CFSD board takes first reading to require 12 collaborative inquiry team meetings for performance awards

The Catalina Foothills Unified School District governing board held a first reading May 13 on a proposed revision to the district’s performance award plan that would require staff participation in a minimum of 12 Collaborative Inquiry Team (CIT) meetings annually to qualify for performance awards funded from the classroom site fund.

Associate Superintendent Mindy Westover presented the recommended change, saying the 2025–26 school year will be the fourth year of CIT implementation and the district is reintroducing a defined participation expectation that mirrors the prior data teams model. “We recommend specifying a minimum participation threshold of 12 meetings annually,” Westover said, noting the change reinstates a prior standard and aims to provide consistency across sites.

Board members pressed for clarifications. Westover and other administrators said sites currently offer between 10 and 16 meetings, that some schools have procedures for staff to make up missed meetings, and that meetings generally occur during early-release or late-start work periods (not during student contact hours). Several trustees asked staff to include clearer minimum site expectations or make-up options in the second reading so that an employee who has a legitimate absence (for example illness) will have a documented, consistent way to remain eligible for the award.

The revision was presented as a first reading; board members did not vote and asked staff to return with clarified language and implementation guidance at the second reading, scheduled to return to the board in two weeks.