Before I get into my choices for the TUSD school board, I want to make sure readers understand that these are my own personal picks. They’re not official endorsements from the Tucson Weekly.
I’m going to begin the discussion of my support for Adelita Grijalva and Jen Darland by looking at the way school boards interact with superintendents regardless of the specific issues facing a district. Their interaction fits somewhere on a style-of-governance scale. At one end of the scale is a rubber-stamp board. The superintendent makes suggestions and recommendations, and the board simply signs off on them. On the other end is a micromanagement board. Board members peer over the superintendent’s shoulder watching his/her every move, play “Gotcha!” at every actual or perceived misstep and give frequent, detailed instructions about how to run the district.
Both extremes on the scale are examples of poor governance. Superintendents shouldn’t have a carte blanche for every hiring and policy decision they make, but they also shouldn’t be treated with the kind of suspicion and negativity Republican members of Congress show toward President Obama. An effective board should occupy a position somewhere between the two extremes, and it should slide up and down the scale depending on changing circumstances and the decisions that need to be made.
A board’s position on the governance scale is essentially a measure of its trust or distrust of the superintendent, and sometimes a measure of individual member’s sense of self-importance. Board members who believe they’ve chosen a competent, trustworthy person to head the district tend to trust the direction the superintendent is heading. They should look at the superintendent’s recommendations carefully and modify or vote against them when it makes sense, but when it’s a judgement call, they are likely to give the head of the district the benefit of the doubt. Their motto might be, “Trust but verify, and maintain a healthy skepticism.” Board members who question the competence and motives of the district head tend to distrust recommendations that come from the district, scrutinize every move in microscopic detail and only vote with the superintendent reluctantly. Their motto might be, “Distrust and scrutinize, because the superintendent is very likely incompetent and a scoundrel.” Sometimes, if their egos and sense of self-importance are large enough, they think they can run the district better than the person hired by the board to do the job. They make regular attempts to dictate district policy on issues large and small.
I happen to think the board made a good choice when it picked H.T. Sanchez to be superintendent. He’s not the perfect superintendent, but — full disclosure here — I wasn’t a perfect teacher in my 30+ years in the classroom, even though I gave my heart and soul to teaching and believe I did a good job in the classroom. I’d love to believe there’s such a thing as a perfect teacher or superintendent, but I’ve never met one myself. Like me and every other human being, Sanchez makes mistakes and will make more, I’m sure. But my sense is that he has the right focus and laudable goals, and he’s moving the district in a positive direction, both internally and in its relationship with the community. He’s willing to take chances, to make bold moves to improve students’ educations. On the whole, I trust his leadership, though I’m ready and willing to criticize him when I think he’s making a serious error.
Sanchez needs to be given room to take bold steps in his mission to improve the district. Some of his decisions will undoubtedly result in failure, but I expect more of them will succeed. But if he’s constrained by a board that wants to micromanage him, it’s unlikely he’ll be able to do much to move the district forward.
Of all the candidates running for the board, Adelita Grijalva and Jen Darland come closest to striking the right balance between trust and scrutiny the district needs right now.
Grijalva has been an effective member of the board during her tenure. I’ve agreed with most of the positions she’s taken, sometimes voting for the status quo, sometimes voting against it. Because she’s been on the board longer than her colleagues, she has more institutional knowledge than they do, which allows her to put current district issues into the context of past events and decisions. She clearly supports the superintendent she helped choose and wants to give him a chance to exercise his leadership.
While Darland supports the direction Sanchez wants to take the district, she definitely has a mind of her own. It was Darland who did the groundbreaking research that led to a statewide examination of Arizona’s Tuition Tax Credit laws and the School Tuition Organizations, a system of backdoor vouchers which funnels tax dollars to private schools. The highly critical series of articles in the Arizona Republic and the East Valley Tribune about the tax credits and STOs were based on her research. I’ve known Darland for a number of years, and I’ve asked her to do some research for me on more than one occasion when I couldn’t find information I was searching for. She usually came up with what I needed and more, adding careful analysis to the information she gave me. I have every reason to believe she will do similar research and analysis as a board member, not to micromanage or to play “Gotcha!” but to help the district make the best and most informed decisions possible.
