD.
BUT IF WE LOOK AT THE NUMBER OF BUILDING PERMITS ISSUED SINCE 2013, OUR HIGH POINT WAS IN THE YEAR 2022.
WE DID 73 SINGLE FAMILY HOMES THAT YEAR, UM, AND ISSUED MORE THAN 700 PERMITS IN TOTAL.
THIS YEAR WE'RE, OR IN 2025, WE WERE A LITTLE LESS THAN 600.
SO IF YOU PUT THAT IN PERSPECTIVE, WHEN WE LOOK AT THE NUMBER OF UNITS WE'RE LOOKING TO ADD EACH YEAR OVER 10 YEARS, WE STILL WON'T GET CLOSE TO WHAT 2022 BROUGHT US.
SO IT'S NOT AS IF WE ARE ASKING TO BRING IN A NUMBER THAT IS OUTLANDISH.
THESE ARE NUMBERS WE HAVE SEEN BEFORE.
AND AS A MATTER OF FACT, WE HAVE SEEN THEM AND THEY HAVE BEEN MANAGEABLE.
SO I SHOULD STOP TALKING, STARTING TO GET A LITTLE HOARSE.
SO I WILL, UH, OPEN IT UP FOR QUESTIONS.
CAN YOU RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION, CHARLOTTE? TONY, I'M KIND OF INTRIGUED AND I KIND OF DON'T UNDERSTAND.
CHARLOTTE, CAN YOU BRING YOUR MIC CLOSER, TONY? I'M INTRIGUED AND A LITTLE NOT UNDERSTANDING THE, THE 88.
SO YOU'RE, YOU'RE SUGGESTING THAT SOME OF THESE SHORT TERM, CURRENT SHORT TERM RENTALS, WHICH MAY BE ON THE SMALLER SIDE AND THE TREND IS MOVING TOWARDS LARGER, THAT THOSE ARE THE ONES THAT WOULD BE RE NO, AND I'M SORRY, I I PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE EVEN LEFT THAT ONE OUT 'CAUSE IT IS CONFUSING.
SO WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT WHEN WE SAY THAT WE WANNA BRING 175 UNITS ONLINE FOR, UM, SEDONA SENIORS MM-HMM
AND THIS GIVES ME AN OPPORTUNITY TO SAY SOMETHING ELSE, SO I APOLOGIZE.
BUT, UM, WE ARE ANTICIPATING THAT IF WE CAN FIND, UH, A LOCATION FOR THEM TO RESIDE, TO CONTINUE TO RESIDE IN SEDONA, BUT UNDER BETTER LIVING CONDITIONS WHERE THEY ARE NOT COST BURDENED, THAT PUTS THEIR HOMES THEN BACK INTO THE MARKET.
WE ARE HOPING TO CAPTURE ROUGHLY HALF OF THOSE.
[00:40:01]
MOST OF THOSE WILL BE AFFORDABLE AND WE'RE HOPING TO BE ABLE TO CAPTURE THOSE AND RETURN THOSE BACK INTO AN AFFORDABLE MARKET.SO THAT'S WHAT WE MEAN BY THAT.
BUT THE OTHER PIECE I WANTED TO ADD REAL QUICK IS THAT 175 UNDERSTAND THAT WE, WE ARE LOOKING AT THAT AS BOTH POTENTIAL FOR, UM, ASSISTED LIVING, UM, POSSIBLY AS WELL AS INDIVIDUALS WHO CAN HAVE INDEPENDENT LIVING.
SO WE'RE LOOKING AT BOTH AVENUES.
SO IT COULD BE SOMEONE MOVING FROM A, LET'S SAY FULLY PAID FOR HOME MM-HMM
TO A RENTAL SITUATION IN A MULTI-FAMILY KIND OF A SETTING.
OR IT COULD ALSO BE A TRANSFER OF OWNERSHIP SO THAT IT'S A PLACE WHERE THEY COULD ACTUALLY CONTINUE TO OWN, BUT OWN IN A WAY THAT'S AFFORDABLE.
SO WE'LL LOOK AT, THIS IS THE FUN PART BECAUSE I GET TO SAY THESE THINGS AND HAND IT OFF TO LOGAN SIMPSON AND THEN THEY GET TO COME UP WITH THE WAY TO, TO MAKE IT WORK.
BUT, UM, BUT I THINK ULTIMATELY THE GOAL IS TO BE ABLE TO PUT THEM IN A SUSTAINABLE SITUATION.
SO IF THEY ARE LIVING IN A PLACE NOW THAT'S FULLY PAID OFF, BUT THEIR SOCIAL SECURITY IS NOT SUFFICIENT FOR THEM TO LIVE, THEN WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE A HOUSING UNIT THAT IS AS OF OR BETTER QUALITY, UM, AND STILL WORKS WITHIN THEIR INCOME LIMITS.
SO IT'S, UH, IT'S A TALL ORDER.
UM, THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT IF THERE IS ANYTHING WHERE FEDERAL FUNDING IS STILL AVAILABLE FOR IT'S FOR SENIORS.
SO, UM, AND IT MIGHT BE THE ONE TIME I WOULD RECOMMEND USING IT.
UM, A QUESTION, SOME YEARS AGO, MAYBE FIVE OR SIX HAD A PRESENTATION FROM THE ARIZONA DEMOGRAPHER AND AT THAT POINT THE TREND IN YAVAPAI COUNTY WAS SUCH THAT YOUNG PEOPLE IN YAVAPAI COUNTY WERE DECREASING AT A MUCH HIGHER RATE THAN ANY OTHER COUNTY IN THE STATE.
IS THAT STILL TRUE THAT I KNOW THERE EITHER PEOPLE WERE MOVING OUT WITH CHILDREN OR PEOPLE IN YAVAPAI COUNTY WEREN'T HAVING ANY, BUT IT SAID THE SORT OF A LONG TERM TREND.
SOME OF THE OTHER, YOU KNOW, COUNTIES ARE GOING UP, SOME WERE, BUT YAVAPAI WASN'T A, ON A DOWNWARD TREND JUST FOR THE PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE WHO ARE YOUNG, BOTH CHILDREN AND, AND YOU KNOW, THE YOUNG TWENTIES 30.
IS THAT STILL THE CASE? DO YOU KNOW? OR, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW, BUT THAT'S AN EXCELLENT QUESTION AND WE'LL HAVE AN ANSWER FOR IT.
UM, I WOULD EXPECT THAT THAT IS STILL THE CASE.
WE ARE SEEING DECLINES MM-HMM
UM, YOU KNOW, ACROSS THE BOARD IN YAVAPAI COUNTY.
SO IT WOULDN'T SURPRISE ME AT ALL.
UM, THE THING I WOULD BE, YEAH, I THINK AS A WHOLE WE'RE STARTING TO SEE THAT.
I THINK THE STATE AS A WHOLE IS STARTING TO SEE SO WELL EVERYBODY YEAH.
THE STATE STILL, BUT IT'S JUST THE DECREASE THAT YOU HAVE BY COUNTY WAS CONSIDERABLY FASTER AND LARGER THAN SOME OF THE OTHER COUNTIES OF THE STATE.
AND, AND PART OF THAT IS IT DOES TELL THE STORY THAT WE'RE NOT ALONE HERE.
UM, IF YOU LOOK AT THE NUMBER OF PERSONS PER HOUSEHOLD, UH, CAMP VERDE EASILY HAS THE HIGHEST OF ALL OF US, AND THEY'RE ON THE EDGE.
SO IT SAYS SOMETHING ABOUT WHAT AFFORDABILITY LOOKS LIKE FOR A FAMILY.
APRIL, I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THE SHORT TERM.
CAN YOU BRING YOUR MIC OVER
SO I THINK IT'S WONDERFUL TO ADD ALL, ALL OF THIS AFFORDABLE HOUSING, BUT OUR, I WAS UNDER THE IMPRESSION WE WERE LIKE IT WAS AGAINST THE LAW TO REGULATE THEM AT ALL.
SO HOW DO WE KEEP ALL THESE NEW HOMES AND DEVELOPMENTS, UM, FROM JUST TURNING INTO SHORT TERM RENTALS? YEAH, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
AND UM, AND TWO, AN TWO POINTS TO THE ANSWER, AND I APOLOGIZE.
I ALWAYS TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SAY MORE, BUT, UM, ONE, I THINK IT'S, WE, WHEN WE, WHEN WE BRING OUT THESE NUMBERS, WE ARE BY NO MEANS DEMONIZING SHORT TERM RENTALS, RIGHT? BECAUSE THIS IS A POINT IN THE MARKET, RIGHT? YES, WE'RE GOOD.
UM, BUT, UM, SO THERE ARE ONLY A FEW WAYS THAT YOU CAN DEVELOP IN A WAY THAT INDIVIDUALS WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO CONVERT TO SHORT TERM RENTAL.
YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE FIRST WAYS, AND PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT IS INVOLVEMENT OF THE PUBLIC SECTOR.
UM, SO AS LONG AS WE ARE INVOLVED, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, WE HAVE PROPERTY 24 11 ALONG 89, A SUNSET LOFTS, TWO PIECES OF PROPERTY THAT WE OWN.
IF WE ARE TO CONTINUE TO OWN THOSE PROPERTIES AND THEN BE ABLE TO DEVELOP, BUT LEASE THE PROPERTIES, UM, OR DO SOMETHING ALONG THAT LINE, THEN BECAUSE WE ARE THE OWNER, WE HAVE CONTROL OF WHETHER OR NOT THOSE CAN BE CONVERTED TO SHORT TERM RENTAL.
SO THERE ARE WAYS, BUT IT, ONCE SOMETHING IS COMPLETELY IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR, THEN HAVE NO, THEN WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF CONTROL UNLESS SOMEBODY COMES AND ASKS US FOR AN INCENTIVE, WHETHER IT'S CHANGE IN ZONING OR OTHER TYPE OF THING WHERE WE CAN SAY, HEY, WILL YOU, YOU KNOW, AND YOU'LL SEE HISTORICALLY WE HAVE ASKED FOR A DELAY OF 10 TO 30 YEARS, SOMETIMES 50 IF WE CAN GET AWAY WITH IT ON CONVERTING SOMETHING TO SHORT-TERM
[00:45:01]
RENTAL.AND SO, BUT THERE ARE A COUPLE OF OTHER WAYS, UM, COMMUNITY LAND TRUST, FOR EXAMPLE, IF PROPERTY DUMPED INTO A LAND TRUST, UM, THEN THE LAND TRUST GETS TO BE ABLE TO SAY WHETHER OR NOT PROPERTY CAN CONVERT TO SHORT-TERM RENTALS.
SO THERE'S A COUPLE OF AVENUES TO LOOK AT THERE, UM, TO SEE WHAT A SOLUTION MIGHT LOOK LIKE.
BUT IF WE'RE LEFT ENTIRELY TO THE PRIVATE SECTOR, I CAN'T GUARANTEE YOU ANYTHING.
TONY, YOU'VE TALKED, UH, A NUMBER OF TIMES DURING YOUR PRESENTATION ABOUT THE REASONABLENESS MM-HMM
OF THESE, UM, SCENARIOS THAT YOU'RE SUGGESTING WE CONSIDER.
CAN YOU TALK AT ALL ABOUT HOW THE REASONABLENESS OF THESE NUMBERS TAKES INTO ACCOUNT OTHER POTENTIAL PROJECTS GOING ON IN THE VERDE VALLEY? YOU KNOW, WE'RE ALL FAMILIAR THAT, YOU KNOW, COTTONWOOD IS CERTAINLY, UH, ANTICIPATING CONSTRUCTION OF, YOU KNOW, QUITE A FEW HOUSEHOLDS AND, AND CERTAINLY CAMP VERDE AS WELL.
SO CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT REASONABLENESS IN LIGHT OF, UH, THE GREATER, UH, VERDE VALLEY? YEAH, ABSOLUTELY.
AND, AND A COUPLE OF POINTS THERE.
UM, ONE REALIZING THAT, UM, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT COMMUTE TO THE, TO, UH, SEDONA THAT QUITE FRANKLY JUST DON'T WANT TO LIVE HERE.
UM, YOU KNOW, AND, AND SO WE AREN'T TRYING TO SUGGEST THAT EVERYBODY NEEDS TO CALL SEDONA HOME.
UM, AND WE ALSO RECOGNIZE THAT OUR EMPLOYERS ARE GROWING AND THAT'S FANTASTIC.
UM, AND SO WE RECOGNIZE THAT WE CAN'T, WE CAN'T PUT, WE CAN'T FULLY ADDRESS THIS PROBLEM ON OUR OWN, UM, IN TERMS OF ADDRESSING ALL OF THE HOUSING ISSUES.
UM, FORT UH, FORTUNATELY WE HAVE A GREAT PARTNERSHIP WITH ALL OF OUR VERDE VALLEY COMMUNITIES.
UM, SOME OF THOSE, THOSE GROUPS ARE SEEING THEIR OWN GROWTH, BUT THEY'RE ALSO TAKING A LITTLE LOAD OFF OF US.
UM, SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT BALANCE, IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE LOOK AT BOTH THE CONTEXT OF OUR COMMUNITY, UM, AND, AND REASONABLENESS FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, BUT WE ALSO HAVE TO RESPECT THE IDEA THAT THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO WANT TO LIVE IN OTHER COMMUNITIES OR NO MATTER WHAT WE DO, IT'LL STILL BE DIFFICULT FOR THEM TO LIVE HERE.
UM, SO WE'RE FORTUNATE THAT OTHER COMMUNITIES ARE ALSO GROWING WORD OF CAUTION.
THAT WHEN WE HAVE, AND THIS IS, THIS IS WHY IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE STILL CONTINUE TO WORK ON HOUSING, UM, WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, IF WE WERE TO DO NOTHING AND WE WERE TO ALLOW THE OTHER COMMUNITIES TO BASICALLY SHOULDER OUR LOAD, IF YOU WILL, THEN THAT'S WHERE THEY SPEND THEIR MONEY.
THAT'S ALSO WHERE THEY'RE GONNA CHOOSE TO TAKE THEIR KIDS.
AND BEFORE LONG, IT'S ONCE THOSE GROUPS AND YOU CAN SEE IT IN THE OTHER COMMUNITIES, THEY'RE DOING GREAT.
YOU'RE SEEING REVITALIZATION IN ALL OF THE DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES.
ALL OF THAT IS DRIVEN AS A RESULT OF THE SUCCESS OF SEDONA.
SO, BUT IT HAS GIVEN THOSE OTHER COMMUNITIES THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO GREAT THINGS AND THAT'S WONDERFUL.
BUT THERE'S GOING TO COME A POINT WHERE THAT PERSON DECIDES THAT THEY DON'T HAVE TO WORK IN SEDONA ANYMORE.
UM, AND THEN AT WHAT POINT DO OUR BUSINESSES START TO SUFFER AND THEN OUR ECONOMY STARTS TO SUFFER AND THEN WE'RE JUST A BEDROOM COMMUNITY WHERE PEOPLE WILL DRIVE IN, UH, ENJOY THE RED ROCKS, GO BACK AND HAVE DINNER SOMEWHERE ELSE.
AGAIN, I DON'T MEAN TO CREATE A NIGHTMARE SCENARIO, BUT YOU HIRED ME TO BE HONEST.
SO, UM, IT'S, IT'S, THAT'S THE TYPE OF THING WE HAVE TO KEEP IN MIND.
WE HAVE TO BE VERY CAUTIOUS OF LETTING OUR NEIGHBORS TAKE CARE OF OUR ENTIRE LOAD.
WE HAVE TO DO OUR SHARE SO THAT OUR COMMUNITY CAN CONTINUE TO SUCCEED.
SO I APOLOGIZE, I PROBABLY OVER ANSWERED YES, BUT I THINK YOU JUST LED TO, I THINK SOMETHING ELSE THAT'S IMPORTANT TO SHARE.
SO THESE NUMBERS, AS A MATTER OF REASONABLENESS WHEN COMPARED WITH THE LAST HOUSING NEEDS ASSESSMENT, YOU KNOW, THIS REALLY IS, UM, A BIT MORE THAN A THIRD OF WHAT WAS IDENTIFIED AS OUR POPULATION THAT'S CURRENTLY COST BURDENED.
SO IT DOES SPEAK VOLUMES TO THE FACT THAT THIS MAKES A DENT, BUT THIS IS BY NO MEANS A PLAN THAT SAYS, THIS IS HOW WE GET AT THAT WHOLE COST BURDENED PORTION OF OUR COMMUNITY.
YOU KNOW, AND ANOTHER POINT TO ADD TO THAT, JUST VERY QUICKLY, BECAUSE WE HEAR, UM, THE DELLS IS AN EXAMPLE OF BEING BROUGHT UP AS A SOLUTION AND, AND THE DELLS IS A GREAT IDEA.
UM, I THINK, I THINK WE NEED TO THINK ABOUT THE DELLS.
WE ALSO NEED TO RECOGNIZE THAT WE STILL HAVE TO GET INFRASTRUCTURE OUT THERE AND WE STILL NEED TO MASTER PLAN AND WE NEED TO DO OTHER THINGS.
SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE LOOKING AT TRYING TO ADDRESS ISSUES OVER THE COURSE OF THIS 10 YEARS.
[00:50:01]
WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A NEW SET OF ISSUES WE NEED TO BE THINKING ABOUT IN 10 YEARS.AND FORTUNATELY, UM, YOU HAD THE WISDOM TO GET THE DELLS TO BE ABLE TO HELP WITH THAT.
DO YOU ALL KNOW WHAT THE DELLS MEANS? OKAY, GOOD.
SAM, I HAVE A BIG MOUTH, SO YOU'LL BE ABLE
UM, CAN YOU, CAN YOU, IS THIS PRESENTATION ONLINE ON YOUR, ON THE WEBSITE THAT YOU JUST GAVE? YES, IT IS.
