The Sedona-Oak Creek School District Governing Board held its first regular meeting of 2025 on Tuesday, Jan. 7, at which district staff introduced several new hires.
“Kelly [Freudenthal] is our new student services director, and we are so fortunate and so blessed to have her on board,” Superintendent Tom Swaninger Ph.D., said. “I knew Kelly from our time that we worked together in Queen Creek, and her husband is [the] new chief of police in Cottonwood. And when I heard that her husband got that job, it took me about 20 seconds to pick up the phone and give her a call and let her know that we had this opening.”
“We’re very fortunate to have [Freudenthal] here for our kids,” Swaninger said. “She’s excellent with relationships … I would consider her an expert on student behaviors in classroom management … she’s going to do great things here.”
Swaninger also said that district administration had begun budget planning for fiscal year 2026 and thanked telecommunications provider Optimum for donating $30,000 in December toward purchasing Chromebooks for West Sedona School students. He added that he and staff would be meeting with SRRHS students interested bringing back tackle football, and that he anticipated a decision by next month.
Student representative Emily Frey announced that the Rotary Club’s Interact Club will host its upcoming district meeting in the spring at the Verde Valley School in the Village of Oak Creek.
“I’m excited for that because usually it’s in Phoenix, so we’re only able to bring a few students, but now it’s down the road,” Frey said.
“Emily, I could not be more proud of you, and I’m proud to be part of the village that was one of your teachers, so good luck to you,” WSS teacher Deb Sanders said.
Sanders, as well as WSS first-grade teacher Patty Falsetto and Verde Valley School Head of School Ben Lee, are members of the Sedona Sister Cities Association education committee and are looking at creating cultural exchanges with schools in Canmore, Alberta, Canada, as part of Sedona’s Sister City project.
Falsetto’s first-grade class at WSS held a joint online lesson with Terri Williamson’s first-grade class at Elizabeth Rummel School in Canmore on Nov. 25, and similar programs are being planned at WSS for kindergarten and second-grade students. The Alpenglow School, a Waldorf-inspired public school in Canmore, will also be conducting classroom exchanges with the second-graders at the Running River School, a Waldorf-inspired Sedona school held at Christ Center Wesleyan Church.
“We’re hoping to expand this beyond the elementary school to middle school and high school,” Sanders said.
Through a ballot proposition in November, voters approved the district’s option to potentially sell the former Big Park Community School to a private buyer.
“We do not yet have a real estate agent or an appraiser,” Swaninger said, adding that there is currently no timeline for obtaining either.
Swaninger stated during the meeting that SOCSD does not need additional permission from the Arizona School Facilities Board to move ahead with a sale of BPCS because no school facilities board funding is used to maintain the property.
Governing Board President Randy Hawley and Vice President Lauren Robinson were both reelected for the coming year, and the board also chose to continue meeting on its current schedule, the first Tuesday of the month at 4 p.m. at the Sedona Performing Arts Center.
Sedona Red Rock High School Principal Heather Isom recognized outstanding students and staff from both campuses with monthly awards. The junior high student of the month was Arianna Koller, while Alexis Landaverde was named high school student of the month and Lana Kaska and Kameren Moyer were named WSS students of the month. Nicholas Hermen was honored as athlete of the month. Sara Horton was WSS staff member of the month and Andy Ellis was SRRHS staff member of the month.