Darland can also add a level of expertise to the board because of her understanding of state-level education finance which she developed through her long, dedicated work with the Arizona Education Network. Her understanding, which certainly rivals that of anyone on the board — and most district administrators for that matter — can prove to be a valuable asset to the district in its ongoing relationship with the state legislature and the Department of Education.
Just as there are no perfect teachers or superintendents, there are no perfect school board members. However, I’m confident Adelita Grijalva will continue to do an excellent job and Jen Darland will be a valuable addition to the board.
This article appears in Sep 18-24, 2014.
I suggested that : The Tucson Weekly and its’ reporters must look critically and objectively at Grijalva’s tenure as a Member of the TUSD Board. It has been an unmitigated disaster in my opinion. I also suggested that you: Check the Statistics during her tenure in Office: AIMS Assessment Scores, Decline in Enrollment; and, with that, astoundingly, an over 100% increase in Central Administration Staff diverting monies to support a BLOATED Administration and away from the Classroom/Laboratory Infrastructure. You DID NEITHER!!!
Your support of a Grijalva and, tacitly, by the Tucson Weekly, is a “knee jerk” reaction to her incumbency and her families affiliation with the Democratic Party. You/Tucson Weekly have lost Credibility..
Francis, please read my opening paragraph. My school board picks have nothing to do with the Weekly. No one knew what I wrote before I submitted it. No one tells me what to write on The Range, ever. Call me wrong all you want, but don’t say that my post means the Weekly has lost credibility, unless you think this lone blogger is powerful to bring down the credibility of the paper on his own.
Grijalva: trust and scrutiny?
Take a poll. You’ll see. Please include polling of the thousands that have left TUSD, for that very reason.
The credibility lost is your own.
I understand that these are your personal picks , but by putting them in this article you show your bias towards other candidates, and there for could influence readers. I don’t believe you did your research on Grijalva , she is disliked by many. TUSD’s attendance has dropped greatly, staff are flooding out the doors since she and Sanchez took over. Supporting people with the “good ole boy ” mentality is what will surely bring this district down. Remember that Sanchez brought many of his friends with him, and lets not forget about Grijalva’s mother in-law , how has that worked out, I remember hearing something about a sexual harassment case. I to use to think Adelita Grijalva was a reasonable person, but after my experience with her I can no longer think that. I was wrongfully terminated from TUSD to cover up a scandal , other board members asked Sanchez to look into this , he did not. I personally , and members of my family , asked Grijalva for help. She could reverse this decision , but would not. Grijalva wouldn’t even hear my case. All of this to simply blindly follow a superintendent that is slowly bring the district down. My family is a very large family in Tucson , and nearly all democrats. My family complained to the democratic party about Grijalva , but nothing was done, now the majority of my family has left the party, a consequence of Grijalva’s behaviors . I don’t know much about Darland , but if she is running with Grijalva she must be another puppet , I will not vote for that. If you think attendance has drop now , if Grijalva wins again many more will leave .
Thank you Brian. Try to visualize some of the worst urban poverty and blight in a minority city. Does New Orleans spring to mind?
79% of New Orleans children are now in charter schools.
With the current TUSD leadership, Tucson will do the same.
TUSD will become 1/5 of what it was.
Uh, Rat T, did you ever hear about a little storm called Katrina which blew apart and flooded the public schools in New Orleans?
David, I know you understand the term “cognitive dissonance.” If cognitive dissonance was an Olympic event your support for Adelita Grijalva, in the face of all the objective evidence that her tenure on the Board has been an unmitigated disaster for TUSD and its students, would win you a gold…or at least a silver…medal.
During the 12 years she has been on the Board the district has lost approximately 14,000 students to other districts and charter schools. Most of these students left because TUSD has never prioritized student learning, and the parents of the departed students concluded they’d learn more in other schools. An organization can pretend to be one thing or another, but its real priorities are always found in where it puts its money. During the 12 years Ms. Grijalva has been on the Board the percentage of TUSD revenues that is spent in the classroom has dropped to a criminally low level. For the past several years it has been below 50%. During her 12 years on the Board the per student dollar amount of TUSD revenues that have gone into administration has risen to the point that is fully 30% higher than the average for other districts its size. No matter how well intentioned and personable she may be, Ms. Grijalva’s policies have consistently put the interests of herself and her buddies in the administration far ahead of the interests of TUSD’s students…which is one major reason there are so many less of them (the students…not the policies or the administrators) today than there should have been.
