Read Tim Steller’s column in today’s Star: Tucson school board race turns partisan. Steller does a terrific job of laying out the dynamics of the TUSD board race. At the same time, he reveals the “Me”-centric world Mark Stegeman inhabits.
When Stegeman writes his constituent newsletters and his op eds, he’s very careful to create an objective, scholarly persona. He comes across as someone who simply has the best interests of the school district at heart. But when he talks off the top of his head, he’s not quite as adept at hiding his “Me”-centric world view. I did a first-person count of the Stegeman quotes in Steller’s article. He used “I” 8 times, “Me” 4 times and “My” twice. That’s at total of 14 “I/Me/My’s” in 102 quoted words. More than one out of every seven words is a reference to himself.
Here’s how Stegeman describes what it’s like being in the voting minority on the TUSD board.
“There are a lot of things I want to do, or oppose doing, where Hicks is my only vote,” Stegeman said. “In supporting him, I’m protecting the vote I’ve got. He doesn’t vote with me all the time, but he does a lot of the time.”
It’s Hicks voting “with me,” not the two of them voting together. Hicks is “the vote I’ve got.” Stegeman is the alpha male here. Hicks is a bit player, the foot soldier to Stegeman’s general.
Why is Stegeman supporting Debe Campos-Fleenor?
“Debe, I think, would probably help me on almost all of those issues,” Stegeman said. “That’s my guess, so I’m going with the person who would do the most good for me.”
Again, it’s all I/Me/My. His language doesn’t describe Campos-Fleenor helping the district. Stegeman says she “would probably help me.” She’s “the person who would do the most good for me.”
By the end of the article, it looks like a great deal of the bitter divisiveness in the TUSD board originates with Stegeman. But Steller adds, it was Tom Horne’s use of Mexican American Studies as a campaign issue when he was Ed Supe that was “perhaps the most polarizing issue in Tucson’s recent history.”
Stegeman and Horne: the two people most responsible for the bitter polarization in TUSD, one from the outside, one from the inside. It makes sense to me. That’s why Stegeman is such an important component in the TUSD board race, even though he’s not on the ballot. If the November vote puts him back in the majority, his desire to micromanage the district and exert his influence will make it much more difficult for the district to move forward.
This article appears in Sep 11-17, 2014.
Move forward to what? Ethno – centric? Hasn’t enough time and tears been wasted on this issue? What about math scores? What about reading scores? Wake up…the only families left in TUSD are going to be the ones that don’t care about their kids or have no choice because of life situations…..the people that can’t see that happening are truly the myopic ones. Horne is an ass…but you are far, far too hard on Stegeman. You blame him for polarization…your opinion….I see it caused by the other “side” of the board……
I know both Mark Stegeman and Mike Hicks, they are good people trying to do the right thing . They were the only board members to speak out when I was wrongfully terminated from my job at TUSD. Grijalva refuse to do anything , and Foster and Juarez fell in line with her, even though , in their own admission, they knew I was innocent. Why don’t you stop attacking Stegeman and Hicks and take a good look at whats been happening on the other side of the board room
David, Dr. Stegeman is not a candidate, so the only reason for you and Tim Steller to continue this soap opera is to distract readers from looking at Adelita Grijalva and her running mate, Jen Darling. Both you and Steller seem focused on Dr. Stegeman’s ego instead of the policies he wants to pursue, as well as the policies Ms. Grijalva has championed. I have asked you before to deal with the issues he has raised…much to the consternation of Ms. Grijlava and Superintendent Sanchez. Currently, Dr. Stegeman is the Board member trying to get the Governing Board to hire an internal auditor that reports to the Governing Board (SOP in most districts in the country.) If you did that, instead of focusing on Dr. Stegeman’s ego, you just might see that when it comes to education policy he is the one on the side of the angels. Ultimately, this should not about anyone’s ego; it should be about who will put in place the best policies for TUSD students. They seem to be completely left out in your parade of columns about Dr. Stegeman. Given your full-throated support for Ms. Grijlava that is not a surprise since her policies also ignore the learning needs of TUSD students.