UM, I'LL HAVE TO CHECK TO SEE IF THIS LAST PAGE HAS BEEN ADDED TO IT.
UM, BECAUSE WE JUST FINISHED THIS A COUPLE DAYS AGO.
SO YOU BET I CAN GET A COPY TO YOU.
UH, ITEM A FIVE, PRESENTATION OF ENROLLMENT DATA PROJECTIONS, STAFF DEMOGRAPHICS.
HOW DOES SCHOOL FUNDING WORK? 15% LEVY OVERRIDES EACH FIVE YEARS BY EACH FIVE YEARS.
YES, THANK YOU FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY.
UM, TONY, THAT WAS A GREAT REPORT.
UM, I'M A NERD TOO, SO I POURED OVER THAT STUFF, UM, AND WAS TAKING NOTES TO THE SIDE AND IS VERY, VERY INTERESTING.
UM, SHOULD I JUST TAKE THIS MEETING? AND IF YOU NEED TO, TOM, I JUST TOGGLED UP.
IS THAT BETTER? WHAT IT'S, SORRY.
BEFORE I GET STARTED, UM, THE INFORMATION IN, IN MY PRESENTATION, SOME OF IT TIES PRETTY DIRECTLY WITH TONY'S PRESENTATION.
UM, OTHER PARTS OF MY PRESENTATION ARE JUST KIND OF GENERAL INFORMATIONAL, UM, BASED ON JUST DIFFERENT QUESTIONS THAT I GET FROM COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
AND I JUST THINK IT MIGHT BE INTERESTING, UH, FOR, UH, INTEREST, YOU KNOW, INTERESTED COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND, AND THOSE THAT ARE, UM, HERE SITTING AT THE TABLE.
UM, I, I'VE, I'VE, I SAY THIS ALL THE TIME AND PEOPLE, ANYBODY WHO SPENDS ANY TIME WITH ME PROBABLY GETS VERY TIRED OF HEARING ME SAY THIS.
UM, BUT I'LL SAY IT AGAIN IN THAT IT IS ABSOLUTELY FROM WHERE I STAND, UM, NOT JUST AS AN EDUCATOR BUT AS A DAD OF THREE GIRLS, THAT IN ORDER TO HAVE A HEALTHY COMMUNITY, WE HAVE TO HAVE PUBLIC SCHOOL, UH, HEALTHY PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
IN ORDER TO HAVE HEALTHY PUBLIC SCHOOLS, WE HAVE TO HAVE A HEALTH HEALTHY COMMUNITY.
AND I'M REALLY GLAD THAT IN YOUR PRESENTATION, YOU KNOW, I'M HERE REPRESENTING SEDONA OAK CREEK UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT, BUT WE ALSO HAVE SOME WONDERFUL, UM, CHARTER OPTIONS AS WELL, WHICH ARE ALSO, UH, UH, PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
SO, UM, I, YOU KNOW, I, I CAN'T SPEAK FOR THEM, UM, HERE AT THIS TABLE, BUT I, I WOULD IN, IN MY MESSAGING ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF PUBLIC STRONG PUBLIC SCHOOLS, PLEASE KNOW THAT I INCLUDE THOSE OTHER ENTITIES IN THAT AS WELL.
UM, I WILL SAY THAT, UM, I'LL JUST, YOU KNOW, AS A DAD WALKING IN THE COMMUNITY, UM, HEARING KIDS PLAY BASKETBALL IN THE DRIVEWAY HAS GOTTEN TO THE POINT ALMOST NOW WHERE IT'S, IT'S, UM, IT STARTLES ME ALMOST WHEN I HEAR THAT IT'S, IT'S SUCH A BEAUTIFUL SOUND TO HAVE KIDS PLAYING AROUND.
BUT SO OFTEN OUR STREETS ARE JUST, ARE, ARE VERY QUIET PLACES.
AND I WOULD LOVE TO GET TO THE POINT WHERE THEY WERE, UH, FILLED WITH, UM, MORE VIBRANT, UM, VI VIBRANT LIFE OF OUR, OF OUR KIDS PLAYING IN THE STREETS THAT I THINK THAT WOULD, I KNOW THAT WOULD BRING ME GREAT JOY.
AND, AND I WOULD IMAGINE THAT IT WOULD BRING A LOT OF US GREAT JOY AS WELL.
UM, OKAY, I AM, THE FIRST PIECE I WANT TO TOUCH ON, AND, AND TONY TOUCHED ON THIS ALREADY, IS, UH, THIS GRAPH SHOWS OUR, OUR ENROLLMENT OVER THE YEARS.
AND YOU CAN SEE A VERY STEADY DECLINE, UM, OVER THE YEARS.
AND IN 2006 OUR STUDENT COUNT WAS, UH, 1,514, WE'RE NOW AT, UH, 694.
UM, SO MORE THAN HALF, UM, UH, WE'VE, WE'VE LOST, YOU KNOW, ESSENTIALLY HALF OF OUR STUDENTS OVER THAT PERIOD OF TIME.
OH GOSH, SORRY, THIS OTHER PIECE IS JUST MORE INFORMATIONAL, UH, FOR, FOR EVERYONE.
BUT I THOUGHT IT IMPORTANT TO, UH, TALK ABOUT, UM, WHAT THAT ENROLLMENT LOOKS LIKE WITHIN OUR DISTRICT.
SO I THINK ONE OF THE GREAT STRENGTHS THAT WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, WE TALK ABOUT THE DIVERSITY OF A COMMUNITY AND THE, AND THE STRENGTH THAT DIVERSITY, THAT DIVERSITY BRINGS TO A VERY WELL BALANCED, UH, COMMUNITY.
AND, UM, I FEEL THE SAME THING ABOUT OUR, OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM, RIGHT? AND, UM,
[00:55:01]
WE, IF YOU LOOK AT OUR ENGLISH LANGUAGE ENROLLMENT OVER THE YEARS, UM, SINCE 2020, SO FROM 2020 TO 2026, WE HAVE HAD AN, UH, AT LEAST BY MY MATH, 109.3% INCREASE OF OUR ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS, THOSE THAT QUALIFY FOR ADDITIONAL SUPPORT IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING.NOW, I DON'T SAY THAT AS A NEGATIVE, UM, OR NECESSARILY A POSITIVE, BUT I, I WILL SAY THAT IT DOES PRESENT ADDITIONAL, IT PRESENTS ADDITIONAL BENEFITS, BUT IT PREVENTS, UH, PRESENTS ADDITIONAL CHALLENGES AS WELL.
THERE'S ADDITIONAL, UM, UH, FUNDING THAT IS REQUIRED, UH, TO SUPPORT THESE STUDENTS IN NOT ONLY LEARNING THE SUBJECT MATTERS THAT THEY'RE, THAT THEY'RE IN, BUT ALSO LEARNING TO SPEAK ENGLISH, LEARNING TO WRITE ENGLISH, LEARNING TO COMMUNICATE.
AND SO THOSE ARE ADDITIONAL CHALLENGES, UM, THAT WE HAVE, BUT ALSO OF GREAT BENEFIT AS, AS WELL TO ALL OF OUR STUDENTS.
ALRIGHT, SO A LITTLE BIT OF HOW, UH, FUNDING WORKS HERE IN ARIZONA.
UM, FUNDING IS, IS SET DIFFERENTLY AT THE STATE LEVEL, UM, BY DIFFERENT STATES.
THERE'S SOME SIMILARITIES AND THERE'S SOME DIFFERENCES, UM, IN ARIZONA FROM, UM, FROM OTHER STATES.
UM, BUT WE, WE WORK ON A PER STUDENT FORMULA, ESSENTIALLY.
THE AMOUNT OF STUDENTS THAT WE HAVE IN OUR SEATS, UM, GOES INTO A FORMULA.
UM, AND THE STATE, UH, GIVES US MONEY BACK FUNDS, OUR SCHOOLS BASED ON THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS.
IT'S A LITTLE BIT MORE COMPLICATED THAN THAT AND I'LL GET INTO THAT.
BUT THAT'S BASICALLY WHAT IT IS.
IT'S BASED ON THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS THAT YOU HAVE.
NOW IF YOU LOOK AT, UM, THE GRAPH THAT I CLEARLY SHOWED, YOU CAN SEE WHERE THAT STRUGGLE HITS, RIGHT? SO, UM, AND I'LL TOUCH ON THIS A LITTLE BIT LATER AS WELL, JUST BECAUSE WE HAVE, UM, FEWER STUDENTS DOESN'T MEAN THAT THESE POSITIONS THAT ARE REQUIRED TO PROVIDE A STRONG EDUCATION FOR THESE STUDENTS AREN'T REQUIRED.
WE STILL NEED COUNSELORS, WE STILL NEED GROUNDSKEEPERS.
WE STILL, WE STILL NEED THESE POSITIONS, BUT WE DON'T HAVE THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS TO NECESSARILY SUPPORT THAT.
SO IT MAKES IT ESPECIALLY CHALLENGING, NOT JUST IN SEDONA, UH, BUT ANY SMALL DISTRICT, ANY, ANY RURAL DISTRICT.
OKAY? SO THIS IS OUR, UH, BASE SUPPORT LEVEL.
ALRIGHT? SO ROUGHLY SPEAKING, EACH STUDENT IS AROUND, WE RECEIVE AROUND $5,000 TO EDUCATE THAT STUDENT.
SO IF, IF, IF, IF A STUDENT HAS, UM, UH, IS IDENTIFIED AS, AS BEING IN SPECIAL EDUCATION, A STUDENT WITH, UM, AN IEP OR AN INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PLAN, THERE'S A, UH, A LITTLE BIT MORE MONEY THAT COME THAT COMES WITH THAT.
AND EVEN WITHIN THAT SPECTRUM, THERE'S, THERE'S MORE, DEPENDING UPON THAT CLASSIFICATION, WE DO RECEIVE MORE MONEY FOR THOSE ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS, BUT IT'S NOT, I WILL TELL YOU, IT'S NOT NEARLY SUFFICIENT FOR WHAT IT WHAT IT TAKES.
UM, AND THEN CTE CLASSES AS WELL.
IN ARIZONA, WE, WE HAVE WHAT'S CALLED A CURRENT YEAR FUNDING STRUCTURE.
SO A LOT OF STATES WILL, WILL RECEIVE FUNDING FROM THE STATE BASED ON THEIR PREVIOUS YEAR'S ENROLLMENT.
THEY KNOW WHAT THAT ENROLLMENT IS GOING IN THAT YEAR.
SO WE, THEY KNOW, EXCUSE ME, WHAT THAT FUNDING IS GOING INTO THAT, UH, THAT NEXT YEAR.
SO THERE IS A GREAT LEVEL OF CERTAINTY OF HOW MANY SECOND GRADE TEACHERS THEY NEED OF, UH, HOW MANY MUSIC TEACHERS THEY NEED.
UM, ALL OF THOSE STAFFING QUESTIONS ARE ANSWERED HERE IN ARIZONA.
UM, WE'RE MADE TO KIND OF MAKE AN EDUCATED GUESS OR PREDICT WHAT OUR FUNDING WILL BE THROUGHOUT THAT YEAR.
SO IT'S, WE HAVE, UH, STACY RAVO, WHO IS OUR FINANCIAL, UM, DIRECTOR, DOES A A WONDERFUL JOB WITH THIS.
AND SO WE HAVE TO BE EXTREMELY, WELL, WE HAVE TO BE CONSERVATIVE WITH HOW WE DO THIS.
'CAUSE WHAT WE DON'T WANNA DO IS PREDICT, LET'S SAY THAT WE PREDICTED THAT WE'LL HAVE 650 STUDENTS THIS YEAR, OKAY? AND WE HIRE TO EDUCATE 600 AND AND 50 STUDENTS.
AND THEN FOR WHATEVER REASON THROUGHOUT THAT YEAR, IT DECLINES, OUR ENROLLMENT DECLINES.
AND, UH, WE ONLY HAVE 620 STUDENTS.
WELL NOW WE'RE, UH, WE ARE FUNDING, UH, OUT OF OUR OWN, UH, DISTRICT FUNDS FAR MORE THAN WHAT WE ARE RECEIVING
[01:00:01]
FROM THE STATE.SO WE HAVE TO BE, UH, VERY CAREFUL WITH, WITH HOW WE SET OUR BUDGET FOR THE FOLLOWING YEAR.
OKAY? SO INITIALLY WE SET THIS BY, UM, BY ESTIMATING WHAT THAT IS.
WHAT, HOW MANY STUDENTS THAT WILL HAVE, BUT WHEN WE GET TO THE A HUNDRED DAY COUNT, THAT IS WHEN THE STATE SAYS, OKAY, THIS IS HOW MANY STUDENTS THAT YOU HAVE.
SO THIS IS HOW MUCH MONEY YOU ARE, YOU ARE GOING TO RECEIVE EACH MONTH FOR THE REMAINDER OF THAT YEAR.
OKAY? STA MS. RAVO, UH, STACY'S DONE A WONDERFUL JOB OF, UM, RISK MANAGEMENT.
OKAY? YOU REALLY HAVE TO, UH, BALANCE THE RISKS AND THEN WHAT YOU NEED TO, WHAT YOU NEED TO EDUCATE THOSE, THOSE KIDS, RIGHT? YOU DON'T, UM, YOU DON'T WANT TO SHOOT TOO LOW AND NOT HAVE THE, THE APPROPRIATE STAFFING FOR THE STUDENTS THAT YOU HAVE, BUT YOU CERTAINLY DON'T WANT TO, UM, SHOOT TOO HIGH AND THEN FIND YOURSELF IN A DEFICIT.
I KNOW THIS IS ALL SUPER EXCITING STUFF, OKAY? AS I POINTED OUT THIS, UM, THIS IS NOT A FIXED FORMULA.
UM, YOU ALWAYS WANNA BE VERY CAREFUL THAT YOU'RE NOT OVERSTAFFING, BUT YOU, YOU DON'T WANNA UNDER HIRE EITHER, BECAUSE THAT CAN, UH, THAT CAN PRESENT REAL CHALLENGES, OKAY? SO, AS I SAID BEFORE, THIS IS REALLY ABOUT RISK MANAGEMENT.
YOU LOOK AT STUDENT NEEDS AND THEN, UH, FINANCIAL UNCERTAINTY, UH, TO REALLY, UM, BALANCE THAT AS, AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE IN, IN SETTING THAT FUNDING.
NOW, I WILL, I WILL ALSO POINT OUT THAT THE, THE FUNDING THAT WE GET FROM THE STATE, ARIZONA IS LAST, THAT I LOOKED, WAS 49TH OUTTA 50 STATES.
SO INCREDIBLY INADEQUATE WITH OUR FUNDING.
UM, SO EVEN WITH THAT 49TH, SMALL DISTRICTS ARE ESPECIALLY CHALLENGED AND, AND, UH, BECAUSE, UM, THEY'RE, THERE'S, THERE'S GREATER RISK.
THERE'S GREATER RISK OF, OF FLUCTUATION, RIGHT? WHEN YOU HAVE A LARGE DISTRICT, YOU CAN, AND YOU NEED TO REDUCE YOUR OVERHEAD.
YOU HAVE MANY MORE OPTIONS TO GO TO, UH, TO, TO REDUCE THAT OVERHEAD THAT, UM, DOESN'T IMPACT THE CLASSROOMS. THERE'S VERY FEW PLACES THAT WE CAN GO IN A DISTRICT THIS SMALL THAT DOESN'T DIRECTLY IMPACT, UM, UH, WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE CLASSROOM.
WE DON'T HAVE, UM, LARGE DEPARTMENTS AND, AND, UM, UH, UH, UM, EMPLOYEES OUTSIDE OF, UM, OF, OF EDUCATING THE KIDS THAT WE CAN REALLY ELIMINATE TO MAKE ANY REAL BIG DENT IN, UM, IN, IN ANY SHORTFALLS THAT WE WOULD HAVE FINANCIALLY.
AND THAT ACTUALLY, THAT ACTUALLY ALSO HAPPENS TO, YOU KNOW, WE, WE TALK ABOUT STUDENT OUTCOMES STATE TESTING, RIGHT? WHEN YOU ARE A VERY SMALL ORGANIZATION, UM, YOU ARE MUCH MORE AT RISK TO GREATER FLUCTUATION.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THESE STATE LETTER GRADES AND THINGS LIKE THIS, THAT, THAT, UH, THE, THE STATE PUTS TOGETHER A FORMULA TO, TO SAY, UM, HOW OUR STUDENTS ARE ACHIEVING, UM, ACADEMICALLY.
WELL, IN A LARGE DISTRICT, IN A LARGE SCHOOL, UM, YOU WOULD NEED A LARGE NUMBER OF STUDENTS TO EITHER DO MUCH BETTER OR MUCH MORE, UH, UH, POORLY, UNFORTUNATELY, TO REALLY MOVE THAT LETTER GRADE HERE IN SEDONA, IT, IT'S A SMALL HANDFUL OF KIDS.
IF WE HAVE JUST A, A SMALL HANDFUL OF KIDS REALLY INCREASE THEIR LEARNING, OUR SCORES ARE GOING TO GO UP.
IF WE HAVE A SMALL HANDFUL OF KIDS WHERE FOR WHATEVER REASON IT GOES DOWN, THE GRADE CAN, UH, GO DOWN PRETTY SUBSTANTIALLY AS WELL.
AT LEAST IT IS TO ME, TO THINK ABOUT.
ALRIGHT, I THINK I ALREADY HAVE TOUCHED ON THAT.
I THINK THIS IS ONE OF THIS, THIS PIECE IS ONE OF THE, THE MORE IMPORTANT PIECES TO TALK ABOUT JUST FROM, UM, WHAT HAPPENS.
