In Gilbert, three members of the local school board take their responsibilities very seriously. They have set academic and policy goals for the district, and they have acted as the community’s accountability mechanism, ensuring that school officials use locally generated resources wisely and responsibly. They have also provided parents and members of the community with a voice into the education of their children.
It has been amazing to watch the quality of the Gilbert Public Schools increase since Ms. Staci Burk, the current board president, joined the Board in 2011.
When Ms. Burk joined the Board, Gilbert was a "B" rated District. In 2012, under the leadership of Ms. Burk, and joined by Board members Ms. Julie Smith, and Mr. Daryl Colvin, Gilbert earned an A rating with the State.
These leaders have repeatedly put the best interests of Gilbert’s students, parents, and the community first. They also deeply appreciate excellent teachers and the staff members who support those teachers. Truly, parents with many children know that teachers can affect eternity.
According to the newly released Auditor General report, GPS has once again raised the bar and improved academic quality to an even stronger "A" rating with 24 schools earning an "A" designation.
GPS ranked first in "classroom dollar percentage" for FY13 at 60.7%. Chandler was second at 60.6%. Higley, at 55.9%, ranked third place in a group of smaller districts.
The Gilbert School Board accomplished this even with the defeat of the override in 2012 and cutting $5.9M from the M & O budget for FY2013.
The average teacher salary, according to this auditor report, went from $43,795 in 2011 to the current $45,169, which is an increase of $1374 per teacher.
The data in the report also shows that the student per teacher ratio decreased from 17.3 to 17.0 currently.
To view the Auditor General reports for the past several years, please see this link: Gilbert Unified School District–Arizona School District Spending Report.
See Also:
What’s Wrong with Arizona’s Common Core Standards? (aka ACCS)
Gilbert’s Conservative School Board: WAR is the Price of Neglect
Titanic Deck Chairs: Arranging for a Better GPS
God’s Name will be Heard again in Gilbert after 14 Years of Silence
Gilbert School Board Struggles to Allow Parents a Voice in Choosing Reading Materials (Begin watching the video at 01:13:00 to see how hard both Ms. Tram and Ms. Humpherys fight against Ms. Smith’s desire to fulfill one of her most important board responsibilities: "to provide parents and members of the community with a voice into the education of their children." )
Gilbert School Board to Vote on Common Core: Tuesday, Oct. 1 (Note: In a 3-2 split, the Conservative Majority voted No to Signing the Declaration. They joined Heber-Overgaard’s governing board, who also voted against signing the Declaration. See Heber-Overgaard Schools Governing Board votes NO to signing Common Core Declaration.)