Two days after Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind board chairman Bernhardt Jones was replaced along with four other board members by Gov. Jan Brewer, Jones responded with a letter offering a few suggestions and opinions that’s only further angered some ASDB parents who worked to get rid of him.
In April, parents, students and some faculty at both campuses in Tucson and Phoenix organized a website (asdbreports.com) and protests to communicate their concerns about current Superintendent Robert Hill, as well as what they alledged is a professional conflict between Hill and Jones. They called for Jones and Hill to step down (See “Protesting Disaster,” May 2, 2013).
“Please be aware, however, that it will not matter to some what the Board decides moving forward. They will be angry anyway,” Jones wrote in a May 24 letter addressed to the board and the superintendent. “This is what fuels them. They have to have an enemy to give them purpose.”
One area of concern shared with the Tucson Weekly from some parents and faculty was that all existing board members of the school, who are mostly appointed by the governor, were serving on expired terms.
While Jones advised the remaining board on those who were angry and spoke out about ASDB troubles, the governor was possibly paying attention.
On May 22, Brewer announced that she had chosen five new board members to replace Jones, as well as Ray Mungaray from the Governor’s Council on Blindness and Visual Impairment; Mary Lamer, a Superintendent of Public Instruction designee; and Clifford Rowley, an appointive member.
“The (ASDB) fulfills a critical mission by educating students with unique and specialized needs. So, it has been troubling to see allegations of mismanagement made against ASDB and its leaders. While inquiries continue, I conducted a lengthy and deliberative process to replace board members whose terms had expired. I am confident the five new members I’m naming today will help give the institution the ‘fresh start’ it needs,” Brewer said in a statement released by her office.
“These new members have outstanding qualifications from across the deaf and blind community. Most important, they are committed to making certain ASDB students are prepared with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed after graduation.”
In the governor’s press release it was confirmed that each term for the eight governor-appointed seats had expired. Three current members will continue to serve as “holdover appointments”: Sherri Collins who represents the Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing; Orlenda Roberts who acts as the board’s school district employee who works with sensory-impaired pupils; and Michael Williams, who serves as a public member (See “Investigation Maneuvers,” May 9, 2013).
The new board members are Kathy Jankowski, a former dean with the Laurent Clerk National Deaf Education Center at Gallaudet University; Taralynn Petrites, lead faculty at Pima Community College’s American Sign Language and Interpreter Training department; Elaine Baldridge, former director of Children’s Services for the Foundation for Blind Children; Michael Gordon, executive director of the Southern Arizona Association for the Visually Impaired; and Dr. Mark Syms, otologist with the Arizona Ear Center.
In Jones’ letter he reiterated that the state Attorney General’s office and Utah State University, his employer, investigated an alleged conflict of interest of an interpreting certification testing business run by Hill and Jones in which testing is also done at the ASDB campus.
“They have both found that there is not, and never was, a conflict of interest. I have received the findings from USU and expect the findings from the AG’s office next week,” he wrote.
Jones also stood up one last time for Hill, who continues to receive pressure to resign. In his letter, the former chairman outlines past support given to the superintendent by board member Collins, then questioned an upcoming special board meeting “to put the superintendent on administrative leave?”
“I realize that times change, but this drastic change of Ms. Collins’ position seems, at best, disingenuous,” he wrote.
If the new board decided to put Hill on administrative leave or replace him, Jones wrote it would be “giving into a mob mentality and encouraging the kind of behavior we witnessed during and after the ASDB Special Board meeting on April 9, 2013. This verbal outburst and the seemingly ‘out-of-control’ verbal insults will be encouraged unless the board has the courage to continue the improvement of the schools.”
Rob Voreck, a hearing parent of an ASDB student at the Phoenix campus, told the Weekly that he was only angered more when he read Jones’ letter.
“He wrote that this is not a deaf vs. hearing issue, but then he goes on to say the whole protest was only a few select individuals with a cause. It’s the same language Hill used in a memo saying the protests were from an extreme element of the deaf community rather than (people with legitimate concerns),” Voreck said.
“No this isn’t about a hearing vs. deaf issue, but an incompetent administrator. If this was happening at a hearing school district there’s no question in my mind Hill would have been gone a long time ago.”
Voreck said there’s talk about the board calling a special board meeting, but first the new board members need to be formally sworn in and new officers must be elected, which is expected to happen the last meeting in June.
Alan Amann, Tucson ASDB parent and husband to the school’s executive director and principal Nancy Amann who was put on administrative leave by Jones, told the Weekly that Jones’ letter only confirms he was unfit to serve, especially as board president.
“That letter exposes to public view Jones’ total inability or refusal to consider board matters fairly and impartially, especially those pertaining to Hill. Indeed, Jones goes so far as to repeatedly distort and mischaracterize the real facts and issues caused by Hill’s inept and abusive conduct as superintendent. Despite overwhelming evidence of Hill’s incompetence, Jones has continually placed his interests over those of ASDB and its staff and students. This letter is simply more of the same.”
However, with Jones gone, it’s a good time for the new board to repair the damage done by Hill and Jones, Amann said, “… which must start, first and foremost, with a fair and impartial assessment of Hill’s conduct and performance as superintendent and holding him accountable as deserved.”
This article appears in May 30 – Jun 5, 2013.
The community breathes a sigh of relief at their departure! A sincere thank you for helping to restore confidence and resolve that lingering ASDB dysfunction. That leaves us only the unaccountable community college and water district.