IT, IT, WHATEVER'S HAPPENING IN THE SCHOOL WHEN IT COMES TO ENROLLMENT LAW, A LOSS CAN FEED INTO ITSELF.
SO IF YOU HAVE DECLINING ENROLLMENT AND YOU HAVE DECLINING FUNDS, YOU HAVE A DECISION TO MAKE.
OKAY? UM, WE CAN, WE ONLY HAVE SO MUCH MONEY THAT WE CAN WORK WITH HERE.
DO WE ELIMINATE A THEATER PROGRAM? OKAY? DOESN'T DIRECTLY AFFECT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE,
[01:05:01]
THE, THE ACADEMICS IN A, IN A DIRECT WAY.UH, MAYBE WE CAN SAVE SOME MONEY THAT WAY.
UH, DO WE NOT HAVE A FOOTBALL TEAM? DO WE, UM, UH, DO WE NOT HAVE AP UH, COURSES, ADVANCED PLACEMENT COURSES? UM, AND YES, THAT WILL SAVE MONEY, BUT YOU'RE REDUCING YOUR, YOU'RE SEVERELY IMPACTING THE OVERALL EXPERIENCE FOR THESE STUDENTS AND THESE STUDENTS, AND THESE FAMILIES MIGHT SAY, WELL, I'M ONLY HERE FOR THE THEATER PROGRAM.
UM, SO I'M GOING SOMEPLACE ELSE FURTHER REDUCING, UM, OUR STUDENT COUNT FEEDING ITSELF OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
NOW, HERE, I CAN ONLY SPEAK FOR, FOR OUR DISTRICT, BUT, UM, WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, AS SMALL A DISTRICT AS THAT, WE HAVE, WE HAVE AN UNBELIEVABLY, UM, VAST AMOUNT OF CHOICES FOR OUR STUDENTS.
WE HAVE, UM, A, A HIGH LEVEL, HIGH NUMBER OF ADVANCED PLACEMENT CLASSES.
NOW, THIS IMPORTANT POINT OUT THAT THESE ADVANCED, UH, PLACEMENT CLASSES, YOU, YOU DON'T HAVE 30 KIDS IN THESE CLASSES, RIGHT? WE'D LOVE TO HAVE 30 KIDS IN THESE CLASSES, BUT SOMETIMES YOU HAVE SEVEN.
OKAY? SO DO WE ELIMINATE THAT, THAT AP BIO, BECAUSE IT'S NOT, UH, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S NOT, IF YOU JUST LOOK AT A SPREADSHEET AND YOU LOOK AT THE NUMBERS, OKAY? UM, WE ARE, WE HAVE TO EMPLOY THIS, THIS TEACHER TO TEACH AP BIO, BUT THIS SECTION IS ONLY SEVEN.
WE'RE NOT GETTING, WE'RE NOT REALLY GETTING, UM, UH, A, A VERY EFFICIENT FEED, UH, UM, UH, FUNDING FEEDBACK FOR THAT.
WE ARE, UM, AND I'M VERY THANKFUL THAT THE BOARD REALLY SUPPORTS US ON THIS.
WE'RE HOLDING ONTO THOSE COURSES.
UM, WE WANNA BUILD OUR THEATER PROGRAM.
WE WANT, WE WANNA DO ALL OF THOSE THINGS, BECAUSE MY BELIEF IS THAT IF WE BUILD IT, THEY WILL COME.
UM, OUR GOAL IS TO BE A PREMIER SCHOOL DISTRICT IN THE VERDE VALLEY, A PREMIER SCHOOL DISTRICT IN THE STATE.
QUITE HONESTLY, I KNOW THOSE ARE VERY LOFTY GOALS, AND THESE ARE JUST WORDS.
BUT WHY SHOOT FOR ANYTHING LESS THAN THAT? THAT'S WHAT OUR KIDS DESERVE.
THAT'S WHAT THIS COMMUNITY DESERVES.
NOW, I, I WAS TALKING WITH TONY ABOUT THIS THE OTHER DAY, IS THAT, UM, WHEN I FIRST MOVED TO SEDONA, WHICH IS THREE YEARS AGO, AND I'VE COM, MY FAMILY AND I HAVE COMPLETELY FALLEN IN LOVE WITH THIS PLACE.
UM, WHAT'S IT LIKE TO LIVE IN SEDONA? AND YOU GET, THEY HAVE THAT KIND OF ELEVATOR SPEECH, RIGHT? AND EVERYBODY SAYS, ALL THE, THE RED ROCKS, THE TRAILS, THE RESTAURANTS, WE'VE ALL HEARD THOSE THINGS BEFORE.
HERE'S WHAT YOU NEVER HEAR SCHOOLS.
AND IF THEY DO MENTION SCHOOLS, IT'S USUALLY MENTIONED IN A NEGATIVE LIGHT.
OUR GOAL, THIS IS, THIS IS WHEN I KNOW THAT WE HAVE, AND I'M INCLUDING THE CHARTER SCHOOLS IN THIS.
ANY, ANYBODY THAT'S EDUCATING OUR KIDS HERE, ANYBODY.
THIS TO ME, IS WHEN I, I THINK THAT WE HAVE ARRIVED AS A COMMUNITY, UM, AND I KNOW I'M AN EDUCATOR HERE, BUT WHEN THAT SAME SPEECH COMES UP AND THEY STILL SAY THE BEAUTIFUL TRAILS, THE RED ROCKS, THE MOUNTAIN BIKING, THE RESTAURANTS, AND ALL OF THOSE THINGS, AND THEN THEY SAY, BUT THAT'S NOT EVEN WHY I MOVED THERE.
I MOVED MY FAMILY THERE BECAUSE I KNOW THAT THEY WOULD GET THE BEST EDUCATION IN THE STATE.
THAT'S WHEN WE'RE GOING TO GET DOCTORS, YOUNG, YOUNG PHYSICIANS, PROFESSIONALS THAT ARE COMING HERE FOR NOT JUST THE BENEFITS THAT THE, THAT THE COMMUNITY PROVIDES, BUT THAT THE SCHOOLS PROVIDE AS WELL.
YOU KNOW, IT CAN'T, IT CAN'T JUST BE ABOUT HOUSING.
IT HAS TO BE ABOUT, 'CAUSE ONE OF THE, AS MOST OF YOU KNOW, I'M SURE THAT HAVE RAISED KIDS, WHAT'S MAYBE THE FIRST THING THAT YOU LOOK FOR WHEN YOU'RE BUYING A HOUSE? WHAT, WHAT ARE THE SCHOOLS? WHAT ARE THE SCHOOLS AND I, YOU KNOW, UH, FORTUNE 500 COMPANIES, WHAT DO THEY LOOK FOR WHEN THEY'RE MOVING SOMEPLACE? WHAT ARE THE SCHOOLS LIKE? THAT'S WHAT THEY LOOK FOR.
YOU KNOW, YOU CAN TALK ABOUT TAX CUTS AND ALL OF THOSE THINGS ON A, ON A, ON A VERY MACRO LEVEL.
BUT WHEN PEOPLE ARE, MA, WHEN, WHEN ORGANIZATIONS, LARGE ORGANIZATIONS, SMALL ORGANIZATIONS AND FAMILIES ARE MAKING DECISIONS OF WHERE THEY WANNA LIVE, IF SCHOOL IS NOT, IF THE, IF THE QUALITY OF THE SCHOOLING IS NOT THE NUMBER ONE MOST IMPORTANT PIECE TO THEM, IT'S DEFINITELY THE TOP ONE OR TWO AT THE LA AT AT LEAST TOP THREE.
[01:10:01]
SO, UM, I, AS I SAID, THESE ARE, I KNOW THESE ARE JUST GOALS, BUT WE'VE GOT A GOOD BOARD.UM, WE'VE GOT, I, I FEEL LIKE, UM, SOME OF THE, SOME PEOPLE I'VE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK A LITTLE BIT MORE, UH, CLOSELY WITH THAN OTHERS, BUT I FEEL LIKE OUR, OUR, OUR GOALS ARE ALIGNED.
WHAT THE CITY WANTS, FOR THE MOST PART, ALIGNS PERFECTLY WITH WHAT WE WANT FROM OUR SCHOOLS AND OUR COMMUNITY.
AND I HAVE FELT AT LEAST, UM, UH, ESPECIALLY RECENTLY, THIS, THIS REAL, UM, CONNECTION TOWARD MOVING THAT TOGETHER.
SO I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THAT.
UM, I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT ELSE I HAVE IN HERE.
WE'LL GET BACK TO BORING NUMBERS HERE AGAIN,
UM, OH, I JUST WANTED TO TALK REAL QUICKLY ABOUT THE, UM, THE O OVERRIDE.
SO, THE ONLY PLACE THAT WE CAN IN, IN ARIZONA, THE ONLY WAY THAT YOU CAN, UM, BOOST THE LOCAL REVENUE AT ALL IS THROUGH OVERRIDES BONDS, AND OVERRIDES.
OVERRIDES, UM, ARE FOR MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS.
SO, UM, IT CAN, IT'S MAXED OUT AT 15% OF WHAT YOUR ANNUAL, UH, BUDGET IS.
UM, THAT'S A LOT THAT, THAT, THAT DOES A LOT FOR, FOR US.
AND WITHOUT THAT 15% OVERRIDE, A LOT OF THESE THINGS THAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT, THESE TOUGH DECISIONS WOULD HAVE TO BE MADE.
WE WOULD NOT BE ABLE, LIKELY BE ABLE TO HOLD THAT CLASS WITH SEVEN KIDS ANYMORE.
YOU KNOW? UM, AND THAT, THAT IS JUST ABSO ESPECIALLY WITH HOW, UM, HOW INADEQUATE THE STATE FUNDING IS.
THE OVERRIDES ARE THAT MUCH MORE IMPORTANT.
IT, I COULD GET INTO THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE, BUT I DID, I DID WANT TO TOUCH ON THAT.
'CAUSE WE DO HAVE AN OVERRIDE PROBABLY COMING UP IN A, A CONTINUATION.
I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO SAY THAT IT'S A CONTINUATION.
IT'S NOT AN ADDITION TO ANYTHING ELSE, BUT IN A COUPLE YEARS, WE DO HAVE AN OVERRIDE COMING UP.
UM, REAL QUICK, I WANNA TALK ABOUT, NOW THIS TIES IN A LITTLE BIT MORE DIRECTLY WITH WHAT YOU HAD, UH, SAID.
UH, TONY, UM, THESE ARE, THESE ARE, UM, THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF OUR STAFF.
SO 103 STAFF, UM, 32, UH, 31% OF THEM LIVE WITHIN SEDONA.
UM, AND AS YOU CAN SEE, 69, THE VAST MAJORITY OF THEM LIVE OUTSIDE OF SEDONA.
IF YOU LOOK AT, SO OUR, OUR TEACHERS ARE, UH, PAID PRETTY MUCH RIGHT AT THE STATE AVERAGE, WHICH IS SAYING A LOT FOR SMALL DISTRICTS.
SMALL DISTRICTS TEND TO HAVE TO PAY THEIR TEACHERS LESS, IN MANY CASES, FAR LESS THAN WHAT THE STATE AVERAGE IS BECAUSE YOU STILL HAVE, YOU STILL HAVE TO HAVE THOSE MAINTENANCE WORKERS.
YOU STILL HAVE TO HAVE ADMINISTRATION, YOU STILL HAVE TO HAVE COUNSELORS.
YOU STILL HAVE TO HAVE ALL THOSE THINGS.
AND THERE'S NOT ENOUGH FUNDING COMING, COMING IN TO COMPETE WITH THE LARGE DISTRICTS AS FAR AS SALARY.
BUT WE HAVE, AND THE BOARD HAS MADE, UM, AND, AND THIS IS BEFORE MY TIME AS AS WELL MADE, UM, IT, IT, A STRATEGIC INITIATIVE TO PAY OUR TEACHERS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
UM, WE LIST OUR, WE HAVE TEACHER OPENINGS RIGHT NOW, AND IT'S LISTED BETWEEN 50 2060 2000.
UM, THAT'S RIGHT AROUND THE, THE STATE AVERAGE.
IT'S BASED ON EXPERIENCE AND A NUMBER OF THINGS.
BUT THINK ABOUT WHERE THAT FALLS.
WHO CAN AFFORD TO LIVE HERE? NO, NOT A SINGLE TEACHER.
UM, NOT WITHOUT ADDITIONAL SUPPORT.
UM, OKAY, SO LET'S TALK JUST ABOUT OUR TEACHERS HERE.
UM, 38% OF 'EM, UH, LIVE IN SEDONA.
HERE'S WHAT I'LL ALSO SAY ABOUT OUR, OUR, OUR, LIKE WHEN WE, UM, I'VE, I'VE BEEN HERE FOR THREE YEARS, RIGHT? AND SO THAT WE'VE GONE, WE'RE GOING, I'M GOING INTO MY THIRD YEAR OF A, A HIRING CYCLE.
AND WHERE WE'VE DONE FAIRLY WELL ARE VERY YOUNG TEACHERS, RIGHT OUTTA COLLEGE.
THOSE THAT ARE YOUNG, RIGHT OUTTA COLLEGE, EITHER TEND TO BE SINGLE, OR MAYBE THEY HAVE A ROOMMATE OR THEY HAVE A PARTNER, BUT THEY'RE PRETTY GOOD WITH THE ONE BEDROOM, TWO BEDROOM, UH, APARTMENT.
THAT'S STILL A HUGE STRETCH FOR THEM, BUT THEY'RE OKAY, RIGHT? 'CAUSE THAT'S ALWAYS, WE, WE FIND A TEACHER AND WE ARE SO EXCITED TO HIRE THIS TEACHER.
AND THEN THE, THE, THE SUBJECT COMES UP ABOUT HOUSING, RIGHT? AND I'VE LEARNED TO BE VERY UPFRONT WITH THAT AND THE CHALLENGES OF THAT.
UM, BUT WE'VE DONE OKAY WITH, WITH, WITH THAT, UH, GROUP.
WE'VE ALSO DONE, OKAY, UM, WITH THOSE THAT ARE CLOSE TO THE END OF THEIR CAREER, THEY,
[01:15:01]
UM, ARE EMPTY NESTERS MOST OFTEN.THEY'VE BUILT A A BIT OF SAVINGS.
THEY'VE BUILT SOME EQUITY, AND SO, UM, THEY'RE ABLE TO LIVE HERE.
OKAY? UM, AND SO WE'VE DONE FAIRLY WELL THERE.
WHERE IT HAS BEEN IMPOSSIBLE IS TO HIRE AND RETAIN TEACHERS THAT ARE RAISING FAMILIES.
IT, IT JUST, I MEAN, IT REALLY LITERALLY DOESN'T HAPPEN HERE IN SEDONA.
UM, AT LEAST SINCE I'VE BEEN HERE.
AND, UM, TO ME THAT'S, THAT, THAT'S, THAT'S A, THAT'S A SHAME.
UM, BUT I'M GLAD THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THAT.
SO JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THAT.
SO WE HAVE WHERE OUR STAFF LIVE, 32 LIVE IN SEDONA, 21 IN COTTONWOOD, UH, VOC.
THAT'S ACTUALLY WHERE I LIVE IS THE VOC.
WE HAVE 17 COVILLE, NINE, CAMP VERDE.
UM, I, I'VE, I'VE, I'VE SPOKEN ON THIS BEFORE AND I'M JUST, I MEAN, I, YES, I'M THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, BUT I'M JUST ALSO A COMMUNITY.
I MEAN, IT'S JUST, I'M JUST SOME GUY, UM, RAISING A FAMILY.
AND, UM, TO ME, THIS DECISION ON WHERE WE GO AS A COMMUNITY, I'M, I'M, I'M HOPING TO RETIRE HERE.
MY, ME PERSONALLY, I WANT TO RAISE MY FAMILY, THEM GO OFF TO COLLEGE.
I WANT MY WIFE AND I TO BE HERE.
UM, SO I, I, I DO LOVE IT HERE.
UM, BUT THESE TYPES OF THINGS FOR THE LONG, IT, IT STRIKES AT THE VERY SOUL OF A COMMUNITY.
WHAT, YOU KNOW, YOU GO, YOU, YOU TRAVEL TO DIFFERENT PLACES, OR YOU VISIT PEOPLE IN DIFFERENT PLACES.
AND, AND IT HAS A VERY, YOU CAN, YOU CAN FEEL, NOT TO SOUND TOO SEDONA HERE, BUT YOU CAN FEEL THAT ENERGY, RIGHT? THERE'S A DIFFERENT ENERGY DEPENDING UPON WHERE, WHERE YOU ARE.
AND AT LEAST FOR ME, FROM WHERE I STAND, I CAN'T SPEAK FOR ANYBODY ELSE, BUT THE ENERGY THAT I MOST WANT IS TO WALK IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD WITH MY DOG, MY WIFE, MAYBE MY GRANDKIDS ONE DAY.
AND TO HEAR KIDS PLAYING BASKETBALL IN THE DRIVEWAY, SHOOTING HOOPS, LAUGHING, MAKING TROUBLE, RIGHT? THROWING THE FOOTBALL AROUND IN THE, IN THE FIELD, RIDING BIKES, SCOOTERS, YOU KNOW, THAT'S THE TYPE OF COMMUNITY AND NEXT DOOR TO PEOPLE WHO ARE RETIRED, WHO HAVE BUILT THEIR CAREER, AND THEY KNOW TO GO KNOCK ON THE DOOR AND GET A PIECE OF CANDY FROM, YOU KNOW, UM, GRAHAM AND NANCY NEXT DOOR, RIGHT? UM, TO ME, THAT'S THE TYPE OF FAMILY THAT I COMMUNITY THAT, THAT I WOULD BE LOOKING FOR.
I DON'T, I, I CAN'T SPEAK FOR ANYBODY ELSE, BUT I FEEL LIKE IF WE'RE ABLE TO ADDRESS THIS IN A REAL WAY, THAT, THAT, THAT POSSIBILITY IS FOR US.
