An article in today’s Star has new background on the hiring of Adelita Grijalva’s mother-in-law, Olga Gómez, as the new principal of TUSD’s Myers/Ganoung Elementary School, and it doesn’t look good. Gómez herself comes out fine. Based on her experience, she may have been a good pick for the school. But Superintendent H.T. Sanchez should have used better judgement and, as important, he should have been more forthcoming when he was questioned about hiring details. And board member Grijalva should have disclosed her close family ties to Gómez earlier in the process.
I’m going on the assumption that the Star article is accurate. It sounds well researched to me. According to the article, Gómez got the lowest marks of the three candidates for the principal’s job. However, since one of the higher ranked candidates was given another job in the district, it really came down to two choices, Gómez and someone from out of state. Sanchez said the need for the other candidate to be re-certified in Arizona was part of his decision to recommend Gómez. Maybe, maybe not. But if he was thinking of the consequences of his decision, if he weighed his concern that a well qualified candidate didn’t have an Arizona credential against the suspicion of impropriety that certainly would follow his choice of Grijalva’s mother-in-law, it shouldn’t have been a contest. He should have gone with the other candidate.
Sanchez made matters worse by saying he didn’t know Gómez was related to Grijalva until the interview. As the Star article makes clear, the two met at the March Cesar Chavez rally, and in an April email to Sanchez, Gómez reminded him of their meeting and referred to her connection with Grijalva, writing, “Please know I do not want nor do I expect any special considerations.” Sanchez has moved from making a bad decision to making things worse by trying to cover his tracks.
I like Sanchez, a lot. I like him personally, I like his energy. I like his vision for TUSD. I want him to stick around for a number of years. But he screwed up here. It’s another “rookie error,” not the first he’s made since he got the job. The problem with this one is, his rookie year is over. He can no longer use lack of experience as an excuse.
Sanchez is a young man who appears to suffer from “Smartest guy in the room” syndrome. It’s true, he’s usually among the smartest guys in the room, and among the quickest witted. I’m sure that’s helped him move up the ladder so quickly. He’s beaten the odds, becoming superintendent of a large district very early in his career. Along the way, I imagine he’s gotten away with a few things here and there, talking and charming his way out of some tough situations. But now he’s one of the most visible people in Tucson and subject to constant scrutiny by the public and the media. Living as he does in the TUSD superintendent’s fishbowl, his every move is watched. Every detail is scrutinized. He really can’t get away with anything. He needs to understand that.
Even if Sanchez thought Gómez would make the better principal, he could have, and should have, chosen the other candidate to avoid the appearance of impropriety. No one would have faulted the decision since the other candidate was ranked higher in earlier interviews. When he was alone after he made the decision, Sanchez could have pounded his fist on the table, banged his head against the wall and bemoaned the need to make so many compromises so he can live to fight another day for what’s best for TUSD. A little bit of fist pounding and head banging comes with the job. It’s part of the real world of being TUSD superintendent.
This article appears in Jul 17-23, 2014.
Seriously, don’t these people know their shenanigans will be discovered?
SonoranWinds – They’ve been getting away with it for so long that they’re becoming more brazen. The government is like an engine…you can keep adding oil to it and spreading the gunk, or you can do a complete oil change periodically to purge the filth. The Old Boy political machine has been entrenched in Pima County for so long that the dirt has seeped through the entire public-sector system.
I listened to Sanches today on one of the morning Conservative AM Radio talk shows. The first half was about him and his background. I was very impressed with the guy. I did not know that much about him. Good values and a good background.
Having said that. I think the problem here is the School Board. What a bunch of slime. No better than a corrupt Sonoran village mayor and corrupt government. It does not change.
CD, Sanchez is not a part of the “Old Boy political machine” in Tucson. He’s the new kid on the block. I think he made a mistake, but it wasn’t because he’s an intrenched part of the local establishment.
Did he check this person out or just depend on what he was told? The first story that came out was something about this Gomez person could sue if she wasn’t hired? I don’t remember the exacts but I thought it was a bit strange.
