TUSD board member Cam Juárez says the timing to release a fifth anonymous letter attacking the board is offensive and confusing. He wonders why waste so much energy was spent badmouthing him, board President Adelita Grijalva, board Clerk Kristel Foster and Superintendent H.T. Sanchez, the exact same week a very alarming budget deal that will cut millions upon millions from the education fund was announced.
“They choose to talk about us as opposed to talking about how horrible this budget situation is,” he says.
The letter by the so-called Extremely Concerned TUSD Administrators, Teachers and Parents, focuses on a board meeting from two weeks ago, where during the call to the audience and legislative update, TUSD board member Michael Hicks was immensely criticized over a request he sent to lawmakers urging them to pass SB 1371, which asks to slash funding for desegregation programs (about $64 million for TUSD) alone).
From the letter:
We see a dangerous and vile pattern at work. Grijalva and Foster (perhaps along with mostly-un-engaged Juarez) conspiring with HTEA to publically attack and attempt to humiliate Hicks and Stegeman at any opportunity; instead of sorting out their differences professionally (or shouting it out away from the public eye and ear)? They did the same thing to Stegeman just a few months ago. We see them appealing to individuals such as Steve Farley, on behalf of public education, to take part in their witch-hunt.
At the meeting, Hicks had a chance to address the comments made in the call to the audience, but he was interrupted by strange noises coming from the speakers and by Grijalva, who said this was a chance for him to touch on what was discussed at the meeting, nothing else.
Juárez says Grijalva was within her right to interrupt him. When Hicks walked into the meeting with a three-page, typed response, it signaled he wasn’t focusing on the call to the audience.
It was difficult to hear Hicks, but in his response that evening he said he’d take back his statement on the desegregation defunding bill if the district is willing to hire an independent auditor, which has been a constant demand to the board and Superintendent H.T. Sanchez.
“Of course, we want an internal auditor, but there is no money, how am I going to justify that? When you look at the base pay of this position. You end up somewhere in the $400,000, if we are talking about benefits, an administrative assistant for the auditor…” he says.
Regarding the “un-engaged” comment, Juárez said he didn’t say anything because he tries not to engage with people who have “shadow agendas,” and who do nothing to further kids’ education.
“You want to call me disengaged? When I first came into the board, I told Adelita I am going to try to visit all of the 90 schools we have in the district this first year, and she said, ‘remember you have a full-time job and don’t be disappointed if you can’t do it all the first year.’ Well, I am in the second year, going into the third and I have done 70 percent of that. Principles know who I am because I have sat in their office and have listened to their concerns. (Teachers and students) know who I am because I go to the classes. I don’t just go and say ‘I am a board member,’ I explain to them what it is to be a board member, what it is like to be in my position. I am a person of color, a person with a disability and a person who was raised by a single mother, and I was raised to engage with people.”
Juárez is up for re-election in 2016.
This article appears in Mar 5-11, 2015.
Thsts right you minions. Shut your mouths and worship the ground that tusd was built on. You are nothing without him and the money he brings to education.
The truth shall set you free. Open your eyes sheeple.
I guess Juarez doesn’t consider principals to be his “pal”.
Its a shame that TUSD isn’t taking this more seriously . These people are real, they are the real TUSD, ignoring them will only bring TUSD down further.
Anonymous letters from pseudo-advocacy groups? This is no better or worthy of an article than the garbled brain vomit of anonymous Tucson Weekly hater-commenters (see above).
Why are the anonymous administrators talking about the malfeasance of the board majority and central administration? Because that’s what intelligent professionals who understand what’s going on in the district and who have students’ best interests at heart talk about. Period.
It’s plain to anyone who has been paying attention — either on TUSD sites or at TUSD board meetings — that the people publishing the letters are not a “pseudo-advocacy” group. They are the closest thing this district has to a professionally informed, public spirited watchdog. The fact that they must publish where and how they do is a sad commentary on the state of the district, the local TEA, and the local “Democratic” party.
