An edition of the East Valley Tribune
INSIDE
This Week
NEWS ................................... 5 Gilbert site where 550 homes were proposed gets second look from Council.
COMMUNITY .............12 Gilbert exhibit focuses on Arizona's wonders.
OPINION ........................ 17 Gilbert teen: Stop my peers from taking their lives.
COMMUNITY................. 12 BUSINESS ......................16 OPINION ........................ 17 SPORTS ..........................18 GETOUT ........................20 CLASSIFIED .................. 24
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Gilbert mixologist can pour it on PAGE 20
Sunday, December 30, 2018
$1.78M in bonuses going to GPS, Higley school employees BY PAUL MARYNIAK GSN Executive Editor
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even Gilbert Public Schools and five Higley Unified schools have earned a total $1.78 million in bonuses from the state Education Department for their overall performance on this year’s AzMERIT tests. Gilbert Public Schools in the 2018-19 school year will receive $1.02 million while Higley is getting $760,667 – money derived from a 2016 law the Legislature passed to encourage higher student performance. For GPS, the money means bonuses next school year for all employees working at the seven schools that earned the money while Higley is spreading the good cheer and us-
ing the money to put a little extra in the paychecks of virtually all district employees who were working in the 2017-18 school year. The bonuses can mean anywhere from $250 to $1,000 for an employee, depending on their job classification, with teachers getting the highest sum. The law that authorized the bonuses gives districts a wide latitude in how they can use the money, from rewarding only teachers at the schools that earned the stipends to hiring staff to expanding programs at any school in their system. It also has been criticized for the way the bonuses are given, with some education advocates saying charter schools tend to be favored. For GPS, the bonus payment is smaller than
the $2.17 million that Chandler Unified is getting as well as the $2.01 million due Mesa Public Schools. And it’s below the $1.2 million smaller Kyrene School District is getting as the result of the performance by 10 of that district’s 25 schools. The GPS schools that got bonuses are: Coral Rae, $113,912; Gilbert Classical Academy, $122,727; Greenfield, $193,142; Highland Elementary, $183,629; Neely, $161,170; Pioneer, $109,692; and Quartz Hill, $137,415. Higley schools due bonuses are: Bridges, $149,680; Cortina, $187,285; Higley Traditional Academy, $141,080; Power Ranch Elementary, $116,452; and San Tan Elementary, $166,178.
pavilion and scaled-down replicas of eight major pro baseball fields. But Big League Dreams will be hanging over Gilbert like a New Year’s Day headache in 2019. The town and Big League Dreams are in litigation over Gilbert’s decision in 2017 to abruptly shut the park down for needed safety repairs.
flourish, including lower taxes, fiscal restraint and limited government, and vigorously opposes policies that hinder private industry. Is Rigler a carbon-copy of out-going fiscal conservative Victor Petersen, who is generally on the minority 5-2 Council votes with Councilman Jared Taylor? Time will tell.
see BONUSES page 10
Some people, things to watch in Gilbert in 2019 BY CECILIA CHAN GSN Managing Editor
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new year is only two days away, but 2018 laid the groundwork for some of the people and things that will likely be impacting Gilbert in 2019. Here are 10 to watch.
Cactus Yards The sports facility at Elliot District Park is expected to reopen Feb. 9 under the town’s management and its new name, Cactus Yards. Formerly known as Big League Dreams Sports Park, the town invested $40 million into building the facility, which opened in 2008 and includes a soccer
Aimee Rigler Aimed Rigler is the newest member to join Town Council in January. A former Gilbert businesswoman, she is a communications director for the Arizona Free Enterprise Club, a lobbying group that promotes policies that allow the market to
Gilbert Public Safety Facility Thanks to overwhelming support at the
see LOOKAHEAD page 4