District 1 staff reconnects at breakfast

A welcome back breakfast Friday for Yuma Elementary School District 1 offered an ideal chance for 1,500 employees to reconnect and get about the business of education, said Superintendent Darwin Stiffler.

"We're already off to a wonderful start because we have fabulous people focused on the needs of the children."

The annual breakfast at Fourth Avenue Junior High School was sponsored by nearly 30 vendors. Some had display tables providing giveaways.

Meanwhile, all vendors furnished merchandise for raffle drawings held throughout the event. Some of the coveted prizes were a complete set of power tools from Lowe's, binoculars from Big 5 Sporting Goods, iPods from Sam's Club, Applebee's gift cards and Public Beauty Supply's gift baskets.

Ernie Chavez, Castle Dome Middle School industrial technology teacher, said the breakfast was a good way to see former and present colleagues.

"I think having the vendors here is beneficial. During school we don't have much time to check out all the services we need, and here we can exchange information."

A vendor who drew a lot of interest was Coldwell Banker mortgage adviser Durana Grapoli. She was busy explaining the Teacher Next Door program that offers up to 50 percent discounts on U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development homes.

"The breakfast is an opportunity for teachers to break into the market," she said. "Right now there's an historically low interest rate and we have an $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers, those who have not owned for the last three years."

Parents Jennette Arviso and Doug TerHark had a display table seeking support for District 1 athletics. Because of state aid cuts, the district has no identifiable resources to support middle school sports.

Arviso and TerHark appealed to staff to take advantage of the Arizona Tax Credit that allows single filers to deduct up to $200 and couples $400 from taxes they owe. Arviso also said she encouraged staff to sign up for payroll deductions for as little as $7 to $15 per pay period.

Stiffler said because the district staff works so well together, it was going to be another great year.