Public school administrators, teachers’ unions in public districts, and “liberal” political parties are supposed to stand up for the best interests of those who do not have a voice — in this case, it would be nice to hear them taking the part of the many impoverished students in this district whose parents do not have the resources (educational or economic) to stand up for them and effectively influence policy and the application of funds on their behalf. Instead we see students’ needs going unmet — not for lack of funds, but because funds are being misapplied. We see opposition to the installation of transparency and accountability policies and the erosion of what supports to transparency and accountability already exist within the district:
http://tucson.com/news/opinion/column/guest/time-for-tusd-to-stop-making-unforced-errors/article_6293e564-8228-587b-aed1-4051d3d35d70.html
Speak up, Tucsonans! You cannot have a healthy democracy without a healthy public school system, and the local system serving the greatest number of our students is in need of reform. Add your voices to the dialogue: go to board meetings and SPEAK UP about the need to install an independent auditor who reports to board members elected by the public (not to a TUSD employee) and the need to observe professional protocols on the existing audit committee. When proper accounting processes are not observed within a public school district, our tax dollars cannot actually benefit the children in our community as much as they should.
If members of the current board majority (including Mr. Juarez) think that the district “can’t afford” to install an independent auditor, they should explain why they voted in favor of so many other positions being added to central administration within the last year.
Tucson Weekly staff: do your homework. Identify all the positions added to TUSD central while the current majority has been in place. Add up the cost to the public. Report this total cost together with the above quote from Mr. Juarez: “Of course, we want an internal auditor, but there is no money, how am I going to justify that?”
I am not impressed by the quality of Tucson Weekly’s editorial oversight of recent coverage on the TUSD board. Someone like Ms. Herreras, who is by no means uninformed, should be able to ensure that articles published here show adequate mastery of basic facts relating to the recent history of the district’s governance.
It is principals not principles!
I am not interested at all in an anonymous group. I watched the board meeting …. I listened to what was going on. Hicks was questioned on why he signed in as a board member and then was upset or concerned that he couldn’t tell the legislature what he wanted as a private citizen. He wanted to just rant about the auditor and not the protocol he broke. He really is not a victim.
So I sent him an email asking him clearly what happened or what was he afraid of that warranted an expensive auditor. I said did someone do something? Was there any evidence of wrong doing to warrant that type of cost? He answered me, “Have a nice day’.
Seems like mud slinging at TUSD is a favorite past time for some here. I have been in the district for a very long time and I think you people have some real issues that have nothing to do with facts. Hicks could very well have been kicked off the board for doing what he did. If he doesn’t get his way he does that? As a parent, grandparent and teacher in TUSD I have every right to ask what happened that warranted him going to the legislature under false pretenses. No answer.
So those of you who supposedly are concerned about public education, maybe you better pay better attention. Groups that send messages like that are not worth reading. You say TUcson Weekly poorly covers education? I am surprised this groups gets any attention at all. This anonymous group is not worthy of the space given them let alone people defending Hicks behavior. He was wrong period to represent himself as a TUSD board member, complain that his rights are violated as a private citizen, support having 64 million deseg. money taken away and because????? THere is a mean vendetta going on here and it is not the board.
One of the commenters here questions whether and auditor is needed, and says she is a teacher. I wonder how she would respond to having an accountant come into her classroom and tell her how to teach? She would probably think that was out of line — and rightly so. My questions is: is a teacher’s opinion on whether or not an auditor is needed in the district more or less relevant than an accountant’s opinion would be on how a teacher should teach?
For my part, when I have a question about how to teach, I will consult a teacher. On the topic of what kind of auditing structures are valid, I’ll continue to listen to the CPA’s. Every SINGLE one I have consulted says that the district could benefit from installing an independent auditor who reports to the board.