I don’t know much about Jen Darling, but if she is running with Ms. Grijalva, then it is fair to believe that her fiscal priorities would mirror to a great degree the misguided priorities Ms. Grijalva has so often demonstrated. This is not guilt by association since the very act of running as a team presumes a great degree of like-mindedness when it comes to policies.
Darland is a solid choice, but Grijalva has proven herself to be both a rubber stamp for the current superintendent and a “Gotcha!” board member with the previous superintendent. She has also never distinguished herself as a thoughtful questioner, or someone who gets into the minutiae of policy, the budget or operations. Stegeman may be pompous and manipulative, but he at least does his homework and can speak to the complexities of most issues.
It is a shame, Dave, that you overlooked Putnam-Hidalgo, who could run circles around Grijalva when it comes to an understanding of how TUSD works and the needs of the sites. Also, isn’t it past time that Grijalva is held accountable for all the turmoil and lack of leadership that has characterized her tenure on the Board? What value is her supposed “institutional knowledge” when the public can trace support for most of the lousy decisions that have been made in TUSD over the last decade back to her?
The rationale for your personal endorsements should be more closely scrutinized by The Weekly’s editorial board before they announce their own choices. Incumbents should be forced to defend their records and the choices they made during their terms in office. Grijalva is the poster girl for the dysfunction and disarray that has characterized TUSD during her service. Nothing will change if she remains in power.
Oh yea great idea! And what was the definition of insanity, again? Doing the same thing and expecting different results? Why, oh why does ideology make more sense then rational judgement to some?
Grijalva has been a biased and overtly supportive of the La Raza movement, which should be declared a terrorist org. due to their politics, goals and modus operandi. Calling for the overthrow of the U.S. if they are not given the SW U.S. that they claim was stolen from Mex. Many of their supporters have made threats such as “kill the Gringo” and “return them to Europe”, etc. Some of these texts were being taught in our schools to our children (see TUSD School Board Mtg. 2012 where Grijalva defended the LR protesters that disrupted the Board Mtg., chaining themselves to chairs and having to be carried out by Police). La Raza based gangs like MS-13, 18th. Street Boys, La Familia Michoacana, etc. are known to assist/work with the Mex. cartels. Her father, Raul Grijalva, is also a LR member and has been accused of working with the Mex. Cartels in various legislative matters ie; trying to get parts of the Az. border classified as a Nat. Monument, which would disallow our Law Enf./Border Patrol from patrolling those areas even tho’ they are heavily used by the cartels for bringing in drugs and other illegal trafficking like potential terrorists.
Sorry David, but I prefer the guidance of Mark Stegeman’s picks over yours.
Katrina? I was there. That has nothing to do with rebuilding/moving a public school. They developed and built/borrowed space and the parents moved their kids out of public schools. They have not come back, The exodus is expanding. Katrina may have given the kids hope for a way out of poverty and “plantation mentality” promoted by their civil rights/NEA leaders.
Let me apprise you of life on the front lines at TUSD. I teach at UHS, ranked by many as the #7 college prep school in the nation. My “classroom” is a mold-ridden, mosquito-infested FEMA trailer plagued with rats. We have no paper, ink, or books. My students purchase their own books. This is because Grijalva considers UHS to be an “elitist” school. I came from Cholla, where I worked in a lovely classroom with sunny windows and a bottomless book budget. I sacrificed a great deal to work with the best and the brightest here at UHS, and to see how the top students (most of whom are from poor families just like most in Tucson) are treated would sicken even the staunchest hard-line dems. The bloated admin budget will be the death of this district, and deservedly so.
I suppose supporting Grijalva’s candidacy because she gets along well with the new imperfect superintendent who makes mistakes and undoubtedly will make more is one criterion for endorsement. Preferable to me are candidates who take a hard look at the past dozen years and run on platforms of change beginning with substantial policy prescriptions for funding classrooms over bureaucracies and instituting an independent financial audit of district expenses to further that cause. But, I suppose again, that would result in the micromanagement Safier warns of.