SO, TOM, I WANNA CONGRATULATE YOU ON THE FANTASTIC INCREASE IN THE GRADES AND THE RED ROCK NEWS WROTE AN ARTICLE ABOUT IT, BUT I DON'T REALLY SEE US PROMOTING IT.
I MEAN, DO YOU,
SO I, I, UM, I WILL TELL YOU THAT EVERYTHING THAT WE DO IS ABOUT EVERY DECISION THAT WE MAKE IS ABOUT NOT JUST IN, UM, INCREASING OUR STUDENT OUTCOMES AND THAT THAT'S WHAT I WOULD CONSIDER A STUDENT OUTCOME, BUT ALSO OUR STUDENT EXPERIENCES AS WELL.
UM, SO I, WE PROBABLY SHOULD DO A LITTLE BIT BETTER JOB OF, OF, OF PROMOTING THOSE THINGS.
UM, BUT I ALSO THINK THAT, UM, WORD OF MOUTH IS, IS STILL THE MOST POWERFUL, UH, MARKETING TOOL THAT WE CAN HAVE IN THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE SOCIAL MEDIA THAT, YOU KNOW, IF, IF, IF YOU, IF YOU'RE NOT SETTING YOUR OWN NARRATIVE, SOMEBODY ELSE IS GONNA SWEEP IN AND SET IT FOR YOU, RIGHT? UM, WE KNOW THAT.
UM, BUT, UM, SO YES, WE'RE GONNA DO, I MEAN, WE'RE RIGHT IN THE, IN, IN THE, UH, IN, WE'RE APPROACHING THE TIME WHERE PEOPLE ARE REGISTERING FOR, FOR SCHOOLS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND SO, UM, I, I DON'T WANNA JUST HIGHLIGHT 'CAUSE I, I'LL BE HONEST WITH YOU, A STATE LETTER GRADE IS ABOUT THIS MUCH.
OKAY? IT IS IMPORTANT, BUT IT TELLS A SMALL PIECE OF WHAT THAT SCHOOL AND THAT DISTRICT REALLY IS.
[01:20:01]
UM, BEEN AROUND A SCHOOLS THAT ARE A SCHOOLS EVERY YEAR AND AIN'T NO WAY I'M SENDING MY KIDS TO THAT SCHOOL.I'VE ALSO BEEN AROUND SCHOOLS THAT HAVE, YOU KNOW, BEEN A'S, B'S, C'S, THAT I WOULD BE PROUD TO SEND MY KIDS AS WELL.
SO I JUST WANNA BE REALLY CAREFUL THAT WE DON'T HANG OUR HAT SOLELY ON, OR AN A SCHOOL OR A B SCHOOL, WHATEVER IT HAPPENS TO BE.
IT'S AN, IT'S A STRONG INDICATOR.
AND I DON'T, I DON'T WANT TO, BUT I, I, I JUST WANT TO, I WANT TO, UM, I THINK THAT, UM, THERE ARE MORE STORIES TO BE TOLD THAN THAT.
ARE THERE QUESTIONS, BRIAN? THANK YOU, MAYOR.
TOM, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION, FOR SURE.
YOU DID MENTION THAT RELATIVE TO LIKE PROGRAMMING THAT'S OFFERED AND THAT KIND OF THING.
DO YOU HAVE ANY SENSE OF HOW MANY SEDONA, UH, ELIGIBLE STUDENTS ARE CHOOSING MINGUS? 'CAUSE IT'S, I'M GUESSING THAT SCHOOL CHOICE AFFECTS PROBABLY HIGH SCHOOL MORE THAN IT DOES ELEMENTARY, OR IS THAT, OR IS IT ACROSS THE BOARD? UM, NO, I, I, I THINK I, I DON'T HAVE THE NUMBERS OF HOW MANY ARE GOING TO MINGUS.
UM, AND YOU MENTIONED SCHOOL CHOICE, AND I THINK THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE, UM, YOU KNOW, MY WIFE'S AN EDUCATOR AS WELL, AND I CAN'T, I CAN'T TELL YOU HOW MANY TIMES THROUGHOUT OUR CAREER, WE HAVE A FAMILY THAT WILL COME TO ME AND SAY, HEY, WHICH SCHOOL IS BETTER? UM, WHERE SHOULD I SEND MY SON OR MY DAUGHTER? WHICH ONE IS BETTER? AND YOU CAN NEVER ANSWER THAT QUESTION IN THAT WAY.
UM, MINGUS IS A LARGER SCHOOL, AND IT, IT OFFERS SOME THINGS THAT, UM, AN EXPERIENCE THAT MAYBE WE CAN'T OR DON'T WANT TO OFFER.
UM, AND, AND VICE VERSA IS TRUE.
UM, I DON'T HAVE A DIRECT, I DON'T HAVE AN EXACT ANSWER TO THAT AS FAR AS NUMBERS, UM, GO.
BUT I WILL SAY THIS, THAT I FEEL CONFIDENT SAYING THAT THERE ARE MORE STUDENTS COMING FROM THAT AREA TO BE WITH US THAN THE OTHER, THE OTHER WAY AROUND.
SO IN THE LOSS OF, OF STUDENT ENROLLMENT, WOULD YOU EQUATE SOME OF THAT TO, TO VOUCHERS AND SOME OF IT TO HOMESCHOOLING AND SOME OF IT TO A REDUCTION OF FAMILIES, BUT IT'S NOT JUST ALL ABOUT FAMILIES LEAVING THE AREA.
CORRECT? UM, I, I, I WOULD SAY THAT, THAT, YES, UM, ESA VOUCHERS DO PLAY INTO IT.
UM, I THINK THAT BY FAR THE, THE BIGGEST VARIABLE IS THE LACK.
WE JUST DON'T HAVE THE KIDS, UM, THAT, THAT WE ONCE HAD.
SO YES, WE DO HAVE SOME HOMESCHOOL KIDS, YES.
UM, WE HAVE SOME, UM, SOME STUDENTS CHOOSING TO GO ELSEWHERE, BUT, UM, BUT IT, IT, IT, FROM EVERYTHING THAT I'VE LOOKED AT, THE BIGGEST BY FAR, THE BIGGEST PIECE IS WE JUST DON'T HAVE THE FAMILIES.
SO YOU SAW TONY'S PRESENTATION.
SCENARIO ONE OR 2, 4 40 TO 470 MORE BUTS IN SEATS.
IT'S A BEAUTIFUL THING, RIGHT? HOW, HOW DO YOU ALL THINK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, POTENTIALLY THAT GROWTH? I MEAN, YOU CAN'T PREDICT, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
YOU'RE HOLDING YOUR BREATH, YOU KNOW, WAITING TO SEE WHO SHOWS UP IN AUGUST AND ALL THAT.
LIKE, ARE THERE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES THAT WE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT AS COUNCIL ABOUT TRYING TO DRIVE THAT KIND OF GROWTH? I MEAN, YOU'D THINK SO.
I YOU THINK, HOW COULD IT BE A BAD THING? BUT NO, YOU ARE THERE, ARE THERE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES? YOU MUST, YOU MUST BE MARRIED TO AN EDUCATOR.
I, UM, SO YES, I HAVE, I PRE MY, BEFORE MY TIME HERE, I, I WORKED IN THE FASTEST GROWING SCHOOL DISTRICT IN THE STATE AT THE TIME WAS QUEEN CREEK.
AND BECAUSE OF THE, UM, THE WAY THAT THE FUNDING, FUNDING FORMULA WORKS IS THAT YOU ARE LEFT TO PREDICT HOW MANY THAT YOU HAVE NOW.
UM, THE HIGH SCHOOL, THE LAST HIGH SCHOOL THAT I WORKED AT WAS, I WAS A PRINCIPAL AT, BEFORE I CAME HERE, WE WOULD GET HUNDREDS OF MORE KIDS EACH YEAR.
AND, UM, ONE OF THE CHALLENGES WAS SPACE, BUILDING SPACE.
WE COULD, WE COULD GO BACK TO THAT, THAT HIGH NUMBER OF 15.
EVEN WITH OUR TWO BUILDINGS THAT WE HAVE, WE USED TO HAVE THREE, NOW WE HAVE TWO.
WE, EVEN IF WE DOUBLED OUR NUMBERS, WE STILL HAVE ADEQUATE SPACE.
OKAY? SO SPACE IS NOT AN ISSUE FOR US.
UM, IT WOULD COMPLICATE THINGS, BUT THAT, THAT'S NOT AN ISSUE.
THE, I WOULD SAY THAT THE, THE, UM, AND I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE THIS PROBLEM.
BELIEVE ME, I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE THIS PROBLEM, BUT, UM, THERE IS A, THE WORST SCENARIO THAT YOU, THAT YOU CAN BE IN IS PREDICTING A CERTAIN NUMBER AND NOT HITTING THAT MARK FALLING WAY SHORT.
SO TYPICALLY WHAT HAPPENS IN THESE FAST GROWING DISTRICTS IS THEY WANT TO SEE THOSE STUDENTS IN THE SEATS BEFORE
[01:25:01]
THEY HIRE ANOTHER TEACHER, RIGHT? UM, AND FINDING GOOD TEACHERS IS REALLY HARD.FINDING GOOD TEACHERS IN APRIL IS REALLY HARD FINDING A GOOD TEACHER IN SEPTEMBER.
GOOD LUCK, RIGHT? SO IT'S, IT, IT MAKES THAT, SO THAT WOULD BE, UM, ONE OF THE CHALLENGES WITH THAT.
AND IT'S ALSO, IT'S NOT A, IT, UM, HERE, HERE'S THE OTHER THING ABOUT GROWTH IS THAT JUST BECAUSE YOU GROW DOESN'T MEAN YOU GET A NEW TEACHER.
SO IF YOU'RE SITTING AT A MARK OF SAY, 26 STUDENTS AND YOU GET FIVE MORE STUDENTS, THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT YOU KNOW, YOU'RE GONNA HIRE ANOTHER TEACHER AND REDUCE IT ALL THE WAY TO 15, SIX, AND 16 STUDENTS PER CLASSROOM, RIGHT? IT JUST MEANS THAT, THAT THOSE CLASSROOMS THAT YOU CURRENTLY HAVE ARE GONNA HAVE MORE STUDENTS IN THEM, RIGHT? AND SO AT SOME POINT YOU MAKE THAT DECISION, OKAY, WHERE, WHERE IS THAT MARK? WHERE, YOU KNOW, SO THOSE ARE CHALLENGES.
I'LL TAKE 'EM THOUGH, OF COURSE,
UM, I, I, UM, SO THERE, THERE ARE TIMES WHEN WE HAVE TO GO TO THAT AREA.
IF THERE IS, IS A STUDENT WHO IS ADVANCED ALONG, SAY OFTENTIMES IT'S IN MATHEMATICS UP TO A POINT, AND WE DON'T HAVE ANYONE ON STAFF THAT IS REALLY EVEN ABLE TO, THAT IS NOT CERTIFIED TO TEACH THAT, THEN THEY CAN ENROLL IN A LOCAL, UH, COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY, OR WE CAN, UM, WE CAN FUND THAT, UM, ONE WAY OR THE OTHER.
UM, BUT I WILL, I WILL TELL YOU THAT THE MOST IMPACTFUL LEARNING HAPPENS WHETHER YOU HAVE A COM, UH, A LAPTOP IN FRONT OF YOU OR NOT, IS WITH, WITH THAT TEACHER IN FRONT OF YOU.
IF YOU WERE TO ASK ME, YOU HAVE TWO TEACHERS.
YOU HAVE ONE TEACHER HERE THAT HAS EVERY RESOURCE IMAGINABLE.
IF YOU THINK IT, THEY'VE GOT IT.
THEY HAVE ALL THE TECHNOLOGY, AND THEY'RE AN A OKAY TEACHER, OKAY? AND THEN YOU'VE GOT A TEACHER HERE WHO IS A MASTER TEACHER AND THEY'VE GOT A CHALKBOARD AND A PIECE OF CHALK.
I WILL TAKE THAT CLASSROOM EVERY SINGLE DAY.
SO, UM, SO AN ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION, YES, IS AN OPTION, BUT IT IS NOT SOMEPLACE THAT I LIKE TO GO VERY QUICKLY.
AND, AND IT'S PROBABLY MORE OF A DISCUSSION TOPIC WHEN WE MOVE KIND OF TO THE NEXT ITEM.
BUT JUST OVERALL, CERTAINLY WANT TO HEAR HOW CAN THE CITY, HOW CAN CITY COUNCIL HELP THE SCHOOL BOARD AND SCHOOL DISTRICT.
SO AGAIN, THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE, CHARLOTTE.
THESE ARE QUESTIONS MAYBE MORE FOR YOUR SCHOOL BOARD TO WRESTLE WITH.
AND I'LL HAPPILY HAND IT OVER, BUT I'M SORRY, I GOTTA GO.
I'M CURIOUS ABOUT THE NUMBER OF
UH, I'M CURIOUS ABOUT YOUR STUDENT PROFILE AND THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS IN THE DECLINE, THE STUDENT POPULATION.
HOW MANY OF THE STUDENTS IN, IN YOUR SCHOOL DISTRICT ACTUALLY RESIDE OUTSIDE OF SEDONA? DO YOU KNOW? UM, I DON'T HAVE THAT IN THE REPORT.
I MEAN, I COULD, I COULD EASILY, I COULD GET THAT TO YOU.
UM, BECAUSE WE DO HAVE A GOOD NUMBER OF STUDENTS THAT COME IN, ESPECIALLY FROM COTTONWOOD.
I DON'T HAVE IT RIGHT HERE, BUT I CAN GET THAT TO YOU.
AND I'M WONDERING IF IT'S BECAUSE THE PARENTS MOVED TO COTTONWOOD, BUT THEY WANTED TO KEEP THEIR STUDENTS, THEIR KIDS HERE.
OR IF, YOU KNOW, YOU'VE GOT ENOUGH PROGRAMS THAT ARE OF INTEREST THAT DON'T EXIST THERE, THAT THAT'S WHAT'S PULLING 'EM IN.
SO IT'S, I I WOULD THINK IT'S A, IT'S A MENU OF THINGS, BUT I'LL, I'LL, I'LL GO BACK TO THAT, THAT ONE SLIDE WHERE IT SAID, IT, IT, IT FEEDS INTO ITSELF, RIGHT? AND WE ARE FORTUNATE IN, IN THE SEDONA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT TO ALSO HAVE, UM, AN ENDOWMENT THAT SUPPORTS SOME, SOME PROGRAMS THAT OTHER SCHOOL DISTRICTS REALLY DON'T HAVE AVAILABLE TO THEM.
SO WE PROVIDE FREE OF CHARGE BEFORE AND AFTER SCHOOL CARE.
THAT'S HUGE FOR WORKING FAMILIES, RIGHT? SO JUST THAT ALONE, ESPECIALLY FOR, I, YOU KNOW, I, I DON'T HAVE THE DATA IN FRONT OF ME RIGHT NOW.
I PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE PUT THIS IN THE REPORT, BUT WE DO HAVE A GOOD NUMBER OF THOSE THAT LIVE IN OTHER PLACES, UM, AROUND, THEY DRIVE IN HERE, THEY WORK IN SEDONA, BUT THEY'RE ABLE TO DROP OFF THEIR STUDENTS AND THEN PICK THEM UP AT THE END OF THE DAY, UH, FREE OF CHARGE.
BECAUSE WHAT I FEAR IS THAT WE ARE PERMANENTLY LOSING STUDENTS.
AS THOSE FAMILIES MOVE OUTSIDE SEDONA, THEY FIND OTHER SCHOOLS IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD, THEY STAY THERE.
SO IT'S ENCOURAGING TO ME TO THINK THAT WE STILL HAVE SOME, UH, THERE'S STILL AN ATTRACTION FOR THIS SCHOOL DISTRICT TO BRING 'EM IN, WHICH MEANS THEY MIGHT BE
[01:30:01]
WILLING TO MOVE BACK SHOULD THERE BE HOUSING? YEAH.THE, IF YOU LOOK AT THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY, REALLY, UM, YOU KNOW, WHETHER YOU HAVE SCHOOL OR CHOICE OR NOT, UM, ONE OF THE NUMBER ONE, UM, INDICATORS OF CHOICE OF WHERE YOU SEND YOUR, YOUR, YOUR KIDS IS PROXIMITY.
UM, THAT'S, MOST FAMILIES SEND MOST, NOT ALL, BUT MOST FAMILIES CHOOSE TO SEND THEIR, THEIR, THEIR KIDS TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOL, WHEREVER IT'S MOST CONVENIENT, AND WHEREVER THEIR OTHER, YOU KNOW, NEIGHBORHOOD FRIENDS ARE GOING AS WELL.
SO, UM, I WAS WONDERING ABOUT HOW, WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THE STUDENTS ACTUALLY LIVE IN SEDONA? WHAT PERCENTAGE COMMUTE FROM OUTSIDE SEDONA MM-HMM
WHAT PERCENTAGE ARE UNHOUSED FROM THE DISTRICT? YEAH.
AND IF YOU HAD AN IDEA OF, UM, JUST MORE FOR YOUR SAKE THAN OURS, 'CAUSE THEY ALREADY LIVE HERE, BUT SEDONA STUDENTS WHO ARE BEING HOMESCHOOLED THAT ARE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU TO BRING IN.
YEAH, I DON'T, I DON'T HAVE THE NUMBERS OF, UM, UH, HOMESCHOOL IN FRONT OF ME.
UM, I WILL SAY THAT OUR MCKINNEY-VENTO, UH, HOMELESS STUDENTS AND THAT, AND THAT, THAT'S DOESN'T MEAN THEY'RE NECESSARILY LIVING ON THE STREETS.
