District approves Indian policies required for Impact Aid, swaps Gila River for Salt River consultation

The Fountain Hills Unified School board voted to approve the district's Indian Policies and Procedures so the district can meet an upcoming Impact Aid grant deadline, and the board directed a one-line change to list the Salt River Indian Community rather than the Gila River Indian Community for tribal consultation.

Board presiding member S1 called the special meeting to order and introduced the single action item: reapproval of the district's Indian Policies and Procedures as part of the Impact Aid grant application. S5 (identified in the record as Dr. Jay) and S2 explained the grant deadline and why the policy must be approved annually even though the text contained no substantive changes beyond the fiscal-year date.

"It actually has to be approved annually," S2 said, adding that this year the only substantive update in the document was the fiscal-year heading. S2 also summarized the paperwork the U.S. Department of Education expects for Impact Aid: total district enrollment figures, a source-check form listing students who live on Fort McDowell property, and counts of students with disabilities among that group.

S2 described how the district collects Impact Aid information: "Our district does the source check form where we provide the name of every student that lives on Fort McDowell property," and said the district certifies that form with the Fort. S5 and S2 said they have formed an Indian parent committee that includes parents and a tribal council member, will meet monthly and will revisit the policy ahead of a tribal consultation scheduled for April.

Board member S1 asked whether the policy text had been provided by a shared source such as the Arizona School Boards Association. S2 said the document was developed with Dr. Sweeney and Chris Alexander and tailored to the district based on tribal input.

At S1's request, S2 agreed to correct the list of tribes to reflect that the district consulted Salt River rather than Gila River. "That is who we should be working with," S1 said. S1 then moved to approve the Indian Policies and Procedures with a change under policy 6 replacing Gila River Indian Community with Salt River Indian Community. A second was made and the board approved the motion by voice vote.

Staff said completed materials, including committee responses and the certified source-check form, will be posted on the district website and provided to the board. S2 noted prior surveys returned roughly 18 to 20 responses but said the newly formed Indian parent committee and site councils are expected to increase participation and provide more robust feedback.

The vote completed the only item on the special meeting agenda; the board then moved to adjourn. There was no public comment recorded during the session.

Next steps: the policy will be updated to list the Salt River Indian Community, the Indian parent committee will continue monthly meetings, and tribal consultation is planned for April as part of the Impact Aid application process.