Changes need to be made or they are going to continue going down the toilet.
This is serious business with Grijalva and the hiring of her Mother-in Law. I suggest that the Board conduct an Official Inquiry into the matter to confirm or not want has been reported in the Press. If confirmed, those who misled and lied to the Board committed fraud and, in the least, should be fired. What role did the TUSD Legal Department play in this matter?
So if you’re qualified to be a principal, and your family are dedicated public education servants in higher positions, you need to move out of the area to get a job? I”m just saying, Tucson is a small town when it comes to things like this. Dismissing relatives just because their relatives may not work very well.
Yet again Safier is being a Sanchez apologist. First it was the consulting contracts that you had no problem with whatsoever, and now he made an honest mistake…just a “rookie error.” The fact of the matter is he has served as a superintendent and as a school administrator for many years back in his previous district. This wasn’t just an oops I messed up. This is something he knew and chose to willfully ignore. The problem isn’t he made a mistake, it’s that he has now created multiple situations where he has demonstrated a lack of trust. We expect a much higher standard for ethical behavior from the leader of the community’s largest school district.
Gomez is also far from coming out fine in this one as well. Why did she email Dr. Sanchez in the first place? What could she have possibly been trying to accomplish? If she wanted to be judged strictly on the merits like she said, then she would have never contacted him in the first place. She was using her relationship with the board president to put herself in a favorable position for the job with the superintendent (and it worked). She also asked him to keep it a secret–putting him in a seriously compromising position. It was absolutely inappropriate of her to behave this way. How is she going to have any credibility with staff at Myers/Ganoung?
My suspicion is he may not have have had a choice. First, we’re talking about Adelita, the woman who virtually runs the school board. Second, the Grijalvas have their hooks in a lot of things in Tucson and they have no compunction about getting their people into positions of power and using that power to further their family ambitions.
HT Sanchez apologized on the Desimone Daily Double (KVOI 1030 AM) yesterday. I thought it was very honorable and he said he learned from his mistakes. You don’t often hear leaders admit they make any. You can listen to the podcast at http://www.kvoi.com.
Lie about it, declare it a bad decision. Well done H.T.
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
The only reason Gomez scored in the top three on her interview was because she got highest marks from Abel Morado…an old apologist for the Grijalva’s who owes his high paying central administrative job directly to them..and Adrian Vega…one of Sanchez’s buddies who was brought in from Texas and already appears on his way out because of sexual harassment issues.
Mr. Safier, with all respect, you need to forget the fact that Sanchez approached you to have a conversation a while back. He is no better than John Pedicone and, in fact, may do even more damage to TUSD than Pedicone did. Enabling nepotism is a serious offense and he probably managed to break a law or two by hiding his role from the Governing Board.
The fact remains that no legal conflict of interest exists in the hiring of Grijalva’s mother-in-law. The question of her suitability for the job seems to exist only in one’s perception of the Grijalva involvement. Was it a transparent hiring on any level? Doesn’t seem to be. However, illegal? No. This is most certainly not the first individual hired in TUSD who is/was related to a board member outside the scope of conflict of interest. Those who have an axe to grind with Grijalva will jump on it. Those who don’t care for Sanchez will jump on it. Otherwise it is a tempest in a teapot. If Gomez turns out to be a bad principal as defined through evaluation and performance then it was a bad decision. If she turns out to do well, then it was a good decision. Let’s concentrate on the three policy initiatives that the board is dealing with right now: Strategic Plan, Magnet Plan, and Boundary Plan.
Marty, I’m not as easily duped as you seem to think. I spent over 30 years teaching in public schools, scrutinizing the work of my schools’ administrators and superintendents. I talked with all of them and wasn’t simply swept into their webs, my star-struck eyes twinkling with their reflected glory.
