Late Wednesday night at the state legislature, SB 1120, the bill to create a forensic audit of TUSD’s desegregation budget, was in front of the House Appropriations Committee. Superintendent H.T. Sanchez made a strong, detailed statement at the hearing. Senator Steve Farley, who represents part of the Tucson district, followed. He began his statement by saying,
“I hope you’ve been able to see from talking with our new superintendent that this is not your father’s TUSD. There is a whole new spirit at TUSD. As a father and parent at TUSD [Farley has a child at Tucson High], I checked it out very carefully. I visited the classrooms. I see the great job the teachers are doing, and the administrators are doing. As a parent, I am very happy with the direction TUSD is moving.”
The bill went nowhere, thanks in good part to Sanchez’s statement and his detailed answers to questions from the legislators. Unless someone figures out a way to attach it to some other bill at the eleventh hour, the forensic audit is dead.
It did me good to hear Farley’s endorsement of TUSD. With so much negativity enshrouding TUSD like a cloud obscuring the daily good work of teachers, support staff and, yes, administrators, the problems in the district are overemphasized and its successes are too often overlooked.
For those who have forgotten or are too young to remember, Farley was paraphrasing an old car ad whose tagline was, “It’s not your father’s Oldsmobile.” Don’t dismiss the Olds, the ad urged. Take another look, it’s not the car it once was, it’s not the car you think it is. That’s what Farley was talking about. “There is a whole new spirit at TUSD,” he said. Take another look.
I know I’m about to get body-slammed in the comments section (Let the “Naive fool!” “Toady for the administration!” “Grijavalista!” “Sanchez lover!” comments begin), but first, let me add a few conditions to my endorsement of TUSD. Obviously the district has long-standing problems which need to be addressed. Obviously Sanchez, his administrative team and the Board majority have made missteps and mistakes and will continue to make them. But, as Farley said, TUSD is moving in the right direction — slowly, in fits and starts, without enough money to do everything it wants to do, but moving in the right direction, making progress.
TUSD isn’t a brand spankin’ new car straight off the showroom floor. It’s been around for awhile. A more appropriate metaphor for the district might be an ocean liner traveling through uncertain waters, taking on every passenger who shows up at the dock regardless of their readiness, or willingness, to embark on the voyage. The ship must carry them to a variety of destinations which won’t be determined until the voyage is well underway, and individual destinations change on a daily basis.
The ship engine is serviceable but could stand new parts and better upkeep, and the living quarters are showing their age, but the company that holds the cash doesn’t care much what happens to the ship or its passengers. The crew — some experts at what they do, others still learning their craft — does the best it can with what it has. The captain and his officers try to correct course as the voyage is in progress while voices shout advice and criticism from every direction. The gigantic ship’s momentum carries it forward. Changing course is difficult, and abrupt changes are nearly impossible. The ship’s speed, direction and ports of call can be changed, but only gradually.
Slowly, the captain and his officers work to improve the ship’s efficiency, steer a straighter course and give crew members the support and guidance they need to perform their tasks as well as they can. The changes are never fast or sure enough, and some people will always feel their needs have been slighted no matter what changes are made. No one is completely satisfied. But if the ship is moving in the right direction and making needed changes, that’s progress.
This article appears in Mar 26 – Apr 1, 2015.
Interesting allegory, but you haven’t said anything about what destination the ship is aiming for or why you feel it is now heading in the right direction. Nor did Farley say, in the passage you quoted, what the “new spirit” is. I get that you would like us to have sympathy with the inexperienced crew members steering “the big ship,” but in the absence of substantive information about what specific “improvements” have been made, it will be hard for readers to follow your lead.
As someone who has seen repeated mistakes made with the application (or non-application) of funds on the big ship in the last year and half, I and other helpless passengers at the mercy of this crew would like to see an additional “crew member” added: an internal auditor who reports to the board. Then the captain and crew would have more help keeping the ship on course. Wouldn’t that be a good thing?
All you need to do is define your metrics and it doesn’t matter what anyone says.
How is TUSD moving in the right direction? Enrollment? More money? No more racism and segregation? Getting off the Deseg Order? HT wants a data-driven approach, so what data is everyone looking at?
