The Mesa Public Schools Governing Board on Nov. 13 approved a district organizational redesign and a new certified 12‑month salary schedule, voting 5–0 to accept the personnel request including addendum items.

Board action and context

A motion to approve the personnel request (including an addendum and the new certified 12‑month salary schedule for the organization redesign) passed without roll‑call dissent. The motion was seconded and the clerk recorded five yeas.

What the redesign covers

District staff said the redesign reduces about 170 centralized support positions across student services, teaching and learning down to approximately 130 positions in a regionally organized structure. Presenters said the approach relied on position‑description questionnaires, review of duties and collaborative work by executive directors and HR to reassign and reclassify roles as needed.

Board questions and staff responses

Board members pressed for detail on whether services provided by eliminated jobs will continue and on how the district will ensure students’ needs are still met. In response, staff said they had collected PDQs from affected employees, cross‑checked duties and produced new job descriptions intended to protect student‑facing services. Staff said some roles historically coded to departments would become school‑based positions (for example some preschool or itinerant teaching roles) and that several jobs identified for elimination would be re‑posted or reclassified where their duties clearly aligned to instruction.

Two specific items drew follow‑up commitments from staff:

- Community partnerships: board members asked about elimination of a director of community partnerships. Staff replied that the district plans to recommend a non‑administrative coordinator position in November and that a grant from Salt River Pima‑Maricopa Indian Community (SRPMIC) supports the role; the item will return to the board at the Nov. 13 personnel agenda for formal approval.

- Preschool itinerant teacher serving SRPMIC Head Start: staff said the position’s functional coding and assigned duties did not match instructional roles; the job will be recoded and reposted as a school‑based preschool teacher position to preserve services for the SRPMIC‑supported preschool partnership.

Other board concerns

Several board members asked for more time and more documentation before approving significant staffing changes; one member said the packet arrived “very late” and requested fuller briefing materials in future so the board can make informed decisions. Other members expressed support for the regional model and said the redesign creates clearer career pathways and leadership ladders for certified staff.

Vote and next steps

The board approved the personnel request, including the addendum and the new certified 12‑month salary schedule, by a vote of five yeas. Staff said they will return to the board with follow‑up detail where requested, and that human resources will work with affected classified and certified employees to assign or re‑post roles and to manage transfer and placement processes.

Speakers and attributions

- Dr. Esas, Staff member (led PDQ/process explanation)
- Ms. Mesa, Staff member (HR/process explanation)
- Board Member Hutchinson (requested documentation and raised specific position concerns)
- Board Member Benson (asked about compensated‑absences and broader savings)

Actions related to this item

- Personnel request including addendum and new certified 12‑month salary schedule: approved (vote 5 yeas).

Provenance

transcript_segments: [{"block_id":"7337.1147","local_start":0,"local_end":62,"evidence_excerpt":"Do I have a motion to approve the personal request? Do we have an addendum? Including the addendum? So moved. ..."},{"block_id":"8526.7295","local_start":0,"local_end":34,"evidence_excerpt":"With about 5 yeas, you have approved the personnel request including the addendum and the new certified 12 salary schedule for organizational redesign."}]

Ending

Staff committed to present more detailed documentation on service continuity and to bring the community‑partnership coordinator position back for formal action. Board members asked HR to prioritize transparent communication with affected employees and to use the district’s involuntary transfer/placement processes where necessary.

Speakers (attribution whitelist)

[{"name":"Dr. Esselstyn","role_title":"Staff member","affiliation_type":"government","affiliation_name":"Mesa Public Schools"},{"name":"Ms. Mesa","role_title":"Staff member","affiliation_type":"government","affiliation_name":"Mesa Public Schools"},{"name":"Board Member Hutchinson","role_title":"Governing Board Member","affiliation_type":"government","affiliation_name":"Mesa Public Schools"},{"name":"Board Member Benson","role_title":"Governing Board Member","affiliation_type":"government","affiliation_name":"Mesa Public Schools"}]

Authorities and clarifying details

- Board personnel action (approved 5–0)
- Clarifying detail: staff will convert select centralized teacher positions to school‑based instructional coding and will repost roles as needed.

Searchable tags: ["personnel","reorg","salary_schedule","regionals","HR"]