With the contentious Sunnyside Unified School District governing board recall election behind us, the next school board election to pay attention to is Tucson Unified School District.
If it’s anything like the TUSD 2012 election, voters will have another cast of characters to choose from (See “The District’s Dozen,” Sept. 20, 2012). Ten potential candidates filed campaign financial statements with the Pima County Recorder’s office in order to begin collecting signatures to qualify for the Nov. 14, 2014 general election ballot.
In 2012, three incumbents were in the race—Mark Stegeman, Miguel Cuevas and Alexandre Sugiyama. Stegeman was the only incumbent to win his seat back, with then-candidates Kristel Foster and Cam Juarez filling the other vacancies and creating a three-way majority voting block with Adelita Grijalva.
Grijalva, a TUSD board member for more than 10 years, is going for another term. Michael “Burritos are Magical” Hicks is the other incumbent reportedly readying another run. Let’s pause for a moment to remember Hicks’ Daily Show appearance in 2012 when interviewed by Al Madrigal on the district’s dismantled Mexican-American studies program.
Hicks shared that he thought MAS teachers feeding students burritos in the classes was part of a bonding/brainwashing technique, and for good measure to make Tucson proud he identified civil rights icon Rosa Parks as “Rose Clark.” So, yeah, that guy’s running again.
The expectation for 2014 candidates who’ve filed campaign financial statements is that the candidates will start the collection of petition signatures. Filing period for those signatures opens July 7 and closes Aug. 6 at 5 p.m.
Those who’ve filed statements for the two incumbents’ seats are: David King, Debi Campos-Fleenor, Rene Bernal, Betts Putnam-Hidalgo, Don Cotton, Jenifer Darland, Francis Saitta and Miguel Cuevas (yes, former TUSD school board member Miguel Cuevas).
This is a nonpartisan election, but a majority in the progressive Baja Arizona-sphere are saying they hope Grijalva returns to her seat, with others wondering if voters will ask what’s she’s accomplished her 10 years in office during the tumultuous MAS battle, a revolving door of superintendents and a continuing desegregation legal case. Filling Hicks’ seat is going to be a box-checking challenge for voters because some prefer Betts Putnam-Hidalgo, who ran but lost in 2012; and they also like Jen Darland, a public education advocate affiliated with the Arizona Education Network.
Darland and Putnam-Hidalgo have children in TUSD schools and both are undeniably supporters of public education. Also remarkable about both candidates is their knowledge of the district. During Putnam-Hidalgo’s last campaign, she questioned how TUSD would use the schools it closed the end of 2012, suggesting solar power projects and community or childcare centers (and some of those things actually happened!). Darland is a fighter, too, and especially knowledgeable about our crazyland state Legislature (See “Ethics 101,” May 28, 2009).
Other returning candidates who ran in 2012 include Don Cotton and Debe Campos-Fleenor. New to the fun of running for an unpaid gig is Pima Community College instructor Francis Saitta, who ran for the PCC governing board in 2012 (See “The Issue of Admission,” Oct. 18, 2012). Back then, it was difficult to get the college candidate to agree to an interview unless all candidates (incumbents, too) were asked the same exact questions and only by email, which is against Tucson Weekly policy.
“An interview, under those circumstances, is inherently unfair, and, as a comparative of candidate positions, uninformative. All candidates should be asked the same question. Otherwise one introduces tendentiousness into the interview process,” he wrote to us back then.
Tune in come August, when signatures are turned in and confirmed, and we know who makes it on the November ballot.
This article appears in May 29 – Jun 4, 2014.
I’ve had the opportunity to meet Ms. Darland and hear her views on the future of Tucson schools. She’s refreshing and it’s nice to see someone running who has a firm grasp on school finance + ‘big picture’ and local issues. I also love that there is no political BS with her, and she doesn’t talk in pre-packaged soundbites. Lots of common sense.
Despite Hick’s nervous interview with the Daily Show, he voted to keep all of the schools in TUSD open, and his vote helped a number of schools that were able to stay open. Hicks probably said what most people are hesitant to say in public, that the “MAS” classes basically involved reading literature from Latino activists (as opposed to books written by academic historians), and that the content of said books is both fictional and disparaging towards non-Latinos.