It needs to be made clear that Jones, while serving as ASDB Board President, abused ASDB policy by REFUSING to allow the inclusion to the agendas in several recent board meetings any and all motions by fellow ASDB board members that he perceived as being detrimental to Supt. Hill.
This alone shows that Jones’ claim that the ASDB Board had supported the superintendent all along is an outright lie.
Management suspension pending outcome of investigation is the ONLY way to protect the student and staff whistleblowers from further retaliation and must be done ASAP! ASDB attorneys should be advised that protecting the school’s best interest comes through looking out for the many students and educators, not protecting the few who manage in their own self interest. Hopefully the new board can act promptly to avoid further “Murky Matters” and restore the public trust through honesty and accountability without delay.
The citizens of Tucson and all of Arizona have been led to believe that these “Deaf” people of ASDB are victims of injustice perpetuated by Superintendent Robert Hill and former Board President Bern Jones. Do not confuse the adult staff and teachers that work at ASDB with the students that attend ASDB, but the inept media was unable to seperate them, and the public poured out its pity upon “the students.” This was never about the students! The students were encouraged by adults within the “Deafhood movement” within ASDB to rise up! Several vocal parents, mostly from Phoenix, managed to get TV time without any real understanding of what has been goingon. The so-called “Deaf commnity” is always quick to anger androse up to close ranks, obsfuscate, and successfully dupe the public and mask the truth with the Hill-Jones red herring. This was and continues to be all about Nancy Hlibok-Amann, an adminstrator put on administrative leave, and is still under investigation for allegations of abuse of power, including ordering the wrongful and possible illegal search of a private vehicle, abuse of funds, and violations of policies that have not been disclosed at this juncture. The Hill-Jones mess sought to confound everyone and has resulted in the appointment of a new Board, much more sympathetic and favorable towards Hlibok-Amann. In the past, ASDB employees that have violated comparatively minor politices have been summarily dismissed. Hlibok-Amann has been afforded inordinate consideration and leeway as she fights, not just to keep her job, but to actually ascend to the superintendents poslition. How anyone could possibly remain oblivious to all of this speaks volumes about the failures of “public education” and even political corruption in American life. We are doomed, not because of threats from a foreign poer, but through ignorance, stupidity, graft, corruption, criminality, greed, and every form of immoral vice. Where is the damned “Fourth Estate” when you need to inform the public of the truth?
In response to Dr. Jones letter to the board. Regardless of the findings in Utah, you have conducted yourself irresponsibly with ASDB, with the Superintendent, and have allowed harm to come to its staff and students for that alone it is wonderful that the Governor saw to let your term expire and bring in some class. Your letter only serves one purpose and that is to discredit what the DEAF VOICES are saying. They need to be heard, they want a deaf leader what is so hard with that, that you cannot hear that? What Hill did with Nancy Amann and several other deaf individuals is not excusable. Her leadership is what the students and teachers look up to. I recall in the mid 1970’s ASDB had a teacher who had slept with 6 female students he was not terminated in fact he was given full retirement with benefits. You need to take a hard cold look in the mirror and ask yourself what is your hatred towards deaf people that you cannot even listen to them. You are the one with major issues and a saying my Dad would often say “When the Deaf Speak, they Speak loud, they have had enough OPPRESSION” you. I can assure you that when the investigation is completed it will be found that Hill suspended her because he was afraid of losing his job and her popularity had risen to the point that a secret meeting was called by organizers fed up with what was happening and Amann was at that meeting. You forget two things, she has a right as a citizen to be there, as a deaf person, and freedom of speech allows her to voice her concerns as an individual this was and is a WITCH HUNT.
Lastly, I commend Governor Brewer with her selection of new members, but I am still bothered by the fact that the population of students served is 4/5 deaf and hearing impaired vs 1/5 are blind, but the board used to consist of 85 to 95% blind representatives and 15 to 5 % deaf representatives. With these new changes it seems to be 50/50 maybe more like 60/40 because I do not consider Ear Doctors and so forth to be specialist on deafness. I simply hope that the decisions are more in favor of the deaf ASDB is a damn good School and oversees other schools such as PDSD.
The arguments that residential schools cost more. Hell this should not be about cost, this should be about the deaf. When many are turning to Cochlear implants these days have they done studies of the suicides and depression of these adults who have no friends, never learned sign language, do not have peers they can look up to. ASL is the language of the DEAF and everyone should learn it including the parents.
I recently moved back to this state having been gone for almost 34 years but ARIZONA is my home land and ASDB will always have a special place in my heart. I don’t care who works at the school, the board that runs it if they are hearing or not but they better have DEAFHOOD in their blood, ASL in their hearts, and allow the deaf to be heard if not be prepared for havoc.
Dr. Hill needs to be terminated and I hope that Nancy Hilbok-Amann sues for the hell she has been put through because this reeks of political assassination, libel, slander, and the worst corruption I have seen.
Parents if you are reading this, I am hearing impaired, my parents are deaf, my daughter is deaf. If you do not protect your children now no one will.
Dr. Hill, do yourself and the deaf a favor RESIGN!
As a note, regarding a comment I just removed, we don’t delete comments that disagree with any particular viewpoint, but if you type stuff in all caps and register using an obviously fake email, we’ll be taking your comment down, regardless of your position.