Fountain Hills board proposes $1.2M in cuts, reorganizes administration to protect pay and capital projects

Doctor Jay presented a detailed proposal for roughly $1.2 million in maintenance-and-operations (M&O) reductions — about 10% of the M&O budget — intended to produce a year-end surplus that could be transferred into capital for building repairs and major projects.

The proposal, described by Doctor Jay as "just proposed" and offered for feedback, would eliminate the executive director of student services position and absorb some district‑office stipends into other roles. At the preschool level, one Little Falcons teacher section is proposed to be cut and absorbed elsewhere. Several support and specialist positions at McDowell Mountain Elementary — including an unfilled behavioral analyst, one PE section and multiple part‑time reception/instructional positions — were listed as reductions the district could absorb by attrition.

At the secondary level, Doctor Jay proposed consolidating administrative roles on the shared middle‑school/high‑school campus: rather than two separate principals, the plan would have a principal overseeing both schools with a dean at each site to handle day‑to‑day discipline and operations. Doctor Jay argued the change was driven by current and projected enrollment patterns and by administrative-to-student ratios: "Most districts have one administrator for every 600 kids," he said, and the district currently has roughly seven administrators for about 1,175 students.

Facilities and operations cuts included reducing the contracted cleaning crew (RNA) and landscaping work, with plans to create a warehouse-and-maintenance coordinator role to manage tickets and some custodial work in‑house. On technology, the district would not hire a full IT director this year and instead promote an on‑site technician (Jared) to a coordinator role to work alongside the outsourced Fruth Group support.

Doctor Jay said staff turnover and limited ability to hire experienced finance staff at local pay scales shaped the proposal. To help bridge the finance gap, Craig Rodolfi, a volunteer consultant, was announced as acting director of finance through the end of the fiscal year; Doctor Jay introduced him to the board and said Craig had declined pay for the role. The board approved using the consultant as acting director of finance through the fiscal year.

Board members asked for more details on the salary attachments for proposed new positions and for additional meetings before finalizing cuts. Doctor Jay said the package is intended to be a one‑time reduction to stabilize capital funding and reiterated that final personnel actions and salary impacts would return to the board later for approval.

Next steps: the proposal will be revised based on board feedback and brought back as personnel and budget items in coming meetings. Doctor Jay asked board members to submit questions by email or phone; staff will follow up with salary schedules and any additional clarifications.