I don’t understand the endorsement of Grijalva as anything but a party preference absent an analysis of her documented history as board member and president.
Darland on the other hand is an excellent candidate with a track record of policy statements that are easily researched. As David notes in her case she has the experience and background to be a first rate member of the board. And I’m not at all interested in which political party she associates with.
Great Post, Sabasabas!!! You, your Students, and University High are a “Shinning Star” in TUSD and the Nation generally; proof that with an effective Instructional Program, Dedicated/Competent Teachers , motivated Students, and an Academically Supportive Administration, the sky is the limit Academically!! All this in spite of the Incompetence within the Board and Central Administration!! You have and will continue to have my support. Keep up the good work!!!
Thank you for having the guts to endorse those who you think best for the job. Too many these days seem to care less. It is encouraging to have a blogger and commenters with a high interest in public education.
I hope to see a similar endorsement regarding the 2 candidates for the District 1 seat of the Pima Community College Governing Board. Although either of the candidates will be a welcomed relief to the previous occupant of that seat, there are differences between the two candidates that may well make a difference regarding student access, costs and success. Check out there websites and see if you see some differences.
Careful there Dave, you might be seen as “hijacking” these comments on endorsements for the TUSD BOD with off subject comments on the PCC GB election. Good comment though.
I don’t live or vote in TUSD and have no dog in the fight, but it does seem obvious from living here nearly 20 years and paying some attention to local news that the district has had and continues to have problems. Some of the problems are inherent in the demographics of the district. Some have continued for 40 years due to the unwillingness of all parties — and all have to agree on this — to admit that the desegregation mandate has long since accomplished as much as is feasible and to agree to live with the existing situation. Some problems exist because far too many among us would make school boards partisan entities. We probably should have a TSA [Tucson Students Association] to balance the TEA. Perhaps the most glaring issues are money-related, for which blame can get shared but the most obvious culprit is the state legislature and governor, who have more than decimated funding over many years but especially in the time of the Great Recession right up to the present refusal to restore the money unconstitutionally withheld from the schools. Might we all agree on a freeze on any and all increases in administrative expenses until we have budgetary surpluses after bringing spending on and in the classrooms up to standards? Were I a TUSD voter I might be tempted to vote for Garland due to what I’ve read here about her qualifications, and against Grijalva just because the district is by most standards not appreciatively better off today than it was when she first took office. Please read carefully: I’m not saying she is at fault; I’m saying it doesn’t appear that the district has improved in the past dozen years.
While I do not live or vote in TUSD, voters in the District would be well advised to review the most recent Arizona Auditor General’s report on TUSD spending (http://www.azauditor.gov/reports). You will find that TUSD ranks “very high” in spending on administration, plant operations and transportation. Slightly less than half of the funding goes to the classroom. While per student spending exceeds the State average by over $1000 per student, TUSD falls below the State average in test scores. If I were a taxpayer/voter in TUSD, I would be asking some questions of current and future board members.
That was a great post sabasabas, but for other reasons. I am sorry you are forced to work in those type of conditions. How does it make you feel to know that safety and health don’t rank with your employer as far as priorities, but salary does?
High School Principal Base Salary: $86,337
If you do the math they spend millions on a principal and one assistant principal, but leave you to work in a building that the health department would close down, if it were a home.
Now I see what happened to the janitors, maintenance people and school nurses.
Signs on the school buildings are asking for “parent volunteers.”
Mucho mas denero por favor?
NO WAY!
I don’t see how Jen’s work on a failed proposition at the state level translates into knowledge/experience useful on the TUSD board. Seems like a poor criterion for endorsing her.
Carole, I actually think that ” Jen’s work on a failed proposition at the state level” gave her a lot of knowledge and experience about how school financing works at the state level. If the proposition succeeded, would that have meant she gained more knowledge and experience?
Jen began working on state-level issues years before the sales tax proposition. The amount of time she and others in the Arizona Education Network have spent working on education issues, mainly at the state level, is far beyond what you would expect from people volunteering their time. I’m not saying you need to agree with me that she is one of the two best candidates for the job, but I want you to understand that she has done far more than work on one proposition. I was there when the whole Tuition Tax Credit/backdoor voucher topic came up because of her incredibly detailed research into tax records. I can say with certainty that I would not know as much about the topic as I do, nor would legislators or members of the press or concerned citizens, if it wasn’t for Jen’s work.