The fact is, I see something special in Sanchez which has the potential to be good for TUSD. Will he succeed? Will his weaknesses overwhelm his strengths? I don’t know. I’m in the guy’s corner and hope he’ll be make a positive difference in the district. I’m also willing to criticize him, as I did in this and in previous posts, from the standpoint of someone who wants to see him grow and mature in the job.
TUSD should not be a superintendent training ground.
Exaxtly, TUSD should not be a superintendent training ground at the salary he’s getting. Another point: Sanchez jon history appears to have a two year cycle, hardly enough for sold experience but indicative of the professional job hopper. Add the that the road to a Doctorate leaves like time for real world experience, and the end result is a professional student thrust into a high administrative position. When the glad hand and charm start to ware thin and the public starts to go sour, my bet is that Sanchez already has his eye on the next stop on his job intinary. My contact with Sanchez convinces me he is more talk and charmer than substance, and TUSD will go the same way it has been unless the public gets ride of the incompetent and political Board of Governors.
The Sups are in and out because of all the low rent, gab and gossip bad actors they have to work with. School Board, Administrators, Principles, teachers – the whole lot. Who could blame them?
I would include parents but they are mostly absent. Until their kid fails.
Fraser – I was referring to the Grijalva / Ekstrom dynasty.
David, I am at a loss to understand what you find in Sanchez’s actions that gives you hope he will grow into the job. As others have already commented, Sanchez is being paid more than enough to have already “done his growing” on someone’s else’s dime. Apart from that, he has been a knee-jerk supporter of following the Grijalva status quo….the status quo that has literally driven thousands of middle class families out of TUSD and into other districts and charter schools.
I have seen nothing so far to lead me to believe there is anything worth giving him any more chances. He has blown it by hiring so many of his old buds from Ector, Texas to high paying administrative positions in TUSD, (one of whom may already be on the way out for issues related to claims of sexual harassment.) He has blown it by lying to the Governing Board and the public about his connection to Ms. Gomez. He has blown it by continuing by advocating for the magnet programs that cost a ton of money to run, have not improved student achievement, and have made the district even more segregated.
Would you be ready to cut him loose if school opens in August and, once again, TUSD has lost more students? That would constitute proof to reasonable people that he has failed to restore public confidence in TUSD.
See the problem is that there have been so many new hire’s at TUSD that are given special treatment because they are related to another employee that it makes this one look just as fishy as any previous. How do we know how Ms. Gomez ended up as one of the final three candidates in the first place. Plus H.D.’s lie about whether he had known that Gomez and Grijalva were related lead me to believe that there is more happening here than what has come out already…………..as usual.
Marty, I’m curious, but obviously you don’t have to answer. Are you an educator? The reason I ask is, your expectation that anyone should turn around a district in a year’s time, or that anyone will really “turn around” a district in the kind of dramatic way you seem to expect, doesn’t sync with my experience in the field of education, either as a teacher or as someone who follows what’s going on in education around the country.
Don’t drink too much of the Koolaid, David. From my experience, those who pose as “The Smartest Man in the Room” rarely are. For a readable take on this type of character, I recommend Professor Aaron James’s, “Assholes *a theory”.
Has anyone spoken to folks from the district Gomez “resigned” from? Media reported she wanted to be closer to family who live in Tucson. Might be interesting to see what her previous teaching and para professionals as well as parents have to share. I for one raise my glass and toast her “choice” to move on to fresh ground. May the force be with you.
So, here is the thing…HT Sanchez is in charge and rules by intimidation, but is smart enough to understand “politics”. Just listen to a governing board meeting (tusd1.org) Adelita Grijalva is his biggest advocate HT can do no wrong in her eyes and she has convinced at least two other members the same. It was very smart of him to appoint the mother in law as a way to keep AG in his pocket!Everyone on his leadership team is ruled by intimidation, not collaboration. So, they either stay quiet for fear of retaliation or speak up and are forced to resign or be fired! Shall we count the number of people who have resigned within the last 4 months? It would appear the problem is not with HT but with the people who put him in charge! Maybe everyone should think long and hard about who they elect to oversee the education of our children!