If it remains unclear the TUSD budget is millions in arrears or has millions in surplus funds, how can it be said the ship is now headed in the right direction? We are still waiting for that accounting. One can assume the role of Pollyanna or Cassandra, that’s an individual choice. But without solid evidence and metrics pointing to improvement, Senator Farley and Superintendent Sanchez might simply be rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
I think this says a lot.
Dr. Sanchez said, “We just gave an across-the-board pay raise and opened two close schools. Our five year plan won a prestigious award, and our infant and early learning centers earned recognition from Expect More Arizona as the People’s Choice in early education for the month of December.”
Sounds good to me. If people want more, they can look at test scores and see overall improvement in that area. Some people don’t value test scores, and some people do. In addition, if people want to know more, they can go to the schools and observe. They will probably be impressed. Every school and school system can always improve and I think TUSD is looking forward with good ideas and is open to more.
With the cuts in the budget in education I think we need to be patient. I think looking for the positive and giving all the districts time to adjust is valuable. They do not have an easy job especially now.
Pollyanna has spoken. Cassandra, are you out there? Would you care to provide your perspective?
Sorry David but the ad campaign was “this is not your father’s Buick.”
Oldsmobile folded.
Close TUSD.
Close TUSD? And those 60,000 TUSD students would go to…………………………………….Basis?
The only comment I can make to those who say they have seen repeated mistakes in the application of funds, I have yet to see one fact that substantiates that. It may be your opinion but opinions are not facts.
Rat T, a correction of your comment. In the 80s, Oldsmobile ran the “It’s not your father’s Oldsmobile” ad campaign. After that, Oldsmobile folded. Today’s Buick ads use the same concept, but I’ve never heard them use that phrase.
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2009/01/this-is-not-your-fathers-buick/
I know. I just wanted to make sure you read all the comments. Thank you.
Robin, your ability to fill the comment streams here with what “another TUSD principal” characterized as your “Polyanna glob” without a proportionate “push back” from Cassandras can be explained in part by the fact that many of the Cassandras are probably afraid to speak up. The same may be said of why no specific instances of misapplication of funds are cited. Anyone who cites a specific instance immediately identifies which site they are on and what their specific issues are. Cassandras who want to keep their jobs will also keep their mouths shut.
Here’s a relevant fact that those reading these streams should be aware of in interpeting the commentary here: a rumor was apparently circulated that David Safier would “out” the identities of anonymous commenters at Tucson Weekly to members of the TUSD board. Though Mr. Safier has subsequently denied the rumor (see his comment in the stream on this piece:
http://www.tucsonweekly.com/TheRange/archives/2015/03/10/tusds-cam-juarez-responds-to-anonymous-letter-focus-on-budget-cuts-to-education-not-attacking-us )
the rumor may have had its intended effect in clearing the comment streams on Tucson Weekly of teachers and administrators who have less than positive things to say about the district. Should teachers and administrators risk their jobs to provide facts about TUSD that communicate something other than what Robin Beelen communicates, which is nothing but naive cheerleeding? “Yay TUSD!” “Yay Dr. Sanchez!” “Yay!” “Yay!” “Yay!” It gets old very quickly for those of us who are on TUSD sites seeing what is actually happening there, and yet we understand why commentary here these days tends to self-select in the “Polyanna” direction.
I follow education articles and commentary in the Arizona Daily Star, in the Tucson Weekly, and on the Three Sonorans website. I advise those who want to understand what is going on in the district to consult all three sources. None of them provide complete information and none of them are unbiased, but comparing and contrasting what is available in each brings you closer to a complete picture of what is going on in the district than any source considered individually.
Here’s a fact, Robin. TUSD has squandered tens of millions of dollars trying to implement the Lawson software system after wasting tens of millions more on Oracle PeopleSoft. This situation has plagued the district for over 16 years and the Lawson system (the latest $10M fiasco) is in place in over 90% of Arizona school districts.
http://tucson.com/news/local/education/pre…
The fact is the TUSD administration and district IT department could not implement nearly $30 M in software they purchased. Why? Part of the answer:
“In investigating the software issue, TUSD’s staff found many upgrades for PeopleSoft were purchased but never used, likely because employees did not want to veer from the status quo, and the cost associated with configuring the module wasn’t budgeted for…(Pedicone).