THEY DO, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT WAYS OF QUALIFYING FOR THAT, BUT IT DOES FLUCTUATE.
UM, BUT WE'RE USUALLY ANYWHERE BETWEEN 20 AND 30 STUDENTS THAT ARE CONSIDERED MCKINNEY BENTO, WHICH AGAIN, IF THEY'RE COMING TO SCHOOL MM-HMM
I WOULD ASSUME THAT MEANS THE PARENTS ARE WORKING HERE OR WOULD LIKE TO, AND WOULD LIKE TO LIVE HERE.
UM, SO THAT TELLS US SOMETHING ABOUT, I CAN, I CAN SHARE.
NOW THIS IS COMPLETELY ANECDOTAL, RIGHT? SO THIS IS NOT, THIS IS NOT TONY'S DATA HERE, BUT, UM, I HAVE A NEIGHBOR WHO, AND I DON'T LIVE IN SEDONA.
I LIVE IN THE VILLAGE OAK CREEK, BUT IT'S STILL VERY PRICEY TO LIVE THERE AS WELL.
AND THEY HAVE THREE KIDS, SCHOOL AGE KIDS, WONDERFUL PEOPLE.
AND I, I LOVE THAT WE'RE NEIGHBORS WITH THEM BECAUSE THEIR KIDS ARE ALL UP IN OUR BUSINESS, IN OUR YARD AND PETTING OUR DOGS.
AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IF IT, WHEN THEY'RE AROUND, IT FEELS VERY MUCH MORE COMMUNITY ORIENTED.
AND, UM, HE CAME TO ME THE OTHER DAY, UM, WELL, IT WAS A COUPLE MONTHS AGO NOW, AND SAID, UM, HEY, TOM, I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT I THINK WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO MOVE.
AND SO I JUST LISTENED TO HIM AND HE SAYS, I, I, I WANT TO BE ABLE TO STAY.
AND THEY RENT, THEY, THEY DON'T OWN.
UM, BUT HE SAID, I, UM, OUR RENT IS INCREASING TO, UH, TO SUCH THAT WE HAVE DRAINED OUR SAVINGS THAT WE WERE PLANNING ON PUTTING ON A DOWN PAYMENT FOR A HOME.
AND NOW WE DON'T HAVE ANY OF ANY SAVINGS LEFT.
AND, UM, DO YOU KNOW ANYBODY THAT COULD HELP ME
BUT THOSE THINGS HAPPEN ALL THE TIME.
THOSE THINGS HAPPEN ALL THE TIME.
I MEAN, I KNOW YOU SAID THAT THERE ARE PEOPLE THAT DON'T WANT TO BE HERE.
I I HAVEN'T MET TOO MANY OF THEM,
SO, UM, AND ONCE AGAIN, ANECDOTAL, IT'S A NARRATIVE.
IT'S NOT, I DON'T HAVE HARD DATA TO, UH, TO, TO SHOW YOU THAT.
BUT, UH, I DO, YOU KNOW, AS A SUPERINTENDENT, MEET WITH FAMILIES FAIRLY OFTEN WHERE THAT TYPE OF THING HAPPENS.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, MAYOR DEREK, IN TERMS OF YOUR BEFORE AND AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAMS, ARE THERE ANYTHING, ANY THINGS YOU'RE NOT DOING THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO DO BUT CAN'T 'CAUSE OF FUNDING CONSTRAINTS? YEAH, I WOULD, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'D REALLY LIKE TO OFFER, UM, IS INTERNSHIP PROGRAMS. UM, AND IT, IT, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING ON THAT.
UM, BUT WE HAVE SO MANY WORKING PROFESSIONALS, UM, OR, OR RETIRED PROFESSIONALS, UM, IN, IN THE COMMUNITY TO CONNECT OUR, OUR HIGH SCHOOL KIDS IN PARTICULAR WITH DIFFERENT PROFESSIONS, YOU KNOW.
UM, MY MIDDLE DAUGHTER, UM, WAS CONNECTED, UM, WITHIN THE, IN THE, THE HEALTH PROFESSION.
SHE WANTED TO BE A NURSE, RIGHT? WELL, SHE SPENT ABOUT A YEAR IN THE HEALTH PROFESSION.
AND THEN SHE DECIDED, YOU KNOW WHAT, I DON'T WANNA BE A NURSE.
UM, BUT FIELD TRIPS, UM, I, I WOULD, THE OTHER, THE OTHER PIECE TOO IS, AND I, I, I, I THINK THE COMMUNITY HAS DONE A, A, A REALLY GOOD JOB
[01:35:01]
RECENTLY WITH THIS.I CAN'T SPEAK TO IT BE BEFORE WHAT HAPPENED, BUT, UM, DIFFERENT CLUBS AND ATHLETIC YOUTH PROGRAMS, UM, THAT, THAT CONNECT OUR, OUR KIDS WITH FAMILIES, UM, THOSE TYPES OF THINGS I CAN, I THINK WOULD BE REALLY GOOD.
SO, AND DO YOU COMMUNICATE WITH LOCAL EMPLOYERS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, LET YOUR FAMILIES KNOW WE HAVE BEFORE AND AFTER SCHOOL CARE AND, YOU KNOW, THIS, THIS IS AN OPTION.
I MEAN, HOW DO YOU, HOW DO YOU GET THE WORD OUT SO THAT PEOPLE KNOW THAT? UM, I'VE WRITTEN, I MEAN, YEAH, THIS SHOWS YOU HOW MANY PEOPLE READ THE ARTICLES THAT I, THAT I WRITE.
BUT, UM, I DO WRITE ARTICLES EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE WITH THAT.
UM, I DO GO TO BUSINESS PARTNER, UM, ENGAGEMENT THINGS, UM, WHERE I TRY TO TALK ABOUT THAT, BUT I DON'T HAVE ANY, I'M OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS ON HOW TO, I CAN GET THAT WORD OUT TO MORE PEOPLE FOR SURE.
HAVE YOU TALKED TO THE CHAMBER? YES, I HAVE THE CHAMBER.
I MEAN, I'M NOT ABOVE POACHING FROM OTHER SCHOOL DISTRICTS.
SO
PROGRAMS AND MAYBE HOPEFULLY WITH CITY SUPPORT, MAYBE SOME MORE PROGRAMS. I, YOU KNOW, DEREK, YOU BRING UP A REALLY GOOD, UM, POINT.
SO I'VE HEARD IT FROM A COUPLE PEOPLE MARKETING, RIGHT? UM, LARGE DISTRICTS HAVE ENTIRE DEPARTMENTS COMPLETELY DEVOTED TO MARKETING.
AND WHERE I WAS BEFORE IN QUEEN CREEK, THEY'RE MARKETING, THEY PROBABLY, THEY'RE PROBABLY STRONGER MARKETERS THAN ANY PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT IN THE STATE OF ARIZONA.
THEIR SOCIAL MEDIA IS ON POINT.
THEY HAVE A WHOLE DEPARTMENT THAT'S DEVOTED TO GETTING THAT OUT.
YOU KNOW, UH, I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THAT THERE ARE AWARDS OUT THERE THAT PEOPLE ARE RECEIVING THESE AWARDS.
LIKE HOW, HOW, YOU KNOW, I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THIS THING EXISTED.
RIGHT? SO THEY'RE EXCELLENT AT PROMOTING THEMSELVES IN A SMALL DISTRICT.
LIKE, LIKE WE HAVE, IT, IT, IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO DO BECAUSE IT'S JUST ONE MORE TASK ON TOP.
IT'S JUST ONE MORE LINE ITEM IN THEIR JOB DESCRIPTION.
UM, SO I WOULD BE REALLY OPEN TO ANYBODY'S SUPPORT ON HOW WE CAN GET THE WORD OUT A LITTLE BIT MORE EFFECTIVELY OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE, WE'RE DOING AND THE DIRECTION THAT WE'D LIKE TO GO IN.
GET A STUDENT TO, UH, I KNOW, GOSH, TAKE CARE OF YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA.
NO, THEY'RE, THEY'RE, I, YEAH.
UM, ANYTIME SOMETHING GOES WRONG WITH MY PHONE, I JUST HAND IT TO MY DAUGHTER AND SHE'S JUST GOT IT ALL FIGURED OUT.
AND WE COULD EVEN, I MEAN, THE, SO THAT'S THE OTHER THING TOO, IS IF WE, UM, GET TO THE POINT WHERE WE CAN START HAVING THESE CREATIVE COURSE OFFERINGS, YOU KNOW, MAYBE WE HAVE, UM, MARKETING AND, AND, UM, SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING AS, AS, AS A CLASS OR A PIECE OF A CLASS THAT WE HAVE.
BUT ONCE AGAIN, YOU KNOW, YOU OFFER THAT BEING SO SMALL AND HAS SOME NEGATIVE IMPACT OTHER PLACES AS WELL.
JUST TO PIGGYBACK ON WHAT YOU WERE SAYING, AS FAR AS WORD OF MOUTH GOES AND THAT BEING LIKE THE NUMBER ONE SELLER, I HAVE DEFINITELY NOTICED A SWITCH IN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS.
'CAUSE, 'CAUSE PARENTS, THEY TALK LIKE THEY, THEY, I REALLY THINK THAT YOU TRUST YOUR FRIENDS AND WHAT YOU HEAR, LIKE, YOU, YOU HEAR, UH, MOMS GET TOGETHER AND THEY'RE LIKE, WELL, WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THIS SCHOOL? AND WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THIS SCHOOL? AND, AND THEY'RE ALWAYS GIVING THEIR PERSONAL STORIES TO EACH OTHER.
AND I FEEL FOR A LONG TIME I WOULD GET A LOT OF NEGATIVE, UH, FEEDBACK ABOUT THE SEDONA SCHOOLS.
BUT I, I FEEL LIKE THERE HAS BEEN A REALLY POSITIVE SHIFT IN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, ESPECIALLY, AND IF WE CAN JUST KEEP THAT UP WHERE WE HAVE A REALLY GOOD REPUTATION AND THE, THE PARENTS ARE, ARE SPEAKING UP, YOU KNOW, SPEAKING IN A, IN A POSITIVE WAY TO EACH OTHER, THAT THAT IS THE BEST WAY.
I THINK PARENTS REALLY TRUST EACH OTHER AND, AND THAT PERSONAL EXPERIENCE.
UM, BUT I HAD, I WAS TALKING TO A GENTLEMAN WORKING ON MY HOUSE, SOMETHING BATING OFF ON THE SCHOOLS BECAUSE I SAID, LOOK, TELL ME WHAT, WHAT YOU DON'T LIKE ABOUT IT.
WELL, YOU DIDN'T LIKE ABOUT IT.
SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED 12 YEARS AGO,
BUT, UM, NO, I THINK THAT, UH, I, I'M A RETIRED SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR, AS A PRINCIPAL AND ASSOCIATE SUPERINTENDENT.
UM, I'VE BEEN ON THE BOARD SEVEN YEARS.
I BELIEVE THIS IS A DIFFERENT PLACE THAN IT WAS SEVEN YEARS AGO.
UH, IT WAS A MUCH, MUCH DIFFERENT PLACE.
AND, UH, WE'RE DOING THINGS THAT, THAT TOP SCHOOL DISTRICTS,
[01:40:01]
THE COUNTRY DO, AND, UM, THE BOARD NOW, WE GOOD ADMINISTRATOR, A GOOD SUPERINTENDENT, AND, UM, WE'RE JUST DOING SOME REALLY GOOD THINGS.SO WE'VE GOTTA GET THAT WORD OUT THERE.
BUT THE PARENTS, WE HAVE TO RELY ON THEM TO GET THE WORD TO EACH OTHER AS WELL, APRIL.
'CAUSE THAT, THAT'S THAT BIG PART OF IT.
BUT, UH, YOU CAN'T COMPARE TODAY WITH WHAT WAS HAPPENING EIGHT OR NINE YEARS AGO BECAUSE IT'S A DIFFERENT WORLD HERE.
I THINK TO, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT GETTING THE WORD OUT AND DEREK, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE ASKING HOW DO WE, YOU KNOW, MAYBE INFORM THE COTTONWOOD WORKERS THAT ARE COMING HERE, BUT, YOU KNOW, FROM A MARKETING PERSPECTIVE, I KNOW WE'VE GOT AT LEAST ONE REALTOR IN THE AUDIENCE.
AND IT JUST MADE ME THINK ABOUT, OKAY, WELL THEN HOW DO WE GET THE SCHOOLS IN TOWN TO, YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE HAVE THE REALTORS HELP MARKET THE POSITIVE STORIES THAT EXIST SO THAT THEY CAN BE STRONGER PROPONENTS WHEN SOMEBODY IS LIKE, OKAY, WELL, SHOULD I LIVE HERE OR SHOULD I MM-HMM
YOU KNOW, BUY IN COTTON, WHAT ARE CORN BILL INSTEAD? RIGHT.
SO, YOU KNOW, FOR THE REALTORS THAT ARE LISTENING HERE, YOU KNOW, HELP US RIGHT.
BY LETTING US SHARE, YOU KNOW, THESE GOOD STORIES THAT WE HAVE.
SO I, I THINK THE OTHER PIECE TOO, UM, I HAVE TO BE CAREFUL 'CAUSE YOU GET ME TALKING ABOUT KIDS AND EDUCATION, AND I COULD, I, IT'S LIKE YOU WITH NUMBERS AND STUFF, BUT I, I THINK WE NEED TO DO A BETTER JOB OF, OF GETTING OUR KIDS OUT IN THE COMMUNITY TOO.
UM, AND I MEAN, YOU CAN, YOU CAN WALK AROUND THIS TOWN SOMETIMES AND NOT EVEN REALIZE THAT THERE ARE KIDS HERE AT ALL.
AND SO ONE OF THE, I'M GONNA CHALLENGE OUR, OUR TEAM AND OUR ADMINISTRATORS TO, UM, YOU KNOW, GET THE KIDS OUT IN THE COMMUNITY IN FRONT OF A GROCERY STORE FOR GOSH SAKES, SELLING, YOU KNOW, UH, WHATEVER, AS A FUNDRAISER.
OH, I COULD USE SOME OF THOSE ACTUALLY.
BUT, UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, PROVIDING EXPERIENCES TO GET PEOPLE IN THE SCHOOLS AS WELL.
I KNOW, YOU KNOW, GETTING FOOTBALL UP AND, AND RUNNING IS, IS, IS, UM, IT'S, IT'S BEEN A CHALLENGING THING, BUT THERE ARE MORE PEOPLE IN THOSE STANDS.
AND WE HAD, GOSH, WE HAD TERRIBLE, EVERY TIME WE HAD A HOME GAME, IT WAS TER TERRIBLE WEATHER, RIGHT? WE KEPT THE HEAD COACH RIGHT HERE.
UM, BUT PEOPLE STILL SHOWED UP.
AND SO THE MORE THAT WE CAN GET, UM, THE COMMUNITY CONNECTED WITH THESE KIDS AND THE KIDS, UH, CONNECTED WITH THE COMMUNITY, I THINK THE BETTER OFF WE'LL BE.
SO WHY DON'T WE MOVE TO THIS NEXT ITEM, WHICH IS DISCUSSION BY COUNCIL AND BOARD MEMBERS, AND THEN WE'LL GO TO COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC.
UH, THE, I THINK OUR QUESTION TO YOU AND YOU ALL, WHAT CAN WE DO TO HELP YOU? AND I'M NOT TRYING TO PUT YOU ON THE SPOT THAT'S HOPING THAT YOU'VE THOUGHT ABOUT THAT BEFORE YOU CAME HERE TODAY.
ONE, ONE THING I KNOW SOME FORMER SUPERINTENDENT, I'M NOT SURE WHICH IT WAS, I, THEY TALKED TO WHOEVER WAS THE, THE COUNCIL AND THE MAYOR ABOUT HAVING ONCE A MONTH HAVING A STUDENTS TALK TO THE COUNCIL AT YOUR MEETING ABOUT SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER THEY FEEL THEY WANNA BRAG ABOUT.
YOU KNOW, THEY, YOU KNOW, THEIR TEACHER WHO GOT AN AWARD, THE FIELD TRIP THEY TOOK, THE ART PROJECT THEY'RE WORKING ON, AND YOU KNOW, WE TALK AND IT WAS, IT, THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED FOR WHATEVER REASON.
I THINK EVERY, EVERY, YOU GUYS ARE BUSY.
THE SUPERINTENDENT'S BUSY, EVERYONE'S BUSY.
BUT I THINK THAT WOULD BE, MIGHT BE SOMETHING ON A REGULARLY SCHEDULED BASIS.
SOME JUST A LITTLE THREE MINUTE PRESENTATION FROM, FROM SOMEONE.
YOU KNOW, I SAID, THOSE OF US, I MEAN, APRIL'S OUR ONLY BOARD MEMBER WITH STUDENTS IN THE SCHOOL ANYMORE.
MY STUDENTS, MY SON WENT ALL THE WAY THROUGH HERE, BUT HE'S GRADUATED BACK IN 2003.
BUT, AND WE HAVE A, THAT'S WHY WE HAVE A STUDENT BOARD MEMBER WHO KEEP, YOU KNOW, WHO TALKS ABOUT WHAT THE, WHAT THE STUDENT COUNCIL'S DOING, WHAT THE INTERACT IS DOING.
AND WHEN WE LISTEN TO LISTEN TO THEM OVER THE LAST YEARS, AN AWFUL LOT OF OUR STUDENTS ARE DOING SOMETHING IN THE COMMUNITY.
THEY'RE INVOLVED IN THESE PROGRAMS, DOING SOME COMMUNITY BASED THINGS.
OFTEN THEY DON'T GET A LOT OF PUBLICITY.