Kudos to “Transparency and Accountability” for the great comments above! I agree with the well-articulated observations. It is fortunate that the people who are writing the letters are not checking with Cam Juárez about when might be the most convenient time to release their letters, since there always seems to be one financial crisis after another in TUSD. Juárez says that letters have caused him confusion and are offensive. It is nothing new for Juárez to be confused and he should not blame it on the letters. Just a few months ago during a Board meeting, he awkwardly attempted to make a request. Recognizing that he was incapable of articulating his thoughts, he turned to HT and said, ‘what am I trying to ask?’ It stunned many in the audience for a Board member to basically ask his subordinate to read his mind and speak on his behalf. I have heard him referred to as “clueless” and it is perfectly understandable. “Un-engaged” is kinder.
During another Board meeting he made a statement that he has a full time job and does not have time to go over all of the details that are provided and that he trusts the staff and has confidence in them. It sounds as though he believes there is no need to understand the details of items on which he will be voting or for checks and balances, since he trusts everything that the staff says. Why be on the Board? It is obvious that Juárez does not prepare for Board meetings. He talks around the issue and asks questions only after other Board members have addressed the issue in detail. He follows Grijalva’s lead and typically provides a great deal of rambling.
It is expected that Board members visit the schools in their school system. Juárez makes it sound like he is doing more than what is expected. The other thing that is expected is that he be able to process his own thoughts and ask his own questions and that he be knowledgeable about every item on which he votes. This is where he falls short.
Juárez says he was raised to engage with people- however, most understand that this is not the kind of engagement or, lack of engagement, that the letters addressed.
Isn’t Juárez being more than a little presumptuous in thinking that the group of letter writers could not simultaneously be lobbying the Governor and legislatures to support public schools with adequate funding and also write letters? He seems to presume a lot. As far as Juárez trying to turn the tables and say that the letters have offended him- the letters provide lots of examples of outrageously offensive behaviors by HT, central administrators and the Board. Instead of being offended by what has been reported by the whistle-blowers, he and his fellow Board members should have demanded that investigations and follow-up take place immediately. Juárez says, “They choose to talk about us as opposed to talking about how horrible this budget situation is,” while he forgets or negates the fact that “they” have been talking/writing since August. Didn’t “they” say they would keep writing until the Board looked into and corrected the problems that were being reported?
If Juárez and his two comrades had genuinely wanted an internal auditor, it would have happened months ago. It is so extremely offensive for him to use the lack of money as an excuse for blocking the hire when the three of them have voted so freely on expenditures far beyond what this one position would cost. HT does not want any kind of oversight and Juárez should be asking himself (not HT) what the “shadow agenda” is in so obstinately opposing the hiring of an internal auditor. Instead, he simplistically casts culpability in the wrong direction.
Juárez says Grijalva was within her right to interrupt Hicks and that when Hicks walked into the meeting with a three-page, typed response, it signaled he wasn’t focusing on the call to the audience. It sounds like Hicks logically predicted he was going to get slammed. Everyone knew he was going to get attacked. Steve Farley was clear on what he was going to do days before he showed up at the meeting. Why punish Hicks for being prepared? It also sounds as though there was agreement among at least two Board members (Juárez and Grijalva) to silence Hicks, since he is now providing the rationale for muting him. These type of “agreements” are dangerous since they are void of any sunshine. While it is an admitted guess, Foster was probably in on the plot, which makes it even more dangerous! The problem with Grijalva’s treatment of Hicks and Stegeman is that it is extremely partial and nasty. Others go on endlessly and she does nothing.
As far as the statement made by Juárez that he is ‘a person of color, a person with a disability, raised by a single mother’…… if ever anything was poorly timed, this is it. Juárez should defend himself based on his performance as a Board member and not on his personal characteristics. His choice to draw these particular “cards” shows little character. (Performance does not include visiting schools.) His pitching of these attributes to principals and staff do not assist him in learning about what is going on at the schools. Whenever his is quiet enough to listen to a principal and is told about specific problems, he promises to talk to HT and get the issue resolved- it does not happen. That is my own personal experience and I have heard the same from other administrators. All talk.
And “SO” Barbara B.- you may have watched “the” Board meeting but you have obviously not kept up with the controversies pertaining to the budget. So, no one should have to spoon feed you explicit examples of how whimsical HT and his three stooges have been in spending, spending, spending. So, read the Efficiency Report (http://tusd1.org/contents/Documents/efficiencyaudit14.pdf ) Do the authors of the Efficiency Report also have a vendetta?