Substantiated fact.
Another anonymous,I hope no one has stayed away from the comments section because of the untrue rumor. I welcome comments from all sides and have no way,or desire,to find out who is writing comments.
Good to know, David.
I agree with many of your posts, but in the absence of more specific data about improvements made to TUSD in the last year and a half, I’m not certain I can agree with what you’ve written in the “Not Your Father’s TUSD” post above. You seem to be pretty responsible about answering questions and providing factual information. Would it be possible for you to provide information or data on the following points brought up above by Robin B.?
1) RE a much-needed pay raise for the teachers: I have heard teachers say that what was described as a pay raise did not in some cases actually result in more income coming home to them. What’s the status on this? Was there a problem? If so, what was it? Has it been corrected? How much of a raise (in terms of actual increase in take-home pay) did the average teacher receive?
2) RE the Early Learning Centers: I’ve worked in primary and pre-school education and I’m very interested in what’s going on with the centers opened by TUSD. Can you tell us, are they “breaking even” or making money for the district now or are they in debt and / or drawing money off of funds available to the K-12 programs? In assessing their potential positive contribution to the community, it’s also important to know what education is required of those employed there: Are the employees knowledgeable about child development? Have they completed a bachelor’s or associate’s degree in Early Childhood Education? What is the rate of pay for pre-school teachers and infant caretakers? These are serious issues that are much discussed in the field of early childhood education and policy. It would be helpful to know where TUSD is locating itself on the broad spectrum of professionalism and quality service delivery currently available to parents and children in this sector.
3) RE the Strategic Plan: I’ve heard from people on our site who are pretty well-informed about the plan that there are some “Year 1” goals that have not been implemented. At this point it would be impossible for the goals to be implemented before the end of the school year. Some are under the impression that implementation of these goals during this school year had been promised. Others say certain goals are “unimplementable.” Have you been following the progress of the Strategic Plan and is it your impression that, in general, most of the Goals for Year 1 are implementable and they have been or are being implemented?
4) RE what can be learned from observing on the sites: I’ll be quite honest and say that I’m not very happy with what I see happening on my site. In general, to preserve my sanity I try (and sometimes fail) to ignore much of what’s going on so that I won’t get too irritated by the many problems. I’ve noticed, though, that we keep seeing references in the comment streams to the large number of students, faculty, and staff who have recently left the district, and this troubles me. What’s the data on this? What have the student and faculty / admin / staff attrition rates been since the beginning of the 2013-2014 school year? (By “attrition rates” I mean the gross number of people employed or enrolled before the beginning of the 2013-2014 school year who have since left, not the “net”, i.e. the number of hires or enrollments with the number of “separations” and withdrawals subtracted).)
You may not be able to answer all of these questions, but if you have information on any of them, I would appreciate hearing what it is.
I would like to see an audit of where the decades and decades of so-called “desegregation” money has gone and what are the claims of success so far. To me, it seems to be a waste of effort, since “Mexican” is not a race, it is a country.
Why were we as taxpayers punished by taking our tax dollars and WASTING it on a useless deseg program that was never administered or monitored properly? Does anybody know how they were to achieve what they had set out to accomplish? By the way what was their goal?
Because of lawyers and minority lawsuits represented by the likes of Al Sharpton.
They have stolen your child’s future.
I have posted for years to close TUSD and many of you reacting from a paralysis in thinking ask, “where do you want them to go?”
Nowhere! I want them to stay right where they are. I just don’t want TUSD to be allowed to run this schools district. Let others take it over, annex in and repair the long term damage.
You guys really need to get outside of the box and start thinking…..
Rat T “I have posted for years to close TUSD….”
The definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result.
Maybe you are fighting the wrong fight? The common humanity and sense of community approach would to fix it and make it better, not abort it.
Not rat t…I think you’re wrong about that. Change takes time. There was a day when I could not get one person to agree with me. Nothing but name calling and put downs. People are beginning to pay attention because they have grown tired of the same problems never being solved.
Be patient…their time is coming. It took 25 years but the deniers can now see the Clintons for who the really are. And they don’t like it one bit.
