Melissa Avant

Voting Record for Sierra Vista Public Schools

May 2014
Melissa Avant was elected to her first term on the board in November 2012. As an active volunteer in the community, she has dedicated extensive time and
energy to organizations both within and outside the school district. Mrs. Avant holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and a Masters Degree in
Public Administration. Mrs. Avant is involved at all levels of the community and currently works as the Regional Director of the Cochise Regional Partnership
Council within First Things First. Mrs. Avant is familiar with multimillion-dollar budgets and grant implementation and management, is an advocate for public
education and believes the role of public education is to provide the best education possible for all students while preparing them for work, vocational or
technical training, or college. Mrs. Avant is married with two children; whom attend Sierra Vista Unified School District schools.



President of the
Board
Connie Johnson.
Reason: As a Sierra
Vista resident for
more than 43 years,
a co-founder of the
local NAACP
Chapter, and a
lifetime educator
who is an
elementary school
principal on Fort
Huachuca, she is
highly qualifed for
the job.
Sat, 10/26/2013 -
5:30pm - Sierra
Vista Herald - Our
View: Johnson
Shows the Way
www.svherald.com

District Sponsored
Charter Schools
Yes to Pueblo Del
Sol Elementary;
Yes to Carmichael
Elementary;
No to Huachuca
Mountain
Elementary.
Reasons: I fully
support additional
funding for our
schools; however
did not want 50%
of our Elementary
Schools to be
charter; as the State
Legislature has full
authority to
suspend funding
and or change
funding based on
availability.
6th Grade Academy
Pilot (50 Students)
No on pilot.
Reason: All students
should be afforded
the same
opportunity. The
pilot would only
allow 50 students to
enroll in the
program.
District
Administration has
recommended to
the Board the 6th
Grade Academy
does not move
forward based on
Charter Funding
eligibility.
Finance Committee
Yes.
I recognized the
need for a Finance
Advisory Committee
as an external
monitoring public
committee to help
ensure continued
transparency and
communication,
accountability,
efficiency and buy-
in from the
community on
creating a priority
based budget.
Sponsored - See
proposal document.



Superintendent
Search
Yes for National
Search and Principal
experience.
No to requiring a
superintendent
certificate - State
law does not
require one.
Reason: Everyone
should have the
opportunity to
apply. One of the
most important job
a board does is hire
the Superintendent
for the District. You
elected us to make
the best decision for
our Children; not to
simply appoint.
Bonus for Teachers
Yes.
Prior to the board
voting, I asked the
District
Administration to
look at an option to
give all of the
supplemental
impact aid available
to teachers, in
addition to the 1.8
percent increase,
instead of using it as
an offset, thus
boosting the original
pay out amount.

Melissa Avant
Voting Record for Sierra Vista Public Schools

May 2014

Hiring the
Superintendent
No to Kriss Hagerl.
Reason: We had four
strong candidates with
many different
perspectives and
experiences. As
education continues to
shift, we need an
individual who does
not continue doing
business as usual,
who can look at a
budget and see where
the discrepancies are,
innovation, and
forward thinking to
move our students to
be able to compete in
a global economy.
Wed, 4/16/2014 -
10:12 pm - Sierra Vista
Herald - A Vote Against
Kriss Hagerl
Buena Track
Yes.
Reason: After 5 long
years and many
heated debates - the
track is now finished.
Over a period of
months - I questioned
every pot of money
and asked if monies
could be used for a
new track. After many
months of asking we
finally were able to
approve the bid for the
new track.
Lengthening the School
Day for Elementary
Yes for 15 minutes.
Reason: While I
personally disagreed
with only adding 15
minutes I was able to
see the bigger picture
and agree with staff on
their request to add 15
minutes. I would have
personally liked to see
30 or 45 minutes
added to the day.
This became a moot
point as the legislature
passed legislation to
place a moratorium of
traditional schools
converting to charter
that were not in place
prior to July 1, 2013.
Public Information
Officer
No to using federal
impact aid dollars to
fund the position.
Reason:The prior
board approved this
full-time position again
in 2012 - after the
part-time position was
cut in 2009. Based on
the minutes of the
May 2012 meeting
there was no
discussion from the
prior board on the
ethical use of Federal
Impact Aid dollars.
Furthermore, from the
job description
approved all
measurable outcome
data of the position
has been crossed out;
thus job performance
of the current position
cannot be quantified.
Melissa Avant
Voting Record for Sierra Vista Public Schools

January 2014