Add Safier to Jen’s long list of endorsements, including:
Tucson Metro Chamber of Commerce (Southern Arizona Business Community)
PALF (Pima Area Labor Federation)
CWA (Communication Workers of America)
AFSCME (Arizona Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees)
Arizona List (Democrat Women)
Mayor Jonathan Rothschild
Former Mayor Bob Walkup
Daniel Hernandez Jr.
State Sen. Steve Farley
State Rep. Bruce Wheeler
Sylvia Lee, PCC Board
City Councilwoman Karin Uhlich
CIty Councilman Paul Cunningham
Former Senator Paula Aboud
Ann-Eve Pederson, Arizona Education Network
TUSD Board Clerk Kristel Ann Foster
Former TUSD Board Member Laura Almquist
Former TUSD Board Member Mary Belle McCorkle
Former TUSD Board Member Bruce Burke
And Safier’s endorsement of Adelita also joins:
TEA (Tucson Education Association)
PALF (Pima Area Labor Federation)
CWA (Communication Workers of America)
AFSCME (Arizona Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees)
Planned Parenthood
Arizona List (Democrat Women)
Tucson Metro Chamber of Commerce (Southern Arizona Business Community)
Mayor Jonathan Rothschild
Tucson City Council (Karen Uhlich, Regina Romero, Paul Cunningham, Shirley Scott, Steve Kozochik, Richard Fimbres)
County Supervisors Richard Elias & Ramon Valadez
TUSD Board Clerk Kristel Ann Foster
TUSD Board Member Cam Juarez
Former TUSD Board Member Laura Almquist
Former TUSD Board Member Mary Belle McCorkle
Former TUSD Board Member Bruce Burke
Former TUSD Board Member Joel T. Ireland
Former TUSD Board Member Tomás Castillo
I am offended by the thought that for so many, without even thinking about it, work in the legislature can be easily translated into experience with TUSD schools. Both issues are important, certainly, but our kids (remember them?) deserve people who have been IN THEIR SCHOOLS for the last eight years. After all, the key relationship to be a part of is between the Board and the schools, not the Board and the statehouse. It is incredibly dismissive of the kids to imply that experience in the one translates into experience in the other. But it certainly is politics as usual.
By supporting Grijalva and her minion Darland, there is no doubt that the Democratic Mafia want to retain Power at the expense of the Education of the Children of TUSD. Hopefully this will not happen; that the Voters of TUSD are far more discerning and will reject these endorsements as vacuous, without merit, and pernicious to the movement of TUSD towards Academic improvement for ALL Students.
….after the vote we still have a problem with the counters. This will continue until the public demands better.
How many times must it happen before……
“It is enough that the people know there was an election. The people who cast the votes decide nothing. The people who count the votes decide everything.” Joseph Stalin
Unfortunately, this is always a danger in our Democracy where the concern is to maintain the Power of the status quo.; change is anathema ! It is symptomatic of the decay of a Democracy; fueling its’ own ultimate destruction.
Let us hope that this cynical view of Democracy proves untrue in the up-coming Election; that the final vote count actually represents the “will” of the Electorate.
Sonoran Sam I have explained my situation with TUSD in an earlier blog . Most of the people that you list in support of Adelita and Jen , were contacted and asked to help, most would even respond. AFSCME wouldn’t help, even though I was a member, and in the end they lied about me , in support of Grijalva and the administration. Sound like a lot party line support to me , no matter what kind of a failure the candidate is, I can not vote for a person that has nothing but political gain at heart and be damned the children, that is what I see in Grijalva. She had her chance to show she had integrity , and chose not to, it was her choice , it is my choice now. wake people and do the right thing.
David, I realize this is a bit after the fact, but yesterday’s story about TUSD’s $15 million deficit that was revealed only through a request for information from Michael Hicks is the best possible demonstration that an internal auditor who reports to the Governing Board is absolutely essential. Dr. Stegeman has proposed creating this position several times and has been blocked by Ms. Grijalva, her supporters on the Governing Board and Superintendent Sanchez. Now we know exactly why Ms. Grijalva and Superintendent Sanchez were afraid of creating this position.