YOU have made it personal. In the very quote you cited, Mr Stegeman used he, him and Hicks four times.
What is you real goal here? I think we know.
Than you Brian and Marty. You sure got that right.
Marty, Rat T and Safier are all on the wrong track. The first two focus entirely on their animus towards Grijalva, whereas Safier seems to suffer from a Stegeman-obsession. Anyone who has been following the TUSD Board since both of them came on the Board can see that BOTH of them are examples of the SAME problem, which is agenda-driven, selfish politics that won’t allow for the possibility of dialogue or compromise. They BOTH remind me of Rosalie Lopez, another vain, stubborn and vengeful Board member who the electorate wisely dumped after growing weary of her excesses.
Take a good look at every other governing board in our county and you will not find anyone who performs their duties in the way that BOTH Grijalva and Stegeman have approached theirs. If Safier (or Steller) believe that Stegeman and Horne are the main reasons for the dysfunctions and divisions on the TUSD Board, they need to take a broader view and perhaps remove their partisan filters. Marty and Rat T would be wise to do the same. The historical record proves that Grijalva is just as guilty as Stegeman for the problems in TUSD during her watch, perhaps more so since she has been on the Board longer.
Voters should carefully scrutinize all the candidates and ask themselves which ones will fulfill the main task of any governing board member in any district, which is to stay focused on policy and to learn the operations of the district they serve so that they can hold the superintendent and their team accountable for day to day operations. Grijalva has utterly failed in that mission, as has Stegeman’s lackey, Hicks. There will be no sustainable change in TUSD until the Board is composed of people who understand and perform their roles with consistency and integrity.
Mr. Safier: Your assessment of Dr. Mark Stegeman is , generally, correct in my opinion. However, Dr. Stegeman is not up for re-election to the TUSD Board; Adelita Grijalva and Michael Hicks are up for re-election. You do not support the election of the Candidates supported by Dr. Stegeman, including Michael Hick and Debe Campos-Fleenor….I agree as well.
However, your silence on the re-election of Adelita Grijalva is deafening!! Do you support her re-election and her endorsed candidate, Jenifer Darland?
Grijalvas’ and Hicks’ tenure on the Board has been an unmitigated disaster in developing a positive/successful Academic program for TUSD.
Check the Statistics during their 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.
Grijalva and Hicks, BOTH, need to be voted off the TUSD Board! Do you agree???
Can’t speak for Safier of course but then asking him to comment on the positions of Grijalva is an exercise in futility. Adelita is of course a royal member of the Democratic tribe and despite the continuing collapse of TUSD, she is untouchable by Safier who is apparently more interested in party purity than revamping the failing district. Dr. Stegeman committed the ultimate sin, supported Republican candidates and switched party affiliation. That explains Safier’s continuing campaign against a board member who is not even running for election.
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: Again Check the Enrollment Statistics, Central Administration Expansion, Budget Allocations, and AIM Scores. The support of a Candidate by the Tucson Weekly should NOT be a “knee jerk” reaction to her incumbency and her families affiliation with the Democratic Party. If so, the Tucson Weekly will loose readership ..and…more importantly…Credibility.
You can’t lose something you never had.
What happened to un-bias reporting?
People focus on personalities rather than on issues when the issues-driven discussion would not support the conclusions they want to reach.
TUSD Needs New Leadership: Your long post does not discuss a single actual issue facing TUSD, past or present. It is the obsessive focus on personalities rather than on issues and schools that tends to make the TUSD discussion so toxic. In the end no one cares who is on the board. What matters is what decisions the board makes.
David: Do you have an example of the micromanagement to which you refer? I think that the main “micromanagement” problem in TUSD is Central overmanaging the schools.
There is no such phenomenon as School Board Micromanagement! The Board sets Policy!!! The Administration implements this Policy!!…and …it is the Boards responsibility to insure that this is done!! All Administrative Offices within Central Administration, School Administration, Teachers, Students, and Staff answer DIRECTLY to the Board.
The Board can delegate authority, of course; but, the responsibility of insuring that TUSD is providing a Positive/Successful Academic Experience to ALL Students in the District resides with the Board.
