Note: Recordings and documents for agenda items can be accessed via BoardDocs by clicking on the corresponding agenda items.
Administrative Appointments
The Canyons Board of Education approved administrative appointments. Stephanie Petersen, currently an Early Childhood Teacher Specialist, is being promoted to Early Childhood Administrator in Canyons’ Special Education Department. She will oversee the District’s preschool programs and replace Terri Mitchell, who will serve as Director of Special Education. Penny Armour, currently an instructional coach at Copperview Elementary, was previously promoted to Assistant Principal. She is being assigned to Sunrise Elementary. Melissa Wilkes, currently an instructional coach at Hillcrest High, will be promoted to serve as an intern assistant principal at Oak Hollow Elementary. These appointments are effective with the start of the 2025-2026 contract year.
Chromebook Community Conversation
CSD’s community conversation regarding the District’s Internet-filtering system for elementary school Chromebooks yielded input from parents, teachers, principals, School Community Councils, and Building Leadership Teams. In all, CSD received 185 email messages from parents and educators in all parts of the District. In his review of the emails from patrons and teachers, which were accepted from March 19 to April 30, Superintendent Dr. Rick Robins clarified that CSD did not conduct a “vote” on the Chromebook-related issues. The process aimed to start important conversations, gather feedback, and inform possible directions. Robins noted that, since the start of the year, CSD has asked teachers to eliminate Chromebook “free use” time for students who complete classwork early, ordered a filter block on media file sharing, and committed to providing regular Digital Citizenship updates for parents. Canyons also has audited classrooms for quality and quantity of screentime, reviewed more than 500 sites for content at the request of the community, and started the implementation of Bark, which traverses CSD Google accounts, including emails and files, to scan for such issues as threats and cyberbullying. Robins also unveiled the feedback from principals, SCCs, and BLTs, which are among CSD’s established feedback channels. The majority of SCCs, BLTs and principals said they wanted to keep CSD’s practices intact. Meaning, they favored keeping CSD’s filtering practices the same at the elementary level. If parents want more restrictive settings, they can request the service for their own children. However, there was support among all groups for two other options, which included placing all elementary-level Chromebooks on the “highly restrictive” filtering level as CSD’s standard. All groups also were asked to consider a proposal of placing all elementary Chromebooks on a “highly restrictive” filtering level but then allowing parents to opt into less-restrictive settings for their own children. The input will be forwarded to a subcommittee that will consider the community’s sentiment, examine key areas of technology usage in our elementary schools, and provide the Board recommendations for elementary specific technology moving forward. The subcommittee, to be led by Assistant Superintendent Dr. McKay Robinson, will be made up of parents, principals, teachers, and District administrators. The first meeting of the subcommittee has been scheduled for May 28.
Budget Update
The still-under-consideration $398.9 million proposed budget for the coming school year includes a proposed tax increase for the general fund to help pay for capital expenses; negotiated agreements with licensed, Education Support Professionals, and administrators; the rising costs of utilities, supplies, and curriculum; 13 new assistant elementary principal positions; stipends for the “armed guardians” as required by state law, and a cushion to maintain educator staffing levels. Business Administrator Leon Wilcox noted that nearly 40 percent of CSD’s revenue comes from property taxes, and nearly 60 percent of expenditures is spent on instruction, including employee salaries and benefits. The Board will consider the fiscal year 2025 tentative budget and the proposed budget for the 2026 fiscal year on June 17. The Board will be asked to approve the proposed budget on a tentative basis, with a final approval after an anticipated truth-in-taxation hearing in August. Wilcox said the budget will be posted on the website in the coming days for a required 15-day public review.
Innovation Center
Proposed architectural blueprints for Canyons’ new technical center, to be housed at eBay’s former regional headquarters in Draper, were reviewed by the Board of Education. Members of the Board discussed potential spaces in the 240,000-square-foot building for programming, meeting and makers spaces, classrooms, and multi-purposes areas. The Board also was presented several options for the center’s name. The list of proposed names was created after CSD completed stakeholder surveys and focus groups. A student group also was included in the creation of the list of proposed names. Names under consideration include the Peaks, Synergy, InSight, the Forge, Waypoint, and Nexus. The Board will continue to review the prosed names and other branding issues at upcoming meetings.
