Fountain Hills board splits on superintendent’s revised goals; asks for revisions after 2–2 vote

The Fountain Hills Unified School District governing board debated a set of revised superintendent goals that mix quantitative measures (spreadsheets, percentages) with qualitative evidence (student artifacts, presentations) and asked the superintendent to return with clearer, measurable targets.

Doctor Jay, the district superintendent, told the board he revised each goal to include “either a quantitative or qualitative measurement” and said qualitative artifacts — student presentations and classroom observations — can show whether an objective has been met. He framed year one as a baseline period and said the district’s principals have already set related goals that will roll up into his objectives.

Several board members pressed for more specific, numeric key performance indicators. One member said the purpose of a goal is to “give a direction and break it down to create a plan,” and urged the board to list end results and the steps to reach them. Another noted that without baselines the board cannot judge whether a spreadsheet of activities constitutes success.

Dr. Jay defended a mixed approach and offered the senior internship as an example: he said he would present student internship work to the board as evidence of progress and suggested qualitative outreach and marketing could produce stronger long-term results than immediately assigning numeric quotas. He also said a simple quantitative example — “out of the 145 seniors, my guess is 145 are gonna do it” — illustrated that some targets are already close to being met.

Board members discussed whether the new goals could fairly be used in Dr. Jay’s evaluation, which the board must perform next month. The board ultimately voted on a motion to approve the goals as presented; the roll call produced an even split (reported as 2 ayes, 2 nays), and the president said the goals would be returned to staff for revision rather than be adopted in their current form.

What’s next: The superintendent offered to revise the goals and the board directed staff to return with updated language that provides clearer baselines or stepwise measurable objectives before the evaluation period.