EVERY NOW AND THEN I SEE A STORY IN THE RED ROCK NEWS, YOU KNOW, SOME GROUP OF STUDENTS FROM SOME TEACHER HELP DO SOMETHING.
BUT, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S GOING ONGOING ALL THE TIME.
BUT WE JUST, SO I THINK MAYBE IF WE CAN GET BACK TO SOMETHING, IT'S ONE MORE THING FOR TOM TO
I WANNA TELL YOU ABOUT HOW MUCH FUN IT IS TO RUN.
YOU KNOW, IT MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE THAN, THAN ALL OF US TALKING.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A MOMENT OF ART AT OUR FIRST MEETING OF THE MONTH, AND WE'VE HAD THE ORCHESTRA AND WE'VE HAD, UH, STUDENTS WHO HAVE PROVIDED OTHER THINGS, AND OUR SUSTAINABILITY DEPARTMENT WORKED WITH THE STUDENTS TO DESIGN THE TRASH CAN WRAPPERS.
DID YOU KNOW THAT? AND THEY WON A PRIZE.
[01:45:01]
STUDENTS WEREN'T HERE, THOUGH.BUT THE, UH, IT WAS ANNOUNCED BECAUSE I JUST, AND WE SAW THE, THE, YOU KNOW, THE WINNING DESIGNS SOME YEAR, A COUPLE TIMES BACK, WE WERE GOING FOR THE RENEWAL OF THE OVERRIDE.
WE HAD A COUPLE OF STUDENTS, AND I KNOW THEY PRESENTED TO A POLITICAL CLUB AND PART OF, THEY WENT TO A, I THINK A KAUS OR ROTARY MEETING.
AND THEY WERE NOT HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS.
THEY WERE LIKE MIDDLE SCHOOL AGE STUDENTS WHO TALKED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HOW IMPORTANT IT WAS TO HAVE THE ART TEACHER FUNDED BY THIS PROGRAM.
AND I THINK IN THE PEOPLE WHO WERE AT THOSE MEETINGS, THEY SUDDENLY SAID, WOW, I NEED TO THINK ABOUT THIS.
OR WHEN THEY TALK ABOUT THE $200, THE TAX CREDIT, AND THEY SAID THE TAX CREDIT FUNDS THIS, ALL OF A SUDDEN PEOPLE IN THE AUDIENCE TAKE THE CHECKBOOKS OUT.
BASICALLY WHEN THEY HEAR, IT'S, WHEN THEY HEAR A STUDENT TALK ABOUT HOW IMPORTANT IT'S TO THEM, AS OPPOSED TO HEARING ADULTS TALK ABOUT DEREK, I JUST COMMENT TO MY FELLOW COUNSELORS, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TALK, WE TALK ABOUT HOUSING.
HOUSING IS OBVIOUSLY IMPORTANT.
UM, I THINK WE NEED TO BE LOOKING AT WHAT CAN WE DO IN THE SHORT TERM TO HELP THE DISTRICT.
AND, YOU KNOW, GETTING THE WORD OUT IS GREAT AND PUBLICITY IS GREAT AND EVERYTHING, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, IT'S ALL ABOUT MONEY.
YOU KNOW, ARIZONA SCHOOL, PUBLIC FI, PUBLIC SCHOOL FINANCING IS HORRID.
SO I THINK WE NEED TO BE LOOKING AT WAYS THAT WE CAN, YOU KNOW, HELP THE DISTRICT, YOU KNOW, WITH PROGRAMS, WITH, YOU KNOW, TEACHERS WITH, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE WAY THE SCHOOL FUNDING IS DONE, THE CURRENT YEAR.
THEY'VE GOT THIS, THEY HAVE THIS, YOU KNOW, PERIOD OF TIME WHERE THEY'RE IN PANIC MODE BECAUSE THEY DON'T KNOW, YOU KNOW, WHAT THEIR FUNDING IS ACTUALLY GOING TO BE.
I THINK THE, THE CITY OUGHT TO BE, YOU KNOW, MAYBE BACKSTOP THAT OR BE IN A POSITION TO HELP.
I MEAN, I LOOK AT THE NUMBERS WE SPEND ON, YOU KNOW, SHARED USE PATHS.
WE HAD 3 MILLION ON, ON DANTE, 2.8 MILLION ON BREWER, YOU KNOW, $26 MILLION GARAGE, A $20 MILLION CULTURAL PARK.
YOU KNOW, I DON'T THINK ANY OF THESE THINGS ARE THINGS PEOPLE LOOK AT WHEN THEY THINK ABOUT MOVING TO SEDONA.
I MEAN, THEY LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE THE SCHOOLS LIKE? HOW ARE THE SCHOOLS? SO IF WE REALLY WANT TO BRING YOUNG PEOPLE TO THE CITY, WE NEED TO IMPROVE THE SCHOOLS AND MONEY IS THE WAY TO DO IT.
SO I DON'T KNOW, AND I DON'T, WE DON'T HAVE CURT HERE TO TALK ABOUT, DO WE? YEAH.
AND I, AND I, FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND, WE DON'T HAVE GIFT CLAUSE CONCERNS WHEN IT COMES TO SUPPORTING ANOTHER GOVERNMENTAL ENTITY, BUT I THINK WE NEED TO BE DOING IT.
AND IT DEPENDS ON EXACTLY WHAT IS PROPOSED.
BUT YES, THERE'S MORE LEEWAY THERE, UH, THAN WITH OTHER ENTITIES OR PERSONS.
BUT WE COULD HELP FUND AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAMS OR BEFORE SCHOOL PROGRAMS OR ATHLETICS OR, YOU KNOW, THEATER OR MUSIC OR, I MEAN, THERE ARE ANY NUMBER OF THINGS THAT I THINK WE NEED TO DO.
AND I THINK WE NEED TO PUT OUR MONEY WHERE OUR MOUTH IS AND DO IT.
CAN I, CAN I SAY SOMETHING? SURE.
I, I MOVED HERE IN 2006 FROM CONNECTICUT.
I'M A FORMER EDUCATOR, MIDDLE SCHOOL PRINCIPAL.
AND FUNDING THERE IS JUST SO DIFFERENT.
UM, WE HAD TO VOTE ON A BUDGET.
EVERYBODY'S TAX DOLLARS WENT INTO THE SCHOOL SYSTEM, COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND PEOPLE WHO DIDN'T HAVE KIDS.
AND SO THERE WAS AN INVESTMENT, BOTH EMOTIONAL AND FINANCIAL.
AND, UM, A FEW YEARS BACK, I WAS FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO BE COACHING RED ROCK HIGH SCHOOL SWIM TEAM.
UM, I COULDN'T GET PAID 'CAUSE I'M A BOARD MEMBER, BUT I WAS HORRIFIED THAT WE HAD TO PAY THE CITY TO RENT THE POOL FOR OUR TEAM, AND IT WAS REALLY OUR POOL, BUT THE CITY WAS, YOU KNOW, MANAGING IT AND RUNNING IT.
THERE'S A CONTRACT, I'M NOT SURE OF ALL OF THAT, BUT IT, IT, IT JUST KIND OF BLEW MY MIND, THAT MONEY FOR OUR KIDS.
WE WERE PAYING THE CITY TO RENT THE POOL TO SWIM.
AND SO THOSE ARE THE KINDS OF THINGS.
AND, AND THEY'RE SMALL, BUT THEY ADD UP IF, IF IT HAPPENS ON NUMEROUS DIFFERENT PLACES.
I, I JUST ALWAYS FELT LIKE THE CITY WAS SO SEPARATE FROM THE SCHOOL DISTRICT HERE.
AND THE FACT THAT WE'RE SITTING TALKING TODAY, THE FACT THAT YOU BRING THAT UP AND THAT WE'RE TRYING TO LOOK FOR WAYS NOW TO WORK TOGETHER FOR THE MUTUAL INTEREST OF OUR KIDS, THAT'S IMPORTANT.
THAT'S WHAT A COMMUNITY IS ALL ABOUT.
UM, AND I ALWAYS, WHEN I WAS A A PRINCIPAL AND AN EDUCATOR, I FELT LIKE SOMEDAY I'LL RUN FOR A SCHOOL BOARD.
[01:50:01]
UM, HERE YOU ARE.BUT IT TOOK ME TIME BECAUSE OF WHAT RANDY SAID.
NOW I'M GO, I'M IN MY EIGHTH YEAR AS A BOARD MEMBER.
I WOULDN'T RUN EIGHT YEARS AGO.
IT, IT WAS, IT WAS DEPLORABLE WHAT WAS GOING ON.
BUT WE HAVE WORKED REALLY HARD.
WE'VE HAD TWO REALLY GOOD SUPERINTENDENTS IN A ROW, AND TOM IS A GEM.
AND, AND WE'RE FORTUNATE TO HAVE HIM BECAUSE I KNOW WHAT THE, THE, UM, MARKET IS LIKE FOR SUPERINTENDENCY, NOT JUST IN ARIZONA, BUT NATIONWIDE.
AND SO WE HAVE A REALLY GOOD OPPORTUNITY HERE NOW BECAUSE YOU GUYS HAVE OPENED UP TO US TO BUILD SOMETHING AND GROW AND REALLY BECOME A TRUE COMMUNITY.
WHEN, WHEN MY HUSBAND AND I MOVED HERE, UM, I KNEW I STILL HAD TO WORK BECAUSE I RETIRED YOUNG AND I NEEDED HEALTH INSURANCE.
UM, SO I INTERVIEWED FOR A VARIETY OF JOBS, BUT I ALWAYS FELT LIKE I WANTED TO LIVE IN A COMMUNITY THAT WASN'T JUST A BUNCH OF, EXCUSE MY FRENCH OLD FARTS.
I'VE ALWAYS LOVED KIDS 31 YEARS IN EDUCATION AS A RESULT AND CONTINUED TO COACH EVEN AFTER RETIREMENT.
SO I THINK THIS IS A GREAT STEP.
I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU SAYING THAT.
UM, ANY WAY THAT WE CAN FIND HELP IN OUR FUNDING IS, IS GONNA BE TREMENDOUS.
AND, UM, I LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUED WORK TOGETHER.
I, I, I ALSO WANNA SAY REAL QUICK, UM, THAT ESPECIALLY RECENTLY, UM, YOU KNOW, I'VE ONLY BEEN HERE THREE YEARS, BUT, UM, I'VE, I'VE NOTICED IN THIS PAST YEAR, YEAR AND A HALF, ANYTIME THAT I HAVE TALKED WITH ANYBODY FROM THE CITY HAS BEEN, I MEAN, EV EVERY SINGLE TIME HAS BEEN VERY RESPONSIVE.
HAS, HAS, HAS REALLY LISTENED.
AND REALLY, I HAVE, I HAVE FELT THAT WE'VE WORKED TOGETHER ON SMALL PROJECTS OR WHATEVER.
IT, IT WAS NOT THIS, WE'RE THE CITY, WE'RE THE DISTRICT, IT WAS, WE'RE A COMMUNITY.
AND SO I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAS MM-HMM.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED BEFORE, UM, IF IT'S ALWAYS BEEN LIKE THAT.
BUT, BUT I, I, I WILL SAY THAT WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW, I THINK WE HAVE GOOD PEOPLE IN PLACE WITH THE, THE COMMON, UH, A COMMON VISION FOR A, A VERY HEALTHY, ROBUST COMMUNITY.
I JUST ADD, DEREK, THANK YOU FOR, FOR MAKING THAT.
OH, ACTUALLY YOU GOTTA TURN IT ON.
WE CAN TALK ABOUT, UM, I CAN TALK ABOUT IT.
BUT ANYWAY, UM, IT'S, UH, MAYBE WE OUGHT TO HAVE A COMMITTEE OF, FROM THE BOARD, FROM BOTH BOARDS WORKING TOGETHER AND TALKING ABOUT HOW CAN WE HELLO
AND, UM, WE COULD DO SOME WONDERFUL THINGS TOGETHER.
IT'S A SMALL GROUP AND UM, I THINK IT'S GONNA BE GREAT.
I, YOU KNOW, I I HATE TO, LET'S SEE, UH, NEWSPAPER HERE GOES BACK THERE.
UM, AS A, MY, MY WIFE'S A A FORMER SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT ALSO.
AND, UM, WE READ IN THE PAPER WHEN WE FIRST MOVED HERE, READ IN THE PAPER ABOUT SCHOOL BOARD, ABOUT TERRIBLE THINGS GOING ON IN THE DISTRICT AND YADA, YADA, YADA.
SO I SAID, YOU KNOW, I'M GONNA GO TO A SCHOOL BOARD MEETING.
SO I DID, AND I CAME HOME AND I, AND, AND MY, MY WIFE SAID, WELL, WAS IT AS BAD AS, AS THE PAPER SAYS? AND I SAID, NO, IT WAS WORSE
I MEAN, WE'VE GOT A REALLY GOOD, I'VE WORKED, I WAS IN EDUCATION FOR 42 YEARS AND I, THIS BOARD WORKS TOGETHER.
WE'RE CONCERNED ABOUT THE WELFARE OF THE COMMUNITY, ABOUT THE WELFARE OF OUR KIDS AND OUR DISTRICT.
AND WE'VE GOT A GOOD GROUP OF PEOPLE READY TO, TO STEP UP AND, AND MAKE THIS A GREAT PLACE TO WORK, GREAT PLACE TO LIVE, AND A GREAT PLACE TO GO TO SCHOOL.
SO LET'S GET SOME PEOPLE TOGETHER FROM BOTH, BOTH VENUES AND LET'S TALK ABOUT HOW WE CAN DO THAT.
YOU PUT ME ON ANOTHER COMMITTEE.
I WANT TO UH, I LIKE ALL SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS TO HAVE THEIR PAY DOUBLED.
SO CAN WE HAVE THESE MEETINGS MORE OFTEN THAN EVERY 3, 4, 5, 6 YEARS? IS THAT A COMMITMENT?
[01:55:01]
OH, FOR SURE.'CAUSE I THINK WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT THESE THINGS.
OKAY, LET, LET'S GO TO THE MORE FREQUENTLY.
LET'S GO TO THE PUBLIC AND THEN WE'LL COME BACK.
I HAVE LEAD A BOYD FOLLOWED BY HENRY SILBERG, FOLLOWED BY SEAN SMITH AND TIM PERRY.
I AM A, UH, RESIDENT OF SEDONA.
AND TONY, I KNOW THAT YOU HAVEN'T BEEN HERE THAT LONG, BUT I CAN TELL YOU IF WE TOOK THIS ROOM RIGHT NOW AND PUT IT IN A TIME CAPSULE AND SENT IT BACK TO 2003 WHEN I WAS HERE, IT WOULD BE EXACTLY THE SAME CONVERSATION THAT WE'RE HAVING TODAY.
UM, I MOVED HERE AND I REALIZED THAT IT WAS NOT AFFORDABLE TO LIVE IN SEDONA.
SO WHEN I CAME HERE AND STARTED MY BUSINESS, I ENDED UP MOVING TO COTTONWOOD, BOUGHT A HOME.
I DID HAVE PROPERTY HERE THAT I BUILT, UH, AND WE WERE WORKING ON BUILDING A HOME.
HOWEVER, I COMMUTED EVERY DAY FOR 10 YEARS WHILE I DID MY BUSINESS.
THE DEMOGRAPHICS HARDLY CHANGED, THE AMOUNT OF POPULATION HARDLY CHANGED.
AND I WAS ALSO INVOLVED IN PART OF THE GROUP THAT STARTED VERDE VALLEY REGIONAL ECONOMIC ORGANIZATION.
FROM THERE WE LAUNCHED THE VERDE VALLEY, UH, WINE CONSORTIUM.
AND I WILL TELL YOU THE PROBLEM THAT WE HAVE IS NOT ABOUT HAVING TO ADD MORE HOUSES OR HOW ARE WE GONNA GET AFFORDABLE HOUSING BECAUSE WE WERE HAVING THAT CONVERSATION 23 YEARS AGO AMONGST THE WHOLE VALLEY COTTONWOOD GROWS, CLARKDALE GROWS, CAMP VERDE'S GROWING.
AND THE REASON IS IS BECAUSE THEY HAVE THE LAND AND THEY HAVE THE COST OF LOWER COST OF HOUSING TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT.
SO WHAT I SEE US NOT DOING IN OUR COMMUNITY THAT I THOUGHT IS A PART THAT'S MISSED, THAT'S A KEY COMPONENT.
WE HAVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO BECOME MORE OF A ECONOMIC DIVERSIFIED COMMUNITY.
AND WHEN I USED TO SIT IN CONVERSATIONS AND BE PART OF THE GROUPS THAT WE WERE PART OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GROUP FOR THE VERDE VALLEY, WE WERE WORKING ON ALL KINDS OF OPPORTUNITIES AS HOW DO WE BRING IN MORE JOBS AND MORE BUSINESSES THAT ARE NOT TOURIST BASED.
SO IF WE CAN SOLVE THAT PROBLEM AND WE CAN START TO LOOK AT THAT PIECE, ALL OF THESE OTHER PIECES WILL START TO FALL INTO PLACE AND YOU WILL SEE A SHIFT.
BUT UNTIL WE CHANGE THAT THE DEMOGRAPHICS WON'T CHANGE AND THE PROBLEMS THAT WE'RE EXPERIENCING WON'T CHANGE.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I'D LIKE TO ENCOURAGE THE CITY TO START LOOKING AT.
IT'S NOT ABOUT JUST BUILDING HOUSES.
WE'VE GOTTA BUILD, WE'VE GOTTA BUILD DIFFERENT ECONOMIC DRIVERS HERE AND THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES TO DO THAT.
MY NAME IS HENRY SILVI AND I AM A RESIDENT OF SEDONA.
AND YOU'LL HEAR ABOUT ME MORE AS TIME GOES ON.