Many are applauding the letter writers and I know firsthand that many of us who are TUSD employees understand why they must remain annonymous. Juárez has supported their argument to hide their identities by his failed attempts to defend Grijalva, minimize the content of the letters and to make himself the victim. Hope they will keep writing until Juárez and the others actually pay attention or…are replaced in 2016!
Last post note to Tucson Weekly- David Safier has suggested to some on the TUSD Board that he is able to obtain the identities of those making annonymous comments to Tucson Weekly articles. They have shared this, and those who they have shared with have also shared it. If he said it and if he can do what he says the Tucson Weekly is in trouble!
I was just about to comment and say a lot of what “another principal” has stated. Great comment! Does the Board and 1010 Administration think that we do not see and hear the nonsense that goes on? The schools are in dire straights and soon will be subjected to more cuts from the state. The TUSD Board and Supt. should have been building trust and support instead of keeping us in the dark, intimidating us and constantly talking at us instead of with us. This has been the absolute worse two years of my profession. I love the kids, the teachers and the community. HT should be put on a fast horse back to Texas!
By the way, Cam Juarez should know better than to wear his hat inside a building and especially during a Board meeting. The Texan dress code of Levis, boots and T-shirts has been another negative influence brought to us by HT. Let’s keep it professional.
The letters speak for a lot of us. Keep them coming!
Dear “another TUSD principal”: I want to correct the record here. You wrote, “David Safier has suggested to some on the TUSD Board that he is able to obtain the identities of those making annonymous comments to Tucson Weekly articles.” First, I have never tried, nor do I plan to try, to find out the identities of anonymous commenters at the Weekly. Everyone who wants to comment anonymously, or even be a blogger using a pseudonym, has that right. Nor do I remember telling a board member that I am able to obtain the identities of anonymous commenters.
Here, however, is something people should know if they believe they can have absolute assurance they can maintain their anonymity for anything they post on the web, anywhere they post it. It is never assured. When I was writing at Blog for Arizona, for example, one of us found out that Huppenthal was the anonymous blogger Thucycides and Falcon9 by using the IP addresses of the comments and tracing them back. He couldn’t find the identity of the writer for certain, but he was able to make an informed guess, and when Huppenthal was confronted with the question, he admitted it was him.
So the answer to the question, “Can commenters be sure their identities will remain anonymous?” the answer is no. That’s true about anything you post anywhere on the net. That’s just a fact. However, let me make this clear. I have no access to the IP addresses of commenters at the Weekly and I have no intention of asking for them. I respect the commenters’ anonymity. I don’t know what any TUSD Board members have said about our conversations. I obviously don’t remember every word I’ve said to people I’ve talked with. But so far as I can remember, I didn’t state or imply to anyone on the Board that I have access to information that made me “able to obtain the identities of those making annonymous comments to Tucson Weekly articles,” nor do I have any plans to gain that access.
Thank you, Mr. Safier. I can’t imagine that many of us who comment anonymously are naïve enough to believe that we “can have absolute assurance [we] can maintain [our] anonymity for anything [we] post on the web, anywhere [we] post it.” Nevertheless, it is reassuring to hear that you “have never tried, nor do [you] plan to try, to find out the identities of anonymous commenters at the Weekly.” I am sure the TUSD employees who post here appreciate that assurance, and I for one would certainly like to continue hearing from them. Their perspective is an important one, and I get the feeling that the teachers at my child’s school are currently afraid to say anything about their working conditions or about their opinions on the policies that are being implemented without their input being sought. Parents, also, are afraid to speak up for fear of repercussions.
What does this tell us about the current climate in the district? I leave you to draw your own conclusions.