Besides, I can’t spell the word kwit.
What are you two imposters up to here?
People feel good about themselves when they quote Einstein. But it doesn’t make you appear any smarter because the opposite of his phrase is “practice makes perfect.” Anything repeated 12 times becomes a habit and is committed to memory.
Just because you may not agree does not make it insane. Probably just the opposite.
Keep doing what you’re doing….
http://robertringer.com/the-magic-of-repetition/
How many times and way do you have to be told Safier, that you are in la la land, and if you haven’t gotten a clue by now, your not going to. Your a perfect example of TUSD — they dont have a clue, nor will they ever. nor will you.
Rat T- no doubt the power of repetition works, and btw I’m impressed by your googling savvy. But that’s just how we memorize phone numbers and stuff like that, and is probably not a effective way to fix any issue that you might refer to with TUSD.
But if your practicing makes perfect, and I think I’ve seen you type “Close TUSD” or something similar at least 12 times by now, the fact is that your message is just as uninspiring and ineffective now as it was the first time you typed it. But keep on going with that I guess if it makes you feel like you are a positive contributor.
“People are beginning to pay attention because they have grown tired of the same problems never being solved.” Fine, I don’t know anyone who says that TUSD is problem free, but closing the district only solves a specific problem for those who have competitive interests and does nothing for the other 99%.
The Dpt of Veterans Affairs is way more broken than TUSD but we shouldn’t close it because of that, but instead make it better, right?
One reason. You can’t fire federal employees. You are stuck with them for life and then life pensions. At least in the schools you may have some small authority left.
I beg you to look at what they just found in the Atlanta Public School system and tell yourself that’s not happening in Tucson.
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/58447a404ff34413be536de642a38a99/former-atlanta-educators-jailed-test-cheating-scandal
Want to place a small wager?
A small wager? I’ll bite, but it can’t be about cheating because that would be like betting on if guys think about sex all the time or not.
You certainly read about the UNC cheating scandal last year, or the one at Duke etc…but I’d bet that you never posted anywhere “Close UNC” or “Close Duke” like you do with TUSD.
If I’m right, instead of hiding behind an anonymous name posting FUD and general negativity about the district, you instead run for the governing board in 2016. It’s called being a part of the solution.
UNC and Duke are not funded with my state tax dollars. General negativity? Show me one general comment I have made about them. Close TUSD is a complete overview of a district run amok that no group of people seem capable of correcting. Why would I waste time sitting on the governing board. Ask Dr Stegeman how that’s working out for him.
The cheating scandal in Atlanta is simply the tip of the iceberg as you will see what people do when their job/income is in jeopardy. There will be plenty more to come.
I already am part of the solution. The only solution.
Yah, why waste time sitting on the governing board in order to effect change when you can bloviate online? Besides in your world all you have to do is tell yourself over and over that you are part of the solution and it will be so.
Maybe you are exactly what Dr. Stegeman needs? I’m certain he’ll run for re election in 2016 because he doesn’t see his service as a waste of time.
Anyone can say that there “is no group of people…capable of correcting” TUSD, but when former top level administrators and people who have taught in the district for decades agree with that assessment (as many of them do), you know that there is in fact a serious, verifiable problem. Many, many highly competent and professionally educated people — administrators, teachers, parents, professional advocates — who through the decades have approached this district and tried to “be part of the solution,” have ended up walking away exhausted, damaged, and disgusted. I have listened to too many people who fit this description to doubt it.
For those who would like to consult another perspective on the health of “big ship” mentioned in Safier’s allegory, here’s a link to the latest Three Sonorans post:
http://threesonorans.com/2015/04/01/tusd-whistleblowers-6th-letter-calls-out-district-fools-the-sgfj/
Whether or not you agree with what this group writes or with the fact that they are writing it, it must be acknowledged that a district that has this kind of severe, ongoing, public internal discord is in very serious trouble. If there is any near-term solution, it is for the public to put pressure on the board to start observing professional protocols with hiring, procurement, and auditing.
TUSD is as poorly run a district as Three Sonorans is a blog, and for all we know he’s writing those anonymous letters. If teachers really are writing them then they are doing a huge disservice to their cause, as they lose all credibility by not identifying themselves (which means we aren’t credible either because if we really were, we’d self-identify).
