Members of the Fountain Hills Republican Club (FHRC) welcomed both the current and former Superintendents of Fountain Hills Unified School District, Dr. Cain Jagodzinski and Dr. Patrick Sweeney, respectively.

Organizers said both men were passionate about the town of Fountain Hills and its schools.

Dr. Jagodzinski has lived in Fountain Hills for the past 20 years and his children have attended Fountain Hills schools since kindergarten. Jagodzinski was formally the Fountain Hills High School principal and basketball coach.

Jagodzinski said he has inherited several serious problems in the district, explaining the ongoing maintenance needs as the schools get older. One of his top priorities is the security of the schools. The district has good relations with the local sheriff’s officers who, if necessary, could be on the campus in a minute. Each school also has a security guard.

“The best deterrent to domestic terrorism, Jagodzinski shared, was the approachability of the security guards by the students,” explained FHRC member and spokesperson Chris Brant. “Would students be willing to tip off the guard when something nefarious was being planned? Firsthand intelligence from the field is invaluable.”

Upgrading the school entry doors to minimize access by unauthorized personnel is also a top priority for Jagodzinski, along with building an exterior fence to restrict entry to the High School grounds.

Dr. Sweeney pitched for those in attendance to support both the bond and the override election. In 2018, the High School had only a “C” rating. Today the school owns an “A+” rating.

“One rhetorical question suggested that maybe if the schools did a better job in marketing the district’s ratings it would help the retention of students and also help with the request for passing both the bond and override elections,” Brant said. “This was felt to be very important, as the school enrollment numbers are disappointing as 300 students (150 high school students) head out to Scottsdale schools every morning.”

Dr. Sweeney, by being retired, can ask members to join him by voting “yes” on the bond as well as the override election.

According to Brant, a case was made that the district needs to provide a more thorough, detailed plan on how the current funding is spent and to provide the voters with what steps are going to be made to increase the enrollment figures.

Another issue that was raised by School Board Candidates Libby Settle and Madicyn Reid was about the potential of welcoming an influx of money into the district from the sale of the unused school-owned empty lots.

According to Brant, the overall impression from those present was that there is a newfound confidence in the present administration, however, overseeing responsibilities of the members of the School Board needs a major overhaul. The latter issue, Brant said, “made a strong case to elect Settle and Reid to serve as new members on the Fountain Hills Unified School District Board on November 8, 2022.”

Members of FHRC will gather again for the monthly social today, Oct. 26,at Phil’s Filling Station,beginning at 5 p.m. For further details visit fountainhillsrepublicanclub.com or visit their Facebook page @Fountain Hills Republican Club.