Superintendent, Business Administrator Evaluations
A tool developed by the Utah School Boards Association will be used in the evaluations of Superintendent Dr. Rick Robins and Business Administrator Leon Wilcox. The Board has used the USBA evaluation system in the past to complete the evaluations of the Board-appointed superintendent and business administrator.
School Highlights
Sandy Elementary is one of two CSD elementary schools that has adopted the AVID framework, said Principal Elenoa Pua. Sandy also is a community school that focuses on providing programs and resources to serve the school’s diverse population. Families are not just supported at the school’s Family Learning Center but also enjoy such activities as Sandy’s STEAM and Literacy Nights. Sandy Elementary’s focus, Pua said, is meeting the academic, social, and physical needs of students so they can grow and achieve.
Canyons Strong Recognitions
The following were recognized for their achievements:
- First-place winners in Career and Technical Student Organization competitions
- Jordan High student Julian Laarmann for winning the 4A boys tennis second-singles state title
- The Alta, Brighton, Corner Canyon and Hillcrest students who won 5A, 6A, and 4A individual state titles at the UHSAA track and field meet.
- Alta High’s Lilly Mazuran, who will serve as “governor” of the 79th annual American Legion Auxiliary’s Utah Girls State June 1-6 at Weber State University.
- CSD bus driver Jeremy Klung, the first-place winner at Utah’s 2025 Road-eo Competition.
Consent Agenda
The Board of Education approved the Consent Agenda, including the minutes for the Board of Education meeting on May 6, 2025; hire and termination reports; student overnight travel; purchasing bids; April financial reports; and administrative appointments.
Strategic Plan
Student Wellness Services Director Dr. Brian McGill presented information reviewed by the subcommittee reviewing issues related to the “Human-Centered Supports” focus area of the Strategic Plan. Thrive Time, the character-education and life-skills program developed by CSD educators and curriculum specialists, is being used in CSD schools. The hope of Thrive Time, which was thoroughly vetted by parents before its launch, is to address behavior issues, addressing flagging attendance rates, and boost student engagement at their schools. Data collection has been planned so CSD can determine the longitudinal impact of the program, McGill said. Also noted were CSD’s mental-health screenings and the telehealth pilot that’s been put into place at 17 schools and the District Office. The telehealth partnership with the University of Utah aims to reduce absenteeism of students and employees. The committee also continues to discuss how CSD can provide programs and supports for increasing behavior infractions. McGill updated the Board on plans to expand employee child-care options. A center will open at Brighton High next year. CSD has received 123 applications for the available spots. Eighteen are on the wait list, he said. Discussions continue on the proposal to start an Employee Wellness Clinic and make changes to mental-health supports for employees.
Policy Update
The Board of Education is reviewing proposed policies governing student transportation; student conduct and the disciplinary process; technology resources, electronic devices, and network acceptable use; open enrollment, school admissions and school moratorium; immunization of students; student attendance; administration of medication to students; fiscal accountability; and small unmanned aircraft systems.
Superintendent, Business Administrator Reports
Business Administrator Leon Wilcox congratulated the Class of 2025, noted the Retirees Banquet, and thanked the retiring principals and administrators who have accepted new opportunities in other school districts.
Board Member Reports
Ms. Amanda Oaks remarked on Lone Peak Elementary’s efforts to produce original plays, thanked high school administrators for their work overseeing the many year-end activities, and noted the special recognition nights.
Ms. Karen Pedersen is looking forward to upcoming commencement rites and reported on attending recognition nights and the school-bus “road-eo.” She remarked on Monday’s Memorial Day, held to honor those who have died in American military service.
Ms. Katie Dahle said she is thankful for innovative teachers in CSD, reported on attending Granite Elementary’s “Business Day,” and expressed appreciation for the work and dedication of CSD’s retirees.
Mr. Jackson Lewis congratulated the Class of 2025 and thanked the retirees for their dedication over the years.
Ms. Holly Neibaur reported on attending Willow Springs’ annual patriotic assembly and the Retirees Banquet. She congratulated the Class of 2025 in advance of commencement exercises.
President Shill thanked Board members for the productive discussions during Board meeting and congratulated the Class of 2025.