ANYWAY, I WAS LISTENING TO WHAT YOU SAID, TONY.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT CAUGHT ME WAS THE MEDIUM AGE OF THE PEOPLE OF SEDONA.
I THINK YOU SAID THEY'RE LIKE 64 YEARS OLD.
I JUST CHECKED
ALSO, YOU CAN'T COMPARE SEDONA TO THE STATE OF ARIZONA.
WE ARE THE DIAMOND OF ARIZONA.
DERRICK WAS PERFECT AND WHEN HE SAID TO THE SCHOOL PEOPLE, WHY DON'T WE HELP THEM BECAUSE WE WANT TO BUY A CULTURAL PARK FOR $20 MILLION AND NOT KNOW WHAT THE HECK TO DO WITH IT.
THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS WE'VE BEEN DOING WRONG THAT WILL WORK TO HELP THE CITY.
AND THEN THE OTHER THING HE SAID, TONY, WAS THAT UP HOUSING UNITS OUTPACE THE PEOPLE.
IS THAT CORRECT? THEN WHY DO WE NEED MORE HOUSING? IF WE'RE OUTPACING ME RIGHT NOW, WHY DON'T WE DO SOMETHING ELSE THAT'S GONNA HELP THE PEOPLE? WE KEEP CHASING HOUSING SO I'M NOT GONNA TAKE A LOT 'CAUSE I DON'T WANNA BEAT ON THIS.
I CAN GO ALL OVER THE PLACE, BUT I WILL FINISH WITH ONE STATEMENT AND THIS IS IT.
AND THIS WAS SENT BY A VERY GREAT MAN.
I'M A FIRM BELIEVER IN THE PEOPLE, IF GIVEN THE TRUTH, THEY CAN BE DEPENDENT UPON TO MEET ANY CREATED CRISIS.
THIS MAN SAID NATIONAL, BUT I'M GONNA USE CREATED BECAUSE THAT'S KIND OF WHAT'S A DONOR LIKES TO DO.
THE GREAT POINT IS, IS TO BRING THEM THE REAL FACTS WITH PUBLIC
[02:00:01]
SENTIMENT.NOTHING CAN FAIL, WITHOUT IT, NOTHING CAN SUCCEED.
AND I'LL NOW, AS ABRAHAM LINCOLN HAS SAID THAT, AND I'M GONNA FINISH WITH ONE OTHER THING LINCOLN SAID, AND I SAID IT TO YOU GUYS BEFORE, YOU CAN FOOL SOME OF THE PEOPLE SOME OF THE TIME, SOME OF THE PEOPLE ALL OF THE TIME.
BUT YOU CAN'T FOOL ALL THE PEOPLE ALL THE TIME.
AND WHAT YOU'VE BEEN DOING IS GIVING OUT INFORMATION THAT IS SLATED TO ONE AGENDA OR ANOTHER THAT YOU HAVE THAT DOESN'T REALLY GO TO THE CITY.
DOES ANYBODY REMEMBER THIS THAT CAME IN THE MAIL? WE DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE IT CAME FROM.
THEN WE GOT THIS, WHICH IS THE MOST CONVOLUTED SURVEY I'VE EVER READ.
I'M ONE OF THE RESIDENTS THAT TRIES TO READ EVERYTHING SADONA IS SAYING ABOUT HOUSING.
I HEAR AN IMPERFECT UNDERSTANDING ABOUT TWO THINGS ONLY, ONE OF WHICH WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
THE BENEFITS OF A DIVERSITY OF HOUSING TYPES AREN'T VALUED HERE BY WHAT I SENSE AS A LARGE GROUP FOR WHOM A SENSE OF PLACE IS THE ONLY PRIORITY FROM WHOM THERE IS ALMOST NO DIALOGUE ABOUT COMMUNITY.
IT'S ALL ABOUT STOP RUINING SEDONA BY MOVING FARTHER AWAY FROM WHAT IT WAS.
BUT THE WAY IT WAS INVOLVED, FAMILIES THAT IS NEVER TALKED ABOUT, IT'S ONLY EVER ABOUT A SENSE OF PLACE.
THE SENSE OF PLACE ONLY INVOLVES EACH PERSON'S PERCEPTION ABOUT THE NATURAL HABITAT.
WE KEEP IGNORING THE FACT THAT HUMANS ARE AN ASPECT OF THE HABITAT.
WE SEE THIS IN THE RETICENCE TO GRANT EXCEPTIONS TO THE HEIGHT LIMIT IN PLACES THAT DON'T AFFECT THE VIEW SHED.
FOR EXAMPLE, THE APARTMENTS ON SHELBY AND THE BCT PROJECT ON GOODROW.
HUMAN STRUCTURES ARE NOT CONSIDERED PARTS OF THE NATURAL HABITAT.
EVEN THOUGH HUMANS ARE TECHNICALLY ANIMALS, IT STILL REMAINS NEBULOUS THAT THE COMMUNITY BENEFITS ARE RELATED TO HAVING A PERCENTAGE OF WORKERS LIVE HERE.
WE'VE LOST THE FAMILIES, THEY'RE NOT COMING BACK.
THERE ISN'T A MULTI-GENERATIONAL STRATEGY BEING PRESENTED YET THAT GETS THE FAMILIES BACK.
WE NEED TO HARKEN TO THE EXPERIENCES OF THOSE WHO REMEMBER WHAT IT WAS LIKE HERE AND THEN TELL THEM THERE'S GOING TO BE AGING IN PLACE OPTIONS AT THE WESTERN GATEWAY, RIGHT NEXT TO A REC CENTER THEY CAN WALK TO WITH WRONGS OF KIDS AFTER SCHOOL THAT THEY GET TO BE AROUND AND INTERACT WITH AS THEY COME TO TAKE A CLASS OR JUST HANG OUT.
IN ADDITION TO BEING, GETTING YOUNGER DOCTORS AND AT, UH, GETTING YOUNGER DOCTORS AND ATTAINABLE PRODUCT.
AFTER WE GET FIBER OPTIC HERE, WE CAN HAVE VIBRANT BUSINESS COMMUNITY OF PEOPLE COMING UP, THE INCOME PLANNER THAT CAN LIVE AND INVEST HERE IN BUSINESSES THAT ARE ACCRETIVE TO THE COMMUNITY.
LET'S BE THE SILICON DESERT AT AN APPROPRIATE SCALE.
THAT'S PROBABLY THE IMPORTANT PART, AND OPEN UP OPPORTUNITIES FOR AWESOME INTERNSHIPS.
THE SECOND ISSUE WE HAVEN'T TALKED ABOUT IS OUR REGIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES.
WE CAN, WE NEED TO COMMUNICATE WHY IT IS THAT WE DON'T BURDEN OTHER TOWNS TO BUILD HOUSES FOR OUR WORKERS.
IF WE TAKE AN ECONOMIC HIT HERE, WE CAN HAVE A LARGER ADVERSE EFFECT ON THE HOUSING VALUES AND BUDGETS OF OUR OTHER OF NEARBY TOWNS.
SO BY NOT HAVING AT LEAST THE NATIONAL AVERAGE OF MULTIFAMILY HOUSING, WE ARE NOT ONLY DIMINISHING OUR COMMUNITY, WE'RE ADDING RISKS TO NEIGHBORING TOWNS.
IN SOME STATES, ALL TOWNS ARE EXPECTED TO ACCEPT GROWTH UNDER SUCH LEGISLATIVE REGIMES.
WE WOULD PROBABLY GET A PASS ON SOME AMOUNT OF GROWTH BECAUSE WE ARE LANDLOCKED AND HAVE EVACUATION RISKS TO TO, TO BUILDING OUT TO THE MAX.
BUT WE SHOULD STRIVE FOR THAT PSYCHE THAT WE NEED TO CAP THE FORCES OF CAPITALISM THAT ARE RESULTING IN HAVE TOWNS AND HAVE NOT TOWNS.
MY NAME IS TIM PERRY AND I LIVE IN SEDONA.
I WANT TO THANK OUR COUNSELORS FOR ONCE AGAIN PROVIDING US WITH AN EXCELLENT ILLUSTRATION OF THEIR MORAL BANKRUPTCY BY FRAMING THIS EVENING'S DISCUSSION OF HOUSING ISSUES THROUGH THE LENS OF HOW CAN WE CREATE MORE VICTIMS FOR THE STATE INDOCTRINATION SYSTEM.
THIS INDOCTRINATION SYSTEM OF WHICH YOU ALL SEEM TO BE SO ENAMORED DOES THREE THINGS IN REALITY.
ONE, IN INDOCTRINATES KIDS IN BOOT LOOKING DE DEFERENCE TO AUTHORITY FIGURES.
TWO, IT TEACHES NATIONALISM, CIVIL RELIGION AND WORSHIP OF THE GOVERNMENT.
AND THREE, IT INDOCTRINATES KIDS IN A VERY SMALL MODICUM OF TECHNICAL SKILLS TO FIT THEM FOR LATER CAREERS AS WAGE SLAVES IN THE URBAN INDUSTRIAL ECONOMY.
BY ANY RATIONAL DEFINITION, THIS IS CHILD ABUSE.
THIS X TWINK WITH A REAL TORE TAPE RECORDER ON INFINITE LOOP IN PLACE OF A BRAIN IS SEDONAS VERSION OF JEFFREY EPSTEIN.
[02:05:01]
AND YOU COUNSELORS ARE HIS ACCOMPLICES AND BETTERS.YOU WANT TO REWORK THE INFRASTRUCTURE OF THIS TOWN TO BETTER INDOCTRINATE KIDS.
SOME OF THE REST OF US HAVE A DIFFERENT VISION FOR THIS TOWN IN THE FUTURE.
ONE IN WHICH THE PSYCHOPATHIC ORGANIZATION CALLED THE SCHOOL DISTRICT HAS COLLAPSED UNDER THE SHEER WEIGHT OF ITS OWN INEPTITUDE.
BUT THERE WILL STILL BE KIDS HERE.
SO NEW SCHOOLS WILL SPRING UP TO SERVE THEM.
SMALL, PRIVATE ALTERNATIVE SCHOOLS, NATURE SCHOOLS AND ART SCHOOLS, SCIENCE SCHOOLS AND BUSINESS SCHOOLS, RELIGIOUS SCHOOLS AND HUMANIST SCHOOLS.
TRUE DIVERSITY OF EDUCATION THAT WILL PRODUCE GENUINE DIVERSITY OF THOUGHT AMONG THE FUTURE OF THE HUMAN SPECIES.
AND ONCE THESE KIND OF SCHOOLS EXIST IN SEDONA, PARENTS WILL MOVE HERE TO SEND THEIR KIDS TO THEM BECAUSE THEY WANT THEIR KIDS TO HAVE A GOOD EDUCATION.
AND THESE SCHOOLS, NOT THE SCHOOL DISTRICT WILL PROVIDE IT.
AND ONCE THOSE PARENTS COME HERE, THEY WILL, AS PARENTS ALWAYS HAVE BEEN, BE FULLY CAPABLE OF BUILDING WITH THEIR OWN HANDS HOUSES FOR THEM AND THEIR CHILDREN WITH THEIR CHILDREN'S HELP.
AS SOME OF US HAVE IN FACT EXPERIENCED, NO GOVERNMENT INTERFERENCE IS REQUIRED OR DESIRABLE.
IN FACT, THAT'S THE OPPOSITE OF THE CURRENT TREND, WHICH IS PARENTS SYSTEMICALLY MOVING THEIR CHILDREN OUTTA THESE INDOCTRINATION SYSTEMS BECAUSE THEY RECOGNIZE THE DANGERS OF SUBJECTING THEM TO FEDERAL CONTROL AND STATE CONTROL AND LOCAL CONTROL.
THE FUTURE OF SEDONA WILL HOPEFULLY LOOK VERY DIFFERENT.
IT'LL HAVE FAMILIES, IT'LL HAVE KIDS, AND IT WILL NOT HAVE THE SCHOOL DISTRICT.
AND YET THESE COUNSELORS WANT TO KEEP THIS SYSTEM OF INDOCTRINATION GOING.
OKAY, LET'S CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION ABOUT IT'S TOO LATE.
AND I'M GONNA HAVE TO, UH, MY NAME IS JEAN BARTON AND I AM A RESIDENT OF SEDONA.
I'M ALSO RE A RETIRED PEDIATRICIAN AND EDUCATOR.
I ALSO VOLUNTEER AT THE SCHOOL ONE-ON-ONE WITH ONE OF THE KINDERGARTEN TEACHERS TO HELP KIDS.
I ALSO AM AT THE AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAM TWO TO THREE TIMES A WEEK.
AND, UM, THE OTHER THING I WOULD LIKE TO TELL YOU IS THAT AS A PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN, WHENEVER WE MOVED ANYWHERE, AND MY DAUGHTER'S ALSO A NURSE, THE FIRST THING THEY LOOKED AT IS THE QUALITY OF THE SCHOOLS.
AND WE LOOKED AT THE QUALITY OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS, PARTLY BECAUSE I DIDN'T MAKE A WHOLE LOT OF MONEY.
PRIMARY CARE DOCTORS DON'T MAKE A WHOLE LOT OF MONEY.
THE SPECIALTY PEOPLE TEND TO MAKE MORE.
UH, WHEN YOU SAID TOURISM DRIVES US, THAT'S TRUE.
BUT YOU KNOW, HEALTHCARE IS A HUGE NEED IN SEDONA AND THE VERDE VALLEY DUE TO THE AGE OF OUR PEOPLE.
AND I ALSO SIT ON THE ADVISORY BOARD FOR THE NAH UH, CEO.
UM, AND ONE OF THE REASONS THAT THEY HAVE TROUBLE BRINGING PEOPLE HERE IS PARTLY THE THEY HAVE TO HAVE GREAT SCHOOLS TO GET A DOCTOR OR NURSE TO MOVE HERE.
THEY HAVE TO BE ABLE TO AFFORD TO MOVE HERE IF THEY HAVE KIDS AND THEY'RE WORKING.
AND I COULD NOT HAVE WORKED WITHOUT AN AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAM.
MY SUPPORT STAFF IN THE CLINIC COULD NOT, AND THEIR KIDS WERE LATCHKEY KIDS.
NOW, LATCHKEY KIDS MAY WORK WHEN THE KIDS ARE OLDER, BUT WHEN THEY'RE K FIVE, IT DOES NOT.
THE OTHER THING I'VE WATCHED IS THE TREND IN THE SCHOOL IN THE SINCE 2020.
FIRST THING THEY DID IS THEY FINALLY, THEY CHANGED THE CURRICULUM TO THE SCIENCE OF READING, AND THE READING SCORES HAVE GONE UP DRASTICALLY.
THE SECOND THING THAT HAS HAPPENED IS THAT THE PAST PRINCIPAL OF WEST SEDONA SCHOOL BROUGHT VOLUNTEERS INTO THE CLASSROOM, ONE-ON-ONE TO WORK WITH THE TEACHERS.
AND EVERY WEEK I WORK WITH THE KIDS THAT ARE STRUGGLING WITH READING TO HELP THEM BRING THEM UP TO SPEED.
THE UM, THE OTHER THING THAT HAPPENED IN THE AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAM BETWEEN LAST YEAR AND THIS YEAR IS THE PARENTS AND SIGNED A CONTRACT THAT THERE WILL BE NO CELL PHONES AND SCREENS IN THE AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAM.
AND THEY WERE HAPPY ABOUT IT, THE TEACHERS WERE HAPPY ABOUT IT.
[02:10:01]
KIDS TO ADAPTTHE OTHER STORY I WANNA TELL YOU IS OUR ROTARY CLUB DID FUND A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR THE AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAM.
AND THANK YOU FOR THE CITY FOR HELPING WITH THAT.
UM, THE ARIZONA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ALSO HELPED.
OKAY, LET'S BRING IT BACK TO OUR RESPECTIVE ORGAN, OUR ORGANIZATIONS.
YEAH, I'VE GOT A MEDIC MEDICAL ISSUES THAT, UH, IN MY FAMILY AND I'VE, I'M GONNA HAVE TO LEAVE, BUT SORRY.
IT WAS VERY, VERY GOOD MEETING.
SO, UM, THE, THE GENESIS OF TODAY STARTED NOT QUITE A YEAR AGO.
AND, UH, WE WERE LOOKING AT, UM, PLANS FOR THE WESTERN GATEWAY PROPERTY OR CULTURAL PARK, DEPENDING ON HOW YOU WANNA REFER TO IT.
AND, UH, FOR ME THERE WERE, THERE WERE TWO ISSUES THAT I HAD.
ONE WAS, WE'RE RUNNING AROUND TALKING ABOUT BUILDING HOUSING AND SAYING THAT ANYTHING THAT GETS BUILT IS GOOD.
AND FOR ME, I WAS LIKE, WELL, WAIT A SECOND.
UM, THERE NEEDS TO BE SOME STRATEGY BEHIND THIS BECAUSE TO ME, IF WE'RE GONNA BE FOCUSING IT ALL ON BUILDING HOUSING, IT NEEDS TO INCLUDE GETTING MORE BUTTS IN SEATS IN THE SCHOOLS.
AND, YOU KNOW, I JUST KEEP SAYING THAT OVER AND OVER AGAIN, BUTTS IN SEATS IN SCHOOLS, RIGHT? WE GOTTA GET THAT IN ORDER TO SUSTAIN THE, UH, THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, THE CHARTER SCHOOL, AND ANY OF THE OTHER PRIVATE OPTIONS THAT, UH, EXIST IN THE COMMUNITY.
BECAUSE WHEN THE DAY IS DONE, IT IS ABOUT GETTING KIDS PLAYING, UH, IN DRIVEWAYS, SHOOTING HOOPS.
YOU KNOW, MY KIDS ARE ALL GROWN UP, BUT I MISS HEARING THE SOUND OF A BASKETBALL.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, FOR ME, GETTING, UM, IN TODAY'S JUST THE FIRST PIECE ON THIS BALANCED HOUSING STRATEGY.
