With the Fountain Hills High School grade replacement policy under scrutiny, the Governing Board has opted to send the matter back to site administration for further evaluation.

At present, FHUSD does not replace an “F” grade in a student’s GPA following grade replacement. The grade itself is changed and the replacement is noted on the transcript, but it’s still factored into a student’s overall GPA.

This raised concerns for a local parent, who said that not replacing the grade in the student’s GPA can have negative consequences when it comes to scholarships or applying to colleges.

Superintendent Tom Lawrence stated at the Jan. 28 board meeting that the policy had been in practice within FHUSD for at least 14 years, though he admitted that many peer districts do not factor the replaced grade into a student’s GPA.

“We’ve looked at this from a number of different angles,” he added at the Feb. 11 meeting.

“It’s a tough issue.”

Discussion of the item began with a motion from member Judy Rutkowski, saying that she wished to see the policy changed immediately to have an impact on current seniors who may be affected by it.

The following discussion, however, moved in a different direction.

“I don’t think it would be fair to the students to make this change immediately,” said Dr. Wendy Barnard.

“We shouldn’t be reactionary in this decision. We need to be long-term thinkers. This came to us at a late time in the school year. I think it’s only fair to wait for the incoming freshman class to make this kind of change.”

Concerns about changing the policy last minute were raised during the January meeting.

While some students would see their class ranking improved due to the sudden change, others, without warning, would see theirs decline.

Barnard pointed out that other students who would be affected by such a change have not been afforded a chance to state their case.

“I would like to see this go back to the high school for further consideration,” she added.

Edith Stock agreed.

“This needs to be looked into,” she said.

“We can’t do this immediately without hurting quite a few people.”

Board President Jill Reed stated that around 88 students would be affected from the sudden shift, something she could not support.

“Parents and students sign off on these handbooks and policies every year,” she said.

“Those standards are known. I’m sorry that we have a parent and a student struggling right now, but I feel it would be irresponsible to make a reactionary decision.”

With the original motion receiving a 0-5 vote, a new one was made and unanimously passed to have a high school committee formed to go over the policy, determine if any changes should be made, determine a timeframe for implementation, and report back to the board in a “timely fashion.”