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April 16, 2014 • Vol. 12, No.22
Postal Patron Cave Creek
ECRWSS Carrier Route PreSorted Standard U.S. POSTAGE PAID Permit No. 371 Cave Creek, AZ
r pe pa ! s ew nty y N Cou l ek a ee p W rico t a es rg h M La ort e N Th in
E R F
• Anthem
• Black Canyon City
Bleak budget outlook riles CCUSD officials Eric Quade Editor
Budget shortfalls in excess of $1 million had officials reeling at the April 8 meeting for the Cave Creek Unified School District. Setting the tone for the evening’s budget talk, Kent Frison of CCUSD administration said that the district is crafting its next budget cautiously. “If you follow the news, you know that there still is not a budget at the state level,” he said. Since state funding weighs heavily in public school funding, Frison said that the district’s preliminary 2014-2015 budget might have to be modified to reflect any state budget changes ultimately approved by Arizona legislators and the governor. As is, however, CCUSD’s next budget is projecting a deficit of at least $1.2 million going into a new academic year this fall. Frison said that some of the assumptions built into the projected shortfall include a health insurance premium increase of about 20 percent (equating to around $508,000), about $1 million less in tax revenue due to voters declining to extend the district’s budget override and an enrollment decrease, which translates into fewer dollars from the state. To help offset those costs, the district could find savings by discontinuing performance pay and career ladder
SCHOOLS
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Inside:
• Carefree
• Cave Creek
• Desert Hills
• New River
• North Phoenix
Anthem professor awarded for ‘Tub Science’
On April 8, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and Society for Science & the Public announced winners of the Science, Play and Research Kit Competition, a challenge to reimagine the chemistry set for the 21st century. Among those winners was Peter Rillero, a tenured professor of science education at Arizona State University and an Anthem resident who received honorable mention in the SPARK Competition’s ideation category for his “Tub Science.” Many of today’s scientific innovators—including Moore Foundation and Intel co-founder Gordon Moore—attribute their early fascination with science to their childhood chemistry sets. Yet, the chemicals in these classic sets are now illegal, and replacement sets often lack elements of excitement and wonder. The SPARK Competition focused on science beyond chemistry, challenging some of the nation’s most creative minds to develop projects and ideas that will encourage imagination and interest in science and technology, inspiring today’s children— often through immersive play and learning through doing—much as the classic chemistry kit inspired earlier generations to learn, explore and discover. Rillero said that the bathtub is a perfect place for free exploration and scientific play. He came up with the idea for “Tub Science:” a set of materials designed for free play by an elementary school-age
child, in the bathtub. Children will use the various tools included in Tub Science, alone and in combination, to explore and learn science-related concepts, Rillero said. For example, the child can pour water from vessel to vessel to learn concepts about water conservation. The syringe can be filled with varying amounts of water to see the effects of floating or sinking. The thermometer can be put inside the tall flat-bottom vessel to measure temperatures at the bottom of the tub and at the surface. “If we can get children to focus on the natural world around them for a significant period of time, we have a strong chance of getting them excited about science,” Rillero said. “For most children, it goes beyond learning about a topic from a book or video. Children need to ‘mess about’ with something they are interested in. They need to manipulate, question, wonder and explore.” In all, 125 entries were received in the SPARK Competition, which awarded a total of $136,000 in prize money. Sixteen projects were selected for recognition. Winners were selected in two categories: prototypes—projects that were operational and demonstrable—and ideations—fleshed out project ideas that have not yet been developed into prototypes, but have a strong potential for development. “As a whole, these winners conveyed an exciting variety of ways to get kids hooked on science and
Submitted photo
Creative SPARK — Anthem resident and ASU professor Peter Rillero won honorable mention for his idea using bathtubs as a teaching tool.
engineering,” said Paul Gray, interim president of the Moore Foundation. “We need these different entry points to cultivate a long-term interest in exploring science and technology.” Entrants came from all walks of life, including K-12 science teachers, undergraduate and graduate students, university professors, engineers, architects, toy designers, scientists and inventors, among other professions. Nearly all states were represented. Entries went through several rounds of judging by groups of independent evaluators selected for their scientific, engineering
or education expertise. Prototype and ideation entries were judged by two separate pools of evaluators, and top-ranked entries were reviewed by a select group of judges. “With a remarkable range and quality of entries submitted, our judges were challenged to narrow down the top winners,” said Rick Bates, interim CEO and chief advancement officer at Society for Science & the Public. “The prototypes and ideas of our winners have an especially strong potential to be developed and to inspire kids to explore their world while developing a passion for science.”
Proposed Carefree budget includes town hall work Tara Alatorre
Body found...........2 Bluhm........................6 Events.......................8 Book signing.... 14 Editorial.............. 19 Services................. 20 Crossword......... 23 Classifieds.......... 24
• Tramonto
Tara Alatorre photo
Deliberation in action — Members of Carefree’s town council recently gathered to discuss the upcoming 2015 fiscal budget. Their proposal will be voted on at the May 6 meeting.
The Carefree Town Council put forward a proposed budget of $8.2 million for the town’s 2015 fiscal budget during a special workshop held on Monday. The council will bring the 2015 proposed budget to May’s town council meeting for approval, and if approved it will go into effect this June. Carefree expects to bring in $7.1 million in total revenues, leaving the town in the black by $106,323 for the 2015 fiscal year. The biggest point of contention over budget matters among council members was whether or not to allocate funds to build a new town hall with an estimated cost of $1.5 million. “It’s not a commitment, it just
BUDGET continued on page 2