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Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Politics / News TUSD Deseg Hearings: "Please Do What You Say You're Going to Do"

Posted by Mari Herreras on Wed, Nov 28, 2012 at 3:18 PM

During the Tucson Unified School District's first desegregation forum on Monday, Nov. 26, at Tucson Magnet High School, there were three speakers, all women, who stood out to the Range: Tanya Alvarez, Kim Dominguez and TUSD governing board member Adelita Grijalva. Above and below are clips of their testimony to U.S. District Court-appointed desegregation special master Willis Hawley.

Hawley was appointed by U.S. District Court Judge David Bury last summer to bring together all parties involved in Tucson Unified School District's 30-plus year-old desegregation legal case in order to create a new Unitary Status Plan proposal to present to Bury next month. The parties involved include the Mexican American Legal and Education Defense Fund representing the Latino plaintiffs, Tucson attorney Ruben Salter representing the African-American plaintiffs, a representative from TUSD law firm (DeConcini McDonald Yetwin & Lacy), and representatives from the U.S. Department of Justice.

The plan is being made available for public review at each TUSD school and online at tucsonusp.com. The final forum before the special master is tonight, Wednesday, Nov. 28, at Palo Verde High School. The public comment period closes today. A revised plan with any changes will be filed with the court by Hawley on Dec. 10, and all parties involved in the negotiations have until Dec. 14 to file any objections to the changes.