As promised, Tucson Unified School District’s governing board wasted no time in moving forward with its freshly-approved bond package.
Governing board members approved forming a bond oversight committee at Tuesday’s board meeting, convening exactly one week after the bond’s successful passing.
“We’ve hit the ground running, we have our team ready to go,†board president Dr. Ravi Shah told the ÃÛÌÒÓ°ÏñAV on election night. “We won’t get the funding until next year, but we’re ready to go.â€
He had just received the news that the district’s $480 million bond issue was approved by voters. Final results show the bond measure passing by a 59% to 41% margin.
The district’s bond oversight committee will monitor expenditures, project completion process, timelines, and procurement commitment for all projects included in the voter-approved bond package.
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At Tuesday evening’s regular session board meeting, members began formulating the oversight committee process. Shah was not at Tuesday’s meeting.
The approved elements will serve as guidance for a committee charter. The committee would then return to the board for charter approval.
Tuesday night’s biggest debate was about the number of committee members. Board member Natalie Luna Rose contended 13 members was more than necessary, proposing a 10-member committee instead.
“That’s more than enough to get a nice mix of parents, employees, the other representatives,†she said. “The bigger the board, I think sometimes it’s hard to get things done.
Board member Sadie Shaw responded that 13 was more appropriate, given the number of individuals who would likely be interested in being part of the committee.
There was also discussion about how long a term will be.
Governing board member Val Romero suggested committee candidates be selected from Pima County as a whole, saying “I think that should be extended to within Pima County because TUSD has stuff that we do with Pima County JTED, a lot of people who own businesses in town.
“I don’t think we should limit our outreach of quality volunteers to a small footprint of the TUSD district.â€
Only TUSD district voters had a say in the bond’s approval or denial election night.
Governing board member Jennifer Eckstrom said, “I would really like to focus on making sure we do get parents and community members that do have a tie to Tucson Unified, so them living within the district boundaries I think and just keep it there.â€
Following discussion, TUSD governing board members agreed unanimously agreed to form a bond oversight committee. Said committee will consist of 13 members, serving three two-year terms. There will be monthly meetings and members are only able to miss two meetings a year.
Prospective oversight committee members will apply, then be confirmed or denied membership by the governing board, according to the resolution.
Eligible individuals must be at least 18 years old and affiliated with TUSD, including parents of TUSD students, TUSD employees, representatives of the Tohono O’odham and Pascua Yaqui tribes, owners of a business within TUSD’s boundaries and/or community members residing within the district.
Individuals are ineligible if they have sold goods or services with the district or have been in a leadership role with such a business within the last two years. Litigants against TUSD are also ineligible to serve on the bond oversight committee.
Once approved to serve on the oversight committee, the members will form its charter. In turn, the TUSD governing board will decide whether to approve it.
“It’s very important for all of the board members to have transparency and have the committee to oversee this,†Romero said. “It was important we put this on the agenda immediately. We’ve built some trust with the voters and we need to do our due diligence.â€