Does your cognitive dissonance extend to making excuses for what is, at best, fiscal ineptitude and, at worst, corruption? Now is your chance to change your mind about endorsing Ms Grijalva and turning a blind eye towards nepotism, insider dealing, and a failure to accept any responsibility for the mess she was instrumental in creating. You don’t need to endorse a conservative. There are other left leaning candidates who publicly support transparency and refuse to blame the state legislature for the mistakes of the TUSD leadership.
Betts Putnam-Hidalgo is the only Democratic candidate whose experience in the district, policy proposals, and character qualities suit her to be the kind of board member the district desperately needs. If she is elected, it will break up the dysfunctional factionalism of the current board. Given her stated policy priorities, it would be reasonable to expect her to vote with Juarez and Foster to block things like the elimination of MAS, and with Stegeman and Hicks (or whatever conservative-leaning candidate takes Hicks’ seat) to increase funding to the classrooms and support improvements to transparency and accountability. This is the best of both worlds and exactly what the district needs.
Grijalva has done some good things during her time on the board, but sometimes groups evolve in such a way that a powerful personality’s continuing participation becomes counter-productive. I would like to see Grijalva using her considerable abilities and connections in the service of a new project.
I would support a Darland campaign for the state legislature, but knowing what the TUSD board has been during the past year, I cannot believe that any candidate for whom Grijalva has actively campaigned would be sufficiently independent of the Grijalva camp, if elected. The board needs to support transparency and accountability policies (which the current board majority has not done) and it absolutely needs to stop the rubber stamping and factionalism. Given Darland’s affiliations, including her endorsement from Grijalva and her close relationships with Ann-Eve Pedersen, it seems highly unlikely that a Darland-Foster-Juarez team would be much different from what the Grijalva-Foster-Juarez team has been.
My opinion: any Democrat or progressive-minded independent who wants the district to succeed should cast one vote – for Putnam-Hidalgo – and should do whatever they can to support the Putnam-Hidalgo campaign in the weeks leading up to the election.
Dude, you really need to get out more:
http://www.arizonadailyindependent.com/2014/09/24/tusd-in-financial-crisis-board-kept-in-dark/
http://threesonorans.com/2014/09/25/ht-sanchez-gets-called-out-by-tusd-administrators-an-open-letter/
TiredOfTexas: I agree completely. When two blogs from opposite ends of the political spectrum share information about the malfeasance of Grijalva and Sanchez why does David Safier continue to ignore reality? The only explanation I can come up with is “cognitive dissonance.” The more information he gets that differs with his position the more defensive about his position he gets. The letter in the Three Sonorans….copied to the Arizona Daily Independent…is so damning it would result in the immediate resignation of Sanchez if the man had any ethics at all.
Adelita Grijalva is one of the most incompetent elected officials in Southern Arizona. She is a complete embarrassment to our community and must not be rewarded with another term in office at the expense of our own children.
Are you freakin’ kidding me??? Grijalva is as bad as her dad who is a La Raza Reject and a traitor to our country. He’s been on the Sinaloan Cartel’s payroll for the past 5 yrs. and was responsible for sending millions of $ to the Taliban for med. supplies, so that they could get well quick and get back to killing our soldiers. Adelita was also involved in the La Raza campaign to keep textbooks in our schools that advocated violent revolution to take back the SW U.S. and one of the books had “kill the Gringos” if they don’t bow to the Mexican oppressors. This author shows his true colors by recommending traitors and racists to our school board.
Thanks for writing this article, David. I have met Jen’s husband and was considering voting for her on that basis alone until I saw your recommendation of her alongside Adelita Grijalva.
You have provided a valuable public service!
Adelita Grijalva will in no way EVER get my vote, based in how she and her father, Raul, have done all they can to undermine the will of the people of Arizona and Tucson! For Adelita to even consider herself adequate for TUSD yet again, is one more hard and loud slap in the face of our community!
She continues to insist on her militant La Raza politics, and thereby a third world country education for TUSD’s students! It would be a major disservice to the people of New Orleans to equate Adelita Grijalva with the Katrina disaster, however she comes in a close second when it comes to TUSD and the citizens of Tucson!
Get a clue, David… Tucson deserves so much better!