BUT TONY, I THINK YOU HIT IT ABSOLUTELY ON THE, ON THE HEAD.
UM, THANK YOU TO YOU AND STAFF FOR WORKING ON THIS PRESENTATION.
THE SENSITIVITY THAT I THINK YOU'VE BROUGHT TO IT ABOUT THE REASONABLENESS OF THESE NUMBERS AND THE FACT THAT THEY ARE NOT INTENDED TO OVERWHELM A SENSE OF PLACE AND COMMUNITY THAT EXISTS, BUT TO ACTUALLY BUILD AND FOR FURTHER FOSTER IT BY, UH, HOPEFULLY GETTING A NUMBER OF CHILDREN BACK INTO, UH, THE SCHOOLS HERE.
UM, I LOOK FORWARD GREATLY TO THE NEXT INSTALLMENT WHERE YOU'RE GONNA BE SHARING WITH US, UH, OKAY, IF THAT INCREMENTAL 550 IS THE NUMBER THAT WE ALL FEEL GOOD ABOUT ON COUNCIL, THEN WHERE MIGHT WE FIND THAT? AND HOW DOES THAT IN FACT INFORM US ABOUT WHAT IS A PRACTICAL NUMBER TO LOOK AT FOR THE, UH, CULTURAL PARK PROPERTY.
SO AGAIN, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.
AT THE SAME TIME, I WANTED TO SEE, UH, US SIT TOGETHER WITH ALL OF YOU AT THE SCHOOL BOARD, BECAUSE IN MY THREE YEARS OR SO AT THE TIME, YOU KNOW, WE'D NEVER EVEN TALKED ABOUT MEETING WITH YOU ALL.
UH, WE'VE STARTED, OR WE NOT CONTINUED NECESSARILY, BUT WE'VE HAD A FEW MEETINGS WITH THE FIRE DISTRICT AND IT WAS REALLY FRUITFUL.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, SAM, TO YOUR POINT, I THINK, YEAH, WE, WE SHOULD BE DOING THIS, UH, MORE FREQUENTLY AND TO RANDY'S COMMENT ABOUT, GEE, WHY DON'T WE GET, UM, A SUBCOMMITTEE FROM COUNCIL AND SCHOOL BOARD TO WORK ON, YOU KNOW, WAYS IN WHICH, UH, COLLABORATION CAN OCCUR.
I WOULD ASK THAT IT INCLUDE THE CHARTER SCHOOL AND IF YOU ALL FEEL LED THAT IT WOULD INCLUDE ANY OTHER OF THE SIZABLE, UH, PRIVATE SCHOOLS PERHAPS, BUT AT LEAST THAT ALL THE COMMUNITY, UH, PUBLIC SCHOOLS SHOULD BE A PART OF.
YOU KNOW, THOSE KINDS OF DISCUSSIONS AROUND HOW CAN THE CITY HELP.
UH, BECAUSE WHAT HELPS, YOU KNOW, CHILDREN AT ANY OF THOSE SCHOOLS IS GOOD FOR THE GREATER COMMUNITY.
UM, SO AGAIN, YOU KNOW, TOM, THANK YOU FOR YOUR THOUGHTFUL COMMENTS AND YOUR PRESENTATION.
AGAIN, SCHOOL BOARD, PLEASE, UH, ACCEPT MY THANKS FOR BEING HERE TODAY, AND I HOPE WE GET TO DO THIS AGAIN, UH, IN THE NOT TOO DISTANT FUTURE.
BUT FOR ME, THIS HAS BEEN A GREAT, UH, MEETING TODAY AND, UH, REALLY, UH, CHECKED ALL THE BOXES THAT I WAS HOPING FOR THAT WE WOULD, UM, ACCOMPLISH TODAY.
TOM, CAN YOU GO BACK TO THAT SLIDE THAT YOU HAD RELATIVELY IN THE BEGINNING WHERE YOU TALKED ABOUT FUNDING FORMULAS? I'LL, I'LL TELL YOU WHEN IT, IT WAS SO RIVETING.
[02:15:01]
IT HAD A NUMBER OF FIVE.SO I WANTED US TO LOOK AT THIS NUMBER.
THIS IS 5,000,100 TH OH, IT'S $5,113 PER STUDENT.
SO THAT'S WHAT, IF YOU MULTIPLY THAT BY 649, WHAT, WHAT DO WE GET? FOUR? YEAH.
WELL, OUR OVERALL, OUR, OUR YEARLY BUDGET IS ROUGHLY $6.5 MILLION PER YEAR.
AND THAT HAS TO DO WITH MAINTENANCE AND OPERATION, UM, AND OUR CAPITAL NEEDS.
SO IT INCLUDES THE OVERRIDE DOLLARS? YES.
IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING? OKAY.
BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT TO BASELINE WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, A SCHOOL DISTRICT WITH A BUDGET THAT'S LESS THAN WE SPEND MAYBE ON ONE PROJECT HERE.
YOU SEE THE MONEY THAT GOES TO SPORTS AND ALL KINDS OF THINGS.
YOU KNOW, IF WE, IF WE HAD UNLIMITED FUNDING, WE COULD DO A LOT.
AND, AND I'VE BEEN A FRUSTRATED EDUCATOR MY ENTIRE LIFE BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE WE HAVE NOT CHANGED AS AN INSTITUTION VERY MUCH.
UM, GENTLEMEN TALKED ABOUT INDOCTRINATION.
UH, I NEVER KNEW WHAT MY TEACHERS THOUGHT.
THEY TAUGHT US TO THINK CRITICALLY, HAVE DISCUSSIONS.
THERE'S SO MUCH MORE THAT THE EDUCATIONAL WORLD CAN DO, BUT WE ARE CONSTRAINED ALWAYS BY FINANCES, AND IT IS VERY FRUSTRATING.
SO TO HAVE SOMEONE OFFER TO HELP PAY FOR THINGS, IT IT CAN OPEN DOORS FOR KIDS THAT MAY NOT GET OPENED OTHERWISE BECAUSE IT TAKES SOME OF THAT BURDEN OFF.
UM, AND SO TO KEEP TALKING ABOUT THIS WOULD BE REALLY WONDERFUL BECAUSE THERE ARE INFINITE POSSIBILITIES TO DO BETTER FOR KIDS.
AND THAT'S WHAT WE WORK REALLY HARD EVERY MONTH AS A BOARD.
AND AT, AND I KNOW TOM WORKS AND DILIGENTLY EVERY MINUTE TRYING TO PROVIDE OUR KIDS WITH THE BEST EXPERIENCES TO PREPARE THEM FOR LIFE.
BUT THERE'S SO MUCH MORE THAT WE COULD DO IF WE HAD THE RESOURCES.
YOU LOOK AT THE STATE LEGISLATURE AND, YOU KNOW, AND IT'S THE I A MINDSET THAT SAYS, PUTTING MONEY TO SCHOOLS AS AN EXPENSE, NOT AN INVESTMENT.
SO IT'S THIS IDEA THAT WE NEED TO SWITCH OUR MINDSET TO, YOU KNOW, SPENDING MONEY ON FIXING A POTHOLE.
WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO FIX A POTHOLE AGAIN, THAT'S A DIFFERENT, BUT SPENDING MONEY ON DEVELOPING THE HUMAN POTENTIAL OF PEOPLE, THE SCHOOLS IS, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO STOP THINKING ABOUT THAT AS ON THE IN DEBIT SIDE OF YOUR LEDGER.
YOU KNOW THAT EVERY DOLLAR YOU SPEND HERE IS GONNA COME BACK MANY DOLLARS, MAYBE NOT DIRECTLY TO THIS AREA, BUT TO, TO SOCIETY AS A WHOLE.
AND THAT'S WHY WE, WE FIGHT WITH THE LEGISLATURE EVERY YEAR ABOUT THAT FIVE, YOU KNOW, $5,000 FIGURE BECAUSE THEY FEEL A LOT OF PEOPLE DOWN THERE, FIELD SPENDING MONEY.
EDUCATION IS AN INVEST, IS AN EXPENSE.
BUT EVEN THE HIGHEST PAID TEACHERS AND THE HIGHEST PAID SCHOOL DISTRICTS ACROSS THE COUNTRY, IT'S STILL NOT ENOUGH.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE COMPARING APPLES TO ORANGES, BUT NOWHERE IS IT ENOUGH HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT TO NEW YORK, 52,000.
WE CAN'T, HOW IS THAT NOT, WE CAN'T TAKE COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE.
UH, WE DO HAVE ONE, UH, COUNSELOR WHO IS JOINING US VIRTUALLY, AND HE WOULD LIKE TO SAY SOMETHING.
I APPRECIATE EVERYONE BEING HERE IN THIS DISCUSSION TODAY.
IT'S VERY CLEAR TO ME THAT WE JOINTLY SHARE THE CHALLENGE OF REBUILDING AND MAINTAINING SEDONA AS A THRIVING COMMUNITY FOR PEOPLE LIVING HERE FULL TIME WITH THEIR FAMILIES.
AND I THINK WE BOTH THESE BOARDS, UH, TALK ABOUT WANTING TO DO THIS.
AND, UM, TOM, I REALLY LOVE THE, THE VISION THAT YOU PUT OUT ABOUT BEING A PREMIER SCHOOL DISTRICT IN THE STATE.
AND, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE, IF WE BUILD IT, THEY WILL COME.
AND I, I, I BELIEVE THAT REALLY COULD BE TRUE.
AND, BUT HOUSING IS GONNA PLAY A BIG ROLE IN THAT OF COURSE.
AND THAT'S THE FOUNDATIONAL ELEMENT OF, OF WHY WE'RE HERE TALKING.
I SHARE COUNCIL OR VICE MAYOR FO'S, UH, UH, ENTHUSIASM ABOUT TAKING
[02:20:01]
ON THE FIVE 50 SORT OF UNPLANNED AS YET UNITS AND FIGURING OUT WHERE WE CAN, WE CAN PUT 'EM.AND, UH, I SHARE A SENSE OF, UM, URGENCY ABOUT THAT BECAUSE I THINK WITH THE CURRENT TRAJECTORY, UM, OF A DECLINING PERHAPS POPULATION IN SCHOOL, UH, ENROLLMENT, THAT IF WE DON'T GET THAT MOVING SOON, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA LOSE THIS OPPORTUNITY.
SO, UM, I ALSO, UH, WANT TO, UH, UH, SUPPORT, UH, COUNCIL, UH, UH, DEREK'S, UH, IDEA OF FINDING THE ADDITIONAL WAYS FOR THE CITY TO, TO HELP.
AND THAT'S WHAT SOME OF THE CONVERSATION HAS BEEN HERE.
SO, YOU KNOW, THE IDEA OF THE STUDENT PRESENTATIONS TO COUNCIL, IT KIND OF THAT MARKETING ROLE OF WHAT ARE THE GOOD THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON AND WHAT ARE THE STUDENTS ENTHUSED ABOUT? I LOVE THAT IDEA.
UH, I'M NOT AFRAID TO TAKE ON A CONVERSATION ABOUT POOL FEES, UM, FOR SCHOOL USES.
UH, AND I LOVE THE IDEA OF THE, A COMMITTEE PERHAPS OF BOTH BOARDS AND MORE FREQUENT JOINT MEETINGS BETWEEN ALL OF US TO SORT OF WORK ON THESE ISSUES.
WE'RE, WE'RE BOTH HEAVILY INVESTED IN, IN, IN THIS OUTCOME OF SEEING MORE FAMILIES.
I LOVED WHOEVER SAID THAT WAS, YOU KNOW, THAT WAS THE PAST OF SEDONA.
WE'RE TRYING TO RETURN TO THE PAST IN ONE WAY, BUT, YOU KNOW, GIVEN THE DYNAMICS OF THE HOUSING MARKET AND THE PRICES AND SHORT TERM RENTALS, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO BUILD SOME, AND WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO THINK ABOUT SMALLER SQUARE FOOT TO A, UH, APPEAL TO THOSE, UH, ENTRY LEVEL TEACHERS YOU TALKED ABOUT AND, AND MAYBE FIGURE OUT A WAY TO GET THOSE MID-CAREER TEACHERS TO BE ABLE TO BE HERE THAT YOU'RE HAVING SO MUCH TROUBLE FINDING.
SO I WANNA, AGAIN, THANK EVERYONE FOR THEIR THOUGHTS AND TIME AND IDEA AND I, I LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING THE CONVERSATION.
I, I WOULD LIKE TO ASK FOR VOLUNTEERS.
AND WHAT ABOUT ON YOUR SIDE? OKAY, LAUREN AND APRIL, WILL YOU, WE HAVE ISSUES ABOUT QUORUM.
SO WE CAN'T HAVE MEETINGS BETWEEN THE TWO, RIGHT? ONLY TWO BOARD MEMBERS.
SO YOU HAVE TO FIGURE OUT WHO ARE YOUR TWO
BECAUSE IF WE DON'T ESTABLISH THAT TODAY, THEN WE'LL BE WAITING MONTHS AND WE START, UH, SERIOUS BUDGET DISCUSSIONS IN A FEW WEEKS.
SO IT WOULD BE REALLY GOOD IF YOU COULD HAVE YOUR FIRST MEETING.
BRIAN, DO YOU WANNA ORGANIZE THAT? OKAY.
UH, WHILE WE STILL HAVE OPPORTUNITIES IN, UH, FOR FY 27, I, I WOULD, I WOULD, I MEAN, I DON'T SPEAK FOR THE BOARD, UM, BUT I WOULD SAY THAT THIS IS A PRIORITY ITEM MM-HMM
SO WE, YOU KNOW, WE'LL CLEAR OUR, CAN CALENDAR THE BEST OF OUR ABILITY TO, TO MOVE THIS FORWARD.
SO IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE IN CLOSING? I, I'M, I WAS SO EXCITED THAT WE WERE GONNA HAVE THIS MEETING AND NOW I THINK IT WAS SO WORTHWHILE TO DO.
AND, UH, I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU COMING HERE AND WE'D BE HAPPY TO COME TO YOUR PLACE NEXT
UH, BUT, BUT IN CLOSING, I, I WANNA SAY THAT I, I'M A MEMBER OF THE ROTARY CLUB THAT FUNDED THE, AFTER THE BEFORE AND AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAMS, BUT WE ALSO FUND SCHOLARSHIPS FOR THE STUDENTS.
AND I'VE BEEN DOING THAT FOR, UH, 10 YEARS.
AND I HAVE TO SAY THAT ONE OF THE THINGS IN OUR APPLICATION FOR THE SCHOLARSHIP IS AN ESSAY.
AND IT BREAKS MY HEART TO READ THESE ESSAYS, REALLY, BECAUSE THEY'RE SO AUTHENTIC AND THE KIDS ARE SO REAL.
AND IT'S LIKE THEY'RE WRITING AN ESSAY TO SOME UNKNOWN ENTITY, BUT IT REALLY COMES THROUGH.
AND THEN WE DOWN SELECT CERTAIN KIDS TO INTERVIEW.
'CAUSE THERE'S MORE APPLICATIONS THAN WE HAVE FUNDS FOR.
AND, UH, AND FOR THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS, PEOPLE, THOSE OF US WHO WERE ON THE COMMITTEE ACTUALLY WRITE CHECKS TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF, UH, SCHOLARSHIPS THAT WE CAN GIVE BECAUSE WE CAN'T DECIDE AMONGST THE KIDS.
AND WHAT I FEEL ABOUT THESE KIDS IS THAT WHAT, OR THE, THE, ACTUALLY IT'S NOT MY FEELING, IT'S THE FACTS.
THEY ARE IN SCHOOL, THEY DO COMMUNITY SERVICE, THEY HAVE JOBS.
A LOT OF THESE KIDS, AND THEY'RE 15, 16, 17,
[02:25:01]
BECAUSE WE ALSO HAVE A CAMP THAT WE SEND KIDS TO.SO WE INTERVIEW THE KIDS FOR THAT AS WELL.
IT, UH, AND THEY HAVE TOUGH LIVES THAT THEY, THEY DON'T HAVE EASY LIVES.
MOST OF THEM THAT WE SEE, YOU KNOW, OCCASIONALLY THEY DO, BUT MOST OF THESE KIDS, THEY WORK REALLY HARD TO SURVIVE.
AND THEIR FAMILIES AND THEIR JOBS HELP PAY THE BILLS FOR THEIR FAMILIES.
THIS IS NOT FOR THEM TO TAKE A VACATION OR TO, YOU KNOW, TO, TO DO OTHER THINGS.
SO, UH, I THINK WE, THESE ARE THE, THE KIDS THAT I WANT TO OUR FUTURE TO RELY ON AND WE ARE GONNA RELY ON THEM.
BUT THEY ARE, YOU'RE RIGHT, KAREN.
WE NEED TO INVEST IN THEM BECAUSE THEY DESERVE IT.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER COMMENTS? JUST THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THANK YOU HAVING THIS.
UH, DO YOU WANT ME TO GO OVER THOSE BUDGET ITEMS AGAIN?
[3.b. Discussion/possible action regarding ideas for future meetings/agenda items. ]
OUR NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS DISCUSS POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING IDEAS FOR FUTURE MEETING, AGENDA ITEMS, ANYTHING FROM, OKAY.[5. ADJOURNMENT ]
YOU, I'M GONNA ADJOURN THE MEETING FOR THE SEDONA CITY COUNCIL, AND I WOULD ASK YOU TO ADJOURN THE MEETING FOR THE SCHOOL BOARD.SO WITHOUT FURTHER DISCUSSION, MEETING IS ADJOURNED FOR THE CITY COUNCIL.
CAN I HAVE A MOTION TO ADJOURN THE SCHOOL BOARD MEETING? SOME MOVE.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? ALL THOSE OPPOSED.