The Boards delegation of authority does not entail an abnegation of their responsibility as the guardians of the System of Public Education within TUSD.
TUSD Needs New Leadership says: “Take a good look at every other governing board in our county and you will not find anyone who performs their duties in the way that BOTH Grijalva and Stegeman have approached theirs.”
All this statement shows is an unfamiliarity with the members of other governing boards in Pima County. Sunnyside had three governing board members who were just plain evil. Now, following a recall, they are down to only one. Catalina Foothills, where the student demographics produce excellent results despite an administration that has driven out many wonderful educators, has several Board members who don’t have a clue what really goes on in that district. It is pointless to go on since your statement has already been proven false.
The issue is not that Governing Board members in TUSD cannot get along or were absent when “how to compromise” was taught in the first grade. The issue is that the Board majority puts their own interests and the interests of the administration far ahead of the learning needs of students. Just a quick look at where TUSD spends its money can tell you that…if you take the time to look.
Have You Noticed
I’m sure everyone is aware of elections coming up soon. And I’m sure you have also noticed the many dissatisfied constituents, either with individual incumbents, or as a group.
Notwithstanding our own dysfunctional Democratic and Republican Congress’ inability to get things done, one thing is clear, the Democrats and Republicans are not working together as “a team” for the benefit of our country. The point to be made is that politicians are not elected as a working “team” but individuals who wind up as spoilers. That is Democracy at work.
This brings me to the Tucson Unified School District’s (TUSD) Board of Governors (BOG) coming election of Board Members, and the reported in-fighting to gain control of the Board between those aligned with the Democratic Party and those with Republicans.
Clearly TUSD’s Board of Governors do not, and have not worked together as a team for years. In addition, their individual incompetencies have exacerbated an already dysfunctional administration, and has contributed to TUSD’s untold loss of multi-millions of dollars.
The election of TUSD’s five-Member Board of Governors is accomplished by a lay public who do not have the vaguest idea what experience a Board Member should have as the final authority in administering TUSD’s vast institution. Not only does this administrative authority include its educational programs, but the administrative functions of Finance, Human Resources, Physical Resources, Transportation, Food Services, Information Technology, etc. Do the elected Board Members have this vast experience?
Board Members get around their ignorance by hiring consultants to hire their Superintends based upon TUSD input. Since 2009, three Superintendents have come and gone. This does not speak well for the consultants TUSD chose, nor the selection criteria TUSD provided.
In spite of the fact that all Superintends held Doctorates, they demonstrated a disconnect with the administrative business world, the Board of Governors, and the TUSD working Faculty and Staff.
The TUSD Board of Governors’ democratic electoral system breeds incompetence exponentially, compounded by personal agendas and personalities.
It may be time for TUSD to “un-unify” to more manageable administrative entities.
So I guess Dr. Stegeman is pretty much playing a zero-sum game.
TUSD is in need of new leadership, the fact that Dr. Stegeman is able to realize this says a lot. I for one am happy that he is on the board. The fact that he did not go along with Grijalva’s gang of puppets( being that he was a democrat) shows that his number one concern is for students and not political agendas. I am not happy with Sanchez’s leadership, for personal reasons , but more so for the staff that I used to work with. Moral is at the lowest it has ever been, and people are leaving the district in droves, good people, just look at the list of separations (certified and classified) on the governing board web site over the last year. When good staff members leave parents and students follow. If Sanchez is threating to leave over transparency, I say good riddance. Hopefully he’ll do it before its to late. As for Mike Hicks , I’ve had the privilege of getting to know him a little better over the last couple of years, he is a genuinely nice guy that truly cares about doing the right thing for the children of TUSD , but that doesn’t mater if doesn’t fit into the board presidents agenda. TUSD’s only hope at this point is if Grijalva is replaced, that would allow some bipartisan work to get done. My entire family was unhappy with Grijalva, they even contacted the pima county democratic party about her. Needless to say my family (which is a very large family) has now refused to vote democrat , and many have decided to change parties.
You and me both, Brian. It was time to go.