According to a press release from the Office of the Pima County School Superintendent, Linda Arzoumanian has appointed Alexandre Sugiyama, a lecturer in the UA Department of Economics, to fill the late Judy Burns seat. And yes, he’ll be sworn in at the TUSD special meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 3.
Press release:
Pima County School Superintendent, Dr. Linda Arzoumanian, has appointed Dr. Alexandre Sugiyama to the Governing Board of the Tucson Unified School District. Dr. Arzoumanian interviewed three candidates to fill the open seat on the Governing Board of the Tucson Unified School District. Those names were forwarded to her by the community advisory committee tasked with identifying the best candidates on behalf of the TUSD community. The committee made its recommendations to Dr. Arzoumanian after interviewing all 54 applicants beginning on December 10, 2011.
Dr. Arzoumanian interviewed Dr. Sugiyama, Ronald Michaels, and Ross Sheard separately before making a decision to appoint one of the three. Dr. Sugiyama will fill the seat left vacant by the death of Judy Burns and will serve out the remainder of the term through December 31, 2012. The seat is one of three in TUSD that will be up for election in November of 2012.
Dr. Sugiyama is a lecturer in the University of Arizona’s Department of Economics. A long-time Tucson resident, he earned both his Master’s and Ph.D. degrees in economics prior to launching a post-graduate career in the financial industry. Dr. Sugiyama is motivated to serve on the TUSD board by his two young daughters as well as a strong belief that “educational excellence allows for the American dream to continue for a new generation.”
Dr. Sugiyama will be sworn into office by Dr. Arzoumanian at the TUSD board meeting on Tuesday, January 3 at 5:30p.m. TUSD board meetings are held at TUSD Central Office, 1010 E. 10th St.
Dr. Arzoumanian would like to thank the five members of the community advisory committee — Tola Baker, Michele Harbour, Steve Holmes, Charles Weisel and Juan Ciscomani — for their important work and commitment to the process. Dr. Arzoumanian would also like to thank the 54 applicants for their desire to serve the TUSD community and to recognize the strength of the pool of candidates.
This article appears in Dec 29, 2011 – Jan 4, 2012.
Why is this coming from the Pima County Schools Superintendent and not TUSD? Didn’t TUSD just hire, at $90k, some kind of communications genius to handle its own PR?
It is part of the Superintendent’s duties.
The Pima County School Superintendent’s Office is a constitutional office with specific statutory mandates and authorities (Constitution of the State of Arizona, Article XI). Its statutory responsibilities fall into four broad categories: fiscal, special administration, informational and educational.
Fiscal Responsibilities
School districts process all expenditures through this office. All revenue collections pass through here, as well, in compliance with the relevant Arizona Revised Statutes and rules of the Arizona Auditor General.
Special Administration
The office is responsible for all special school district elections for the districts in Pima County (A.R.S.§15-302). These special school elections include governing board elections, bond elections and budget override elections. The elections are conducted in cooperation with the school districts and the Division of Elections and the Recorders Office.
The county school superintendent must either appoint governing board members to fill board vacancies or call a special election to fill the vacancies on school district governing boards in Pima County. The superintendent is also responsible for filling vacancies on the Pima Community College Board of Governors (A.R.S.§15-441.E).
The county school superintendent is authorized to establish small district service programs to assist school districts with student counts of less than 600 students with administrative services (A.R.S.§15-365.E). Six Pima County school districts are part of such a program: Ajo, Continental, Empire, Redington, San Fernando and Pima Accommodation District. Using County Equalization funding (A.R.S.§15-994), the program provides fiscal services, special education and technology services to the participating districts. It can be difficult and expensive for small districts to obtain these services individually. Consolidating services within a single program prevents unnecessary duplication of services among the smallest districts and is more cost-effective.
Informational
The office distributes all school-related information and opinions provided by the Arizona Attorney General’s Office to Pima County school districts..
The office provides a range of information about education and education services to schools and communities throughout Pima County.
Educational
The Pima County School Superintendent’s Office operates the Pima Accommodation District. The district provides alternative education programs to school-aged children in the county who live outside the boundaries of an organized school district, are detained by juvenile court, or are incarcerated in the county jail.
The office registers affidavits for home-schooled students (A.R.S.§15-802). The parent or legal guardian of a home-schooled student must file an affidavit of intent with the Pima County School Superintendent.
The parent or legal guardian of a student who attends a private school must also file an affidavit of intent with the Pima County School Superintendent (A.R.S.§15-802).
The county school superintendent’s office serves as administrator for several specialized education programs that extend beyond the boundaries of individual school districts. Some of these projects are consortium efforts with local school districts to ensure that under-served youth are provided appropriate education programs. Other projects are developed in response to federal, state or local agency concerns regarding underserved school-aged children in Pima County..
Never said it wasn’t her duty to appoint someone. How much does her flak get paid?
School Board Members do not get any salary. They are the only elected officials that are “volunteers.”
I served 3 terms and found it to be the most rewarding experience of my life. We are there for the children, not the $$$. What a concept.
Good for you, Ms. Hanigsberg. I wasn’t saying board members got paid, but their staffers sure do. Very well, too.
A press release from the office that is actually making the appointment is totally appropriate. There is no need for TUSD to also issue a press release at this time. When he is sworn in on Tuesday evening, that would be the time for a public comment from TUSD.