The TUSD governing board is incapable and needs to be replaced for a fresh start (although the 2 incumbents were re elected, beyond all understanding). Maybe Dr. Sanchez too. But one big if not the only reason why anyone would call for closing the district in lieu of fixing it is for a competitive gain.
I’m against the privatizers, too. But I think you need to consider the fact that when there are such severe problems within the district’s governance and administration, fear of retribution will be one motive at play. Those of us who know the district recognize that many of the problems described in these letters are not being made up. It’s a sad, sad situation. The district is, unfortunately, truly in disarray.
Fear of retribution is why whistleblower laws are in place, although I do understand the predicament. It would be a very difficult decision but the credibility adding names would provide is too important. We can’t not do big things because of fear. Funny thing, if there was retribution that might be the best thing to happen for the anti TUSD bunch. There would be rallies at 1010 and the fired letter writers would be heroes.
Anyway, TUSD is truly in disarray so let’s make sure we we get it healthy again.
I would love to see a list of all TUSD employees that were treated wrong after speaking up. I don’t need your names…just substantiate the fact that it’s standard operating procedure to fire, demote, and degrade anybody that doesn’t agree with them.
Three Sonorans are on to something. I only wish Tucson had investigative reporters.
Rather than adopt a pet spots on the evening news.
Here you go, Robin. Misapplication of funds:
http://threesonorans.com/2014/07/23/ht-sanchez-gets-caught-multiple-lies-tape-breaks-elders-hearts-video/
Sorry, I guess if I’m being fair I should say, “This looks to me like a misapplication of funds, given the fact that teachers have gone without decent raises for years and given some of the things that went unfunded in my child’s school at the same time that these bonuses were awarded, but what do I know?”
Perhaps there’s a valid explanation for the issues Lillian Fox raises in the video. If so, I would like to hear it.
I would also like to know the answers to the four questions raised above about the improvements made in the last year and a half. If there ARE valid answers, why has no one provided them?
I just spent some time trying to find coverage in the AZ Daily Star of the issue brought up in the above link about the bonuses. I could not find anything relating to it. Does anyone have a link to a public explanation (or public apology) related to this? It seems strange that such an issue (both the awarding of bonuses of this size in the context of such an underfunded district and how this video would seem to indicate it was done) would just be accepted as part of “business as usual,” with no public discussion related to it.
So why is there so much resistance to the installation of an independent auditor who reports to the board (rather than to the Superintendent) if there have been what seem to be valid questions raised in public forums about inadvisable (and, it would seem, deliberately opaque) allocations? I don’t get it.
A lot of the troubles we are having now seem to stem pretty directly from how the hiring process for this particular Superintendent was handled.
http://tucson.com/news/local/education/precollegiate/star-lawsuit-pressing-tusd-to-release-candidates-names/article_b84b629b-20d1-5ce6-b8ca-a4eeab7ca072.html
Questions related to this: if the hiring process had been handled with sufficient regard for the normal protocols in public institutions….
A) …. would we have been able to hire someone more well-equipped by his or her previous work experience to lead a troubled urban district of this size and complexity?
B) …would whomever was hired have had more “buy-in” from those he or she would have to try to lead? (How do you secure “buy-in” in circumstances where the community has not been sufficiently involved in the vetting process and there is so much secrecy that the local paper has to file a lawsuit to procure information for the public? Very hard indeed to overcome a “bad start” like that.)
One thing that I just don’t understand about TUSD: why is it so hard to get very basic professional protocols in place? It’s not rocket science. There is a very valid, time-tested “public administration” knowledge base that is available, if it is tapped, to get everyone to agree to some valid “rules of the game.” It just never seems to be applied to any process associated with this district. If the knowledge base is referred to, those who bring it up get accused of ludicrous things like “being on a witch hunt” and “being enemies of public education.” Why? Is the constituency really so uninformed about how public institutions work that they can’t recognize the difference between a “witch hunt” and requests for normal “public institution” protocols? If so, that is a very big problem. We’ll never get the “transparency and accountability” that people keep asking for if most people in the community really don’t know what those things are or why they should be asking for them.