Fountain Hills school board approves third-party review and places superintendent on home reassignment

The Fountain Hills Unified School board voted to seek a third-party evaluation of Superintendent Glass and to place her on home reassignment effective immediately, board members said at a meeting.

Board Member (Speaker 1) introduced the item, saying the board would "utilize the district's existing contract with the Arizona School Risk Retention Trust to have a third party evaluation of the superintendent conducted." He told colleagues the purpose was to "ensure statements provided to the board by community members, parents, and staff, including the superintendent, are thoroughly reviewed in a standard systematic way to obtain all facts."

Speaker 2, another board member, backed the request for an outside review, saying the board had "received a lot of information from the superintendent which we have taken, as fact and and now we've received a lot of, contradicting information," and that an outside evaluator would help determine the truth.

After discussion, Speaker 1 moved that the board approve seeking a third party for assistance in evaluating the superintendent. The motion was seconded and approved by voice vote.

On a separate but related action, the board considered and approved a recommendation to reassign Superintendent Glass to home status. Board members discussed when the reassignment should take effect and what duties, if any, the superintendent should continue to perform while reassigned. Speaker 2 said some tasks that can be handled independently, such as grant- and financial-related work, "should continue" if possible; Speaker 1 expressed concern about remote access to district files and recommended those assignments be routed to other district staff.

Board Member (Speaker 3) said the planned third-party review will include interviews and emphasized the need to address interim leadership before assigning further duties to the superintendent.

Speaker 1 recommended that the board "approve reassignment to home of Superintendent Glass effective immediately," noting that Superintendent Glass had already planned time off that afternoon and had left district devices at the office pending the meeting outcome. The motion to approve reassignment was seconded and approved by voice vote; the board recorded that duties and specific contact protocols would be determined at a future court date.

The board also noted upcoming meetings on Wednesday, January 26, and Wednesday, February 9, and said a special meeting would likely be scheduled next week to continue the discussion and consider an interim superintendent. The meeting was then adjourned.