Anonymous commenter, I don’t know what school you are affiliated with however I am a TUSD teacher and have been in many schools in the district. I have never known anyone to be afraid to voice their fears, thoughts, needs in schools to each other and if they cannot be resolved, to their principal. They cannot talk about certain areas with parents because we are there for the children… not to talk about politics. If you are speaking of a climate of fear, I really think it can due to how much each teacher feels they must perform or their school will be next to close because parents are not happy for whatever reason and will pull them out. The principals are usually very frank about budget cuts, loss of children due to charters at times, and other more political reasons. The school system of TUSD tries very hard to support teachers because they are so important.There is a tremendous teacher shortage. Teachers try very hard to not step on toes. If you are picking up on fear, there can be any of those reasons. I have to say that the people who are posting anonymously in groups… well I don’t know them. That is not the stuff I hear at all and I have been around. Each school is like its own family with problems unique to who works together, the attitudes of the surrounding communities and of course accomplishing all that is necessary to do… often overwhelming. These increasing standards of excellence( remember we are dealing with children) can often be coming from the state or the district because of what is being dictated. Not an easy system. I encourage people to go in and volunteer… ask where they are needed. There is always so much to do. I haven’t read many of those letters but I sure would like to talk to the people and visit them at their schools. It sure isn’t what I know but I am not everywhere for sure. Also, I am confused about parents being afraid of repercussions… again not what I have seen. Parents have so many choices I have no idea what they are afraid of. TUSD principals and teachers generally really try hard to accommodate.
Robin Beelen:
You comment repeatedly on every Tucson Weekly article relating to TUSD and also in the Star. For a busy TUSD teacher, that’s pretty impressive. How do you find the time?
Just a friendly “heads up”: though you are teacher and I have no doubt that you have some valuable information to share about your impressions of the various TUSD schools where you have taught, it is unwise to assume that the people you are addressing in these comment streams are less well informed than you are. Some of them are; some of them aren’t. One of the fascinating things about TUSD is that it inspires a deep, passionate, and “wonky” devotion in some unique and admirable individuals. A number of the folks who provide commentary on TUSD here and elsewhere are thoroughly informed about the details of the district’s complicated operations and the various documents and public records associated with the district — the curricula, the tapes of board meetings, the budgets, the USP, the five year strategic plan, the various audit reports, etc.
You seem well intentioned, so I am sorry to bring this up, but a couple of people who are district insiders and seasoned campaigners (“another TUSD principal,” above, and Mark Stegeman in the Star) have noted that your comments seem to demonstrate an incomplete understanding of recent budget controversies or the role that someone like Lovelace has played in the district.
If you intend to continue weighing in on the comment streams on every article pertaining to TUSD, my suggestion would be that you start spending some of your spare time studying aspects of the district that you may not yet have had a chance to learn about. Read the report on the efficiency audit, as “another TUSD principal” suggested above. Read the USP. Watch tapes of several board meetings from last school year. (They are all available on the TUSD website.)
All this is fascinating and well worth the time it takes to study it — though of course, as a teacher, it may be hard for you to fit it into your busy schedule.
Good luck…
Transparency… I have repeatedly said that I am retired from TUSD and work part time. As for the past budget issues you refer to, not all people look at them the same way you do. I truly believe a big portion of them are exacerbated for a variety of reasons, some political. Just because I point out some very positive things about TUSD doesn’t mean I am uninformed. One of my purposes which maybe you have missed is to point out that the teachers and staff in general are very busy, work very hard and instead of constantly pointing what TUSD does wrong in your eyes, why don’t you go in and help? Many positive things are in TUSD schools and not everyone agrees with anyone all the time. However many love TUSD and are honored to have worked there or to be working there. It is unfortunate that some are so unhappy . My unique certificate with endorsements have enabled me to teach in elementary, middle and high school. I have been around a long time, in many different schools as well as teaching in other states. There are not many that have the variety and length of experiences I have been blessed to have as well as all positive references. I do the work necessary to keep abreast of what is going on in the district regularly. I encourage you to spend some time looking at what TUSD does right. I don’t really care how many people point out to you that they think I am uninformed. That doesn’t mean it is true. It is all about perspective.
