Camp Verde will have to wait a while more for word on Dennis Goodwin’s performance as superintendent of Camp Verde Unified School District.
After presenting data in support of his own self-evaluation June 6, Goodwin entered executive session for over two hours with the CVUSD Governing Board.
No action was taken to offer a formal evaluation of Goodwin. Two minutes later, the board unanimously voted a second time to enter executive session. After 40 minutes, the five members emerged.
No action was taken to offer Goodwin a revised employment contract. The details of both sessions are unknown and cannot be revealed to the public per Arizona’s Open Meeting Laws.
CVUSD Governing Board President Christine Schneider asked that the board return and report to the superintendent regarding his evaluation at the next board meeting Tuesday, June 13, after press time.
During his self-evaluation, Goodwin outlined his leadership, mentorship, communications and data usage, as well as a draft of the district’s strategic plan.
According to Goodwin, he is actively working on fostering relationships with the Yavapai-Apache Nation, “trying to build a bond between the nation and the school district.”
As proof of this claim, Goodwin offered two accomplishments: The contracting of a YAN Student Resource Officer “for free,” saving the district a $45,000 wage, and the eventual hire of a Yavapai or Apache language speaker to teach at CVUSD. According to Goodwin, the latter effort comes from conversations with YAN Chairwoman Jane Russell-Winiecki and YAN Apache Culture Director Vincent Randall, who expressed a desire to preserve Yavapai and Apache cultures.
Goodwin said that the “security has also improved” in the district, with the purchase of radios to facilitate facility lockdowns. In addition, background checks of volunteers have increased. Touting teacher pay increases — 4 percent last year and 1.7 percent this year — and staffing increases including a technology instructor, Goodwin acknowledged that preliminary AZMerit test scores indicate “issues” with several grades.
“We need to do a better job with preparatory,” Goodwin said. Goodwin also spoke of a lack of career and technical education opportunities among high schoolers, asking what the district could do to facilitate CTE programming.