Could it be that ‘MAS’ advocates have been attacking Hicks because he basically spoke the truth?
Adelita and Raul Grijalva have, for decades, pushed TUSD to implement critical race theory classes in TUSD which promote the concept that all racial differences, and the lives of minorities, are determined in large part by racism. Perhaps more worrisome, is that critical race theory classes, such as MAS, don’t utilize a rational and critical approach, but are simply “story-telling” without an objective approach to the author’s writings.
If your child is non-Latino, or a Latino who doesn’t want to be fed propaganda, then TUSD is creating a hostile learning environment. There needs to be a ‘safe’ learning environment for white, asian, black and other non-Latino students, and increasingly that safe haven is Catalina Foothills school district and charter schools.
Adelita has nationalized TUSD’s policies, in order to push her and her father’s viewpoint, so the TUSD board election is very much “partisan”, not sure why Mari insists that it isn’t.
I think it is time for TUSD to crawl out from underneath the dark shadow of the Grijalvas and put in somebody else.
I should also be noted that Raul Grijalva’s MEChA is based on a philosophical foundation and an ethnocentric and racist thought perhaps most similar to the Nazis,
Read about the criticism on Wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MEChA#Critici…
Their motto is, “Por La Raza todo, Fuera de La Raza nada”, which means for the race everything, outside the race, nothing.
A lot of the information proffered by MEChA is fictional,
“MEChA also does not acknowledge that the map they use to illustrate their myth of “Aztlan” has nothing at all to do with the Aztec tribe, since it is a map of Nueva Espania, lands stolen by the Spanish and claimed by the Spanish after they arrived in North America from Europe.”
Just saying that kids should be learning about what is historically accurate, not racist propaganda.
Adelita Grijalva has served on the TUSD School Board for the past 10 years yet she takes no responsibility for the many failures and embarrassing incidents during that time. I am one of the people asking: what has Adelita Grijalva accomplished besides being the daughter of a Congressman and the Princess of the Grijalva Political Machine? What new ideas has she contributed to the conversation? What does she have to offer the students, parents and teachers of TUSD besides her political connections?
There’s probably also the fact that Adelita discusses with, and perhaps takes orders, from her father in Congress, and you gotta wonder how exactly this is healthy for TUSD.
As far as I can tell, the Grijalvas’ outlook is that Arizona/TUSD are bad entities, Raul wanted companies to boycott Arizona over some immigration bill, and Adelita has basically folded her hands, refusing to do much for TUSD, besides using it as a political football, and complaining that the Arizona State legislature doesn’t support education. Funding issues aside, TUSD has had the blood sucked out of it by Deseg lawyers in Los Angeles who want money for work going back to the 1980’s, and over 50% is spent on administration at TUSD.
Whatever the Grijalvas are, they are not *for* the community of Tucson, don’t wish for it to succeed, and hope to let it metaphorically burn on the pillar of what cause they’re advocating, be it “racism is everywhere” or hatred of the state government.
A good reason for why students/parents are fleeing TUSD is lack of textbooks, a hostile atmosphere for students, and a negative perception of the Tucson community from people like Adelita.
RE: the sentiment that it is time for Adelita Grijalva to go.
I do not agree with the reasons most of the posts site to sack Adelita, but agree with their sentiment.
10 years should be the term limit for a school board member, especially with nothing to show for it.
If anyone disagrees, please post a list of her accomplishment.
This school board has been a rubber stamp for HT Sanchez, the board’s lone candidate for superintendent. It seems that every idea Sanchez has, such as hire Adrien Vega sight unseen, or buy two unnecessary audits from a friend, has the board giddy to do Sanchez’s bidding. The board should be educated enough to know when they’re being bamboozled. This board fails that test.
Hey- when someone says something just right, with the perfect tone, it is not worth trying to say it your self. This is true for a comment that appeared last week which I have cut and pasted below.
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The real question is: What have both incumbents accomplished or not accomplished during