Barbara B. should offer her rosy appraisal of TUSD without putting down the efforts of others for attempting to bring attention to the many problems that the TUSD Governing Board should be addressing. It is both condescending and insulting for her to lop her Polyanna glob on as an insult to those taking the risks they are in loudly blowing several whistles on TUSD. Now that she has noted that she is retired and only part-time, her cheery comments make more sense. She is not currently administrating a school or teaching full time under this particular Board and Superintendent. Those of us who are there every day, know that this year has been worse than last year.
Those writing the anonymous letters have made it pretty clear that they are full-time administrators and teachers and that they have now added some parents. They appear to have District-wide perspectives and a great deal of inside information. My own PROFESSIONAL (not political) experience with what has been reported about the lack of support provided to administrators and teachers is that it is all true- all of it. What I believe those writing the letters are attempting to do is demand that the reported problems be examined and corrected. If these individuals did not care about TUSD, they would not be risking their careers and they would not be making the effort to inform the wider community about the problems.
TUSD requires many, many improvements. The Board has not even taken the expensive advice provided through its Efficiency Audit, especially the recommendation to hire an independent auditor. Instead they succumb to HT’s ego. The tail is wagging the dog, which benefits ONLY the tail, has the dog in disarray and provides no accountability to the public. The whistle-blower letters, although not acknowledged by HT or the Board, do seem to be having an impact and if they continue, perhaps the changes will be more visible. For now, what is known is that HT’s wife’s presence has been minimized in TUSD and for the first time in a long time, some level of civility was witnessed at the last Board meeting. Also known is that those administrators who did not have the required certifications-had to immediately obtain them. So for all of the sneering about the whistle-blower letters and all the guessing about who is behind them, it appears that the public exposure is making some people behave (just a little)- if not because it is the right thing to do- for political reasons.
I was glad to hear Safier deny that he ever told a Board member that he could find out the identity of anonymous commenters. Guess that Board member just lied. (There is a lot of that going around at 1010.) Most know that posting identities are easily traced, however, if we comment anonymously, the Tucson Weekly should commit to keeping our identities annonymous, otherwise, why offer that option?
Thank you, another TUSD principal, for another excellent comment. This sentence provides about the best summary of the last year and a half in TUSD I have yet seen:
“The tail is wagging the dog, which benefits ONLY the tail, has the dog in disarray and provides no accountability to the public.”
Perfect.
I could write pages on the topics touched on in this comment stream, but I won’t.
In brief:
I find it irritating and ironic that the conglomerate entity Sanchez/Grijalva/Foster/Juarez has been taking the opportunity presented by the legislature’s recent cuts to education to distract the public and play the victim. They need to understand that in light of the incredibly embarrassing financial history of the district during the current board majority’s tenure, they will not be able to make the case to the public that TUSD is worthy of increased funding IF THEY CANNOT SHOW CONSTITUENTS THAT THEY ARE WILLING TO BE 100% TRANSPARENT IN HOW THEY APPLY THE FUNDING THEY ARE GIVEN.
Contra Ms. Beelen’s ridiculous insults to various commenters here and in the Star, I will say that the request for an internal auditor who repots to the board is not a “witch hunt,” nor is it being forwarded by people who “want no public education,” nor is it part of a “mean vendetta.” There are in fact many highly informed and deeply concerned constituents who:
1) support public education
2) “go in and help”
3) pay attention to what is going on in the district and on TUSD sites
who also want an internal auditor who reports to the board.
Here is a thoughtful op-ed piece by one of them:
http://tucson.com/news/opinion/column/guest/greater-transparency-would-help-tusd-gain-public-s-support/article_3c94cbf4-6cbc-5e64-9cbc-05f4776bb6fe.html
Thoughtful and concerned constituents would also like the district to stop finding ways of getting rid of people like Jim Lovelace. If the board does not want people who live outside the district on the TUSD audit committee, perhaps TUSD should stop accepting open enrollees at sites like Fruchthendler, Sabino, Tucson High and UHS. Parents who open enroll students, bringing funding in from outside the district and boosting TUSD’s enrollment figures, want representation, and they want financial transparency.