The past 12 months have been busy for local schools.

Fountain Hills Unified School District had some staffing additions in key areas while the band continued to shine. The local Boys & Girls Club is under new leadership, while a recent election could mean more funding for all Arizona Schools.

Following is the first in a two-part series looking back at 2016 within local schools and other areas that impact Fountain Hills teachers, students and parents. This first part covers the months of January through June.

FHUSD staffing

There was a bit of a shakeup at Fountain Hills High School this year, with former Principal Tom Brennan announcing in early April that the 2015-16 school year would be his last. Brennan announced that he would be heading to Skyline High School to take over, putting him closer to home and working at a school that his own children attended.

About a month later, FHUSD had whittled down the list of applicants to fill the position to just one name: Cain Jagodzinski.

Jagodzinski, a former employee of FHUSD, returned to the nest to begin his new tenure as FHHS principal in early July. He was unanimously approved by the Governing Board on April 27 and has since begun initiatives focused on school achievement and spirit, as well as initiating new courses for the district’s highest achieving students, including the recently approved AP Capstone program.

Jagodzinski is joined by fellow principals Anita Gomez (Four Peaks, Fountain Hills Middle School) and Valerie Dehombreux (McDowell Mountain Elementary School), both approved for contract renewals.

Also receiving contract extensions on the administrative side were Assistant Superintendent of Business Operations, Dr. Robert Allen; Executive Director of HR and Students Services, Caroline Lynch; and Director of Transportation, John Flynn.

Boys & Girls Club

The Boys & Girls Club of Greater Scottsdale McKee Branch made a couple of big announcements this past spring, including naming a new branch director and honoring its Youth of the Year.

Lauren Stratton was named the branch director in February, shifting within the same position from another branch.

As for the branch’s Youth of the Year, that title went to Kari Harper.

According to McKee Branch Teen Development Supervisor Lauren Cassidy, Harper was an easy pick for this past year’s Youth of the Year award. Having worked alongside Harper for the past year and a half, Cassidy said she has watched this young lady evolve into the best version of herself.

Band honors

It was yet another standout year for the FHUSD music program, with the high school band earning several honors in the spring.

For starters, the Fountain Hills High School music program had five students named to the Central Region Honor Band this year, including Sam Aker, Seth Aker, Gwyn Goltry, Sydney Goltry and Andrew Merica.

An audition band including students from dozens of central Arizona high schools, it’s usually an honor for just one or two students to be selected from a single school.

The band season ended on a high note in April with the local group earning first place in four out of five categories during Disney’s Music in the Parks Festival, along with a soloist award and the Judges Award for Outstanding Concert Band, which takes into consideration all divisions.

Band mainstay Lynn Truby also earned a huge recognition this year, being named a quarterfinalist for the 2017 Grammy Music Educator Award.

Finally, with the band instructor position opening up at Four Peaks/FHMS, James Morales took over the program back in June, helping bridge the gap between that program and the one he has assisted at for many years, FHHS.

FHHS ranked

U.S. News & World Report in May announced its ranking of the top high schools at the state and national level, with Fountain Hills High School finishing in the top four percent for Arizona and the top eight percent for the country.

Known as the “Best High Schools” rankings, FHHS came out at as the 19th best high school in the state out of 527. At the national level, the Falcons were ranked 1,561 out of more than 21,000 high schools across the country.

Prop 123

During the May special election, Arizona voters decided in favor of Proposition 123.

Relating to education finance, the passage of Proposition 123 increased annual distributions from the State Land Trust Permanent Endowment Fund, moving from 2.5 percent to 6.9 percent in order to benefit Arizona schools K-12, colleges and “other beneficiary institutions,” according to the ballot language.

A yes vote saw these adjustments made, including a $259,266,200 distribution in fiscal year 2016.

Prop 123 was actually the subject of much debate. Those in support of the proposition saw it as a way to get more money into the pockets of Arizona schools and educators without raising taxes, while those against saw it as a quick fix that will both cap future education funding and have a negative impact on the future of state trust land.