Teachers tell Fountain Hills board staffing, training and PBIS problems are straining classrooms

Teachers, a union representative and parents used the board’s public‑comment and work‑study period to press the Fountain Hills Unified School District for clearer policies, more training and immediate steps to address staff shortages.

FHEA representative Buckley told the board that teachers are “riding our current staff really, I think to a breaking point,” describing large special‑education caseloads, frequent substitutions and inconsistent expectations for classroom duties. Teachers said professional development has been insufficient for tools such as PLP and PBIS, leaving staff to implement programs without consistent training.

Why it matters: District leaders said the issues affect daily instruction, attendance and student supervision at all three campuses. Teachers and board members agreed that better scheduling, clearer calendars for registration and extra support for special education and substitute coverage would reduce pressure on classroom staff.

What teachers told the board: Several classroom teachers and a high‑school counselor detailed concrete problems: teachers taking on administrative duties during the day, paras covering classes without certification or training, instances of students wandering halls and repeated bathroom vandalism, and an unclear flow of PBIS paperwork that discourages consistent reporting. One teacher said substitute shortages have left some classrooms unattended, and multiple speakers said the district’s contact tracing and COVID protocols had been confusing at times.

Department of Education grant tied to PBIS came up repeatedly. Board members asked staff to check how much federal or state funding remains tied to PBIS implementation and whether grant obligations require specific data collection or visits.

District response and next steps: Dr. Sweeney and other administrators acknowledged gaps, said the district is coordinating with the PBIS team and that ADE visits were being scheduled, and pledged to follow up with principals and to assemble clear, shared expectations and training calendars. The board asked teachers to share the detailed, bullet‑point spreadsheets they referenced so administrators and the board could reconcile issues and prioritize fixes.

What’s next: Board members urged using the district’s Meet and Confer process to work through staffing, duty and contract issues, and to bring specific implementation questions back to a future study session for follow‑up.