A different kind of wall dispute / P. 16
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An edition of the East Valley Tribune
INSIDE
This Week
NEWS .................................. 4 Newcomer to head SUSD board.
NEIGHBORS ...............20 An opera star is born.
BUSINESS .................... 30 New entertainment hits the bar scene.
NEIGHBORS ........................20 BUSINESS .............................30 OPINION .............................. 33 SPORTS ................................34 ARTS ....................................36 FOOD & DRINK.................. 40 CLASSIFIEDS .......................42
New pearl joins local dining scene / P. 40
Sunday, January 20, 2019
Area schools earned $3.45 million in state bonuses BY PAUL MARYNIAK AND WAYNE SCHUTSKY Progress Staff
S
chool districts serving the Scottsdale area earned $3.45 million in bonuses from the state Education Department for their overall performance on last year’s AzMERIT tests. Paradise Valley Unified School District will receive $2.46 million, Scottsdale Unified School District will get $1.5 million and Cave Creek Unified School District is getting $380,690 – money derived from a 2016 law the legislature passed to encourage higher student performance. The SUSD schools that got bonuses this year are: Anasazi Elementary, $100,141.44; Cherokee Elementary, $133,065.53; Chey-
enne Traditional School, $200,511.73; Cochise Elementary, $119,711.85; Desert Canyon Elementary, $99,433.30; Hohokam Traditional School, $183,453.57; Hopi Elementary, $172,424.19; Kiva Elementary, $98,221.38; Laguna Elementary, $80,259.21; Pueblo Elementary, $102,705.80; Sequoya Elementary, $105,615.25; and Yavapai Elementary, $115,035.84. Fourteen Paradise Valley schools will receive bonuses, including six in Scottsdale: Copper Canyon Elementary, $134,637.25, Desert Shadows Elementary, $94,434.45; Grayhawk Elementary, $104,405.56; North Ranch Elementary, $109,271.19; Pinnacle Peak Elementary, $129,975.20; and Sonoran Sky Elementary, $147,887.54.
Three schools in CCUSD, all located in Cave Creek, will also receive bonuses. 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 expand programs at any school in their system. Each district has developed its own plan. For instance, last year SUSD dedicated about two-thirds of its $1.625 million in bonuses to fund the creation of schoolspecific plans created with input from principals and adhering to state guidelines requiring monies be spent to sustain and replicate results.
see SCHOOL PAY page 12
Fake jewelry scheme linked to Scottsdale gallery BY WAYNE SCHUTSKY Progress Managing Editor
N
ative American jewelry is a ubiquitous part of the downtown Scottsdale experience. But the turquoise pendants, handcrafted silver necklaces and other wares populating stores and galleries here are not created equal. The pieces, which typically cost from hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars, are difficult to authenticate for the average buyer and are the subject of a rampant counterfeit market – as a recent case in New Mexico with ties to Scottsdale highlights. Forged Native American jewelry, much of which is produced in Asia, is sold in the U.S. as Indian-made.
see JEWELRY page 18
Andrew Bloom REALTOR®, Senior Partner Andrew@BVOLuxury.com VOTED #1 SCOTTSDALE REAL ESTATE TEAM FOR 2018
(Pablo Robles/Progress Staff Photographer)
Native American jewelry artists are being ripped off by unscrupulous individuals who use cheap material and cheap labor to create cheap imitations. One former Scottsdale gallery owner is already in trouble with the law.
(480) 999-2948 www.BVOLuxuryGroup.com