Fountain Hills board votes to appeal late county timestamp on FY22 ESEA completion report

Fountain Hills Unified School administrators told the board they submitted the FY22 ESEA completion report ahead of the county deadline but that a county staff member recorded the district’s submission in the system at 5:12 p.m., 12 minutes after the posted 5:00 p.m. deadline. The district asked the board to authorize an appeal to the county superintendent to argue the submission was timely and request reimbursement.

"We did have it in on time," Dr. Jay told the board, noting district staff have documentation showing the report was submitted the day before the deadline and that the county’s processing delay, not the district, caused the late timestamp. The board voted to approve the appeal and directed staff to pursue repayment if the county finds the submission missed the deadline due to the county’s processing.

Board members praised the staff for diligence in completing the required reports and asked administration to follow up with documentation for the appeal. The motion to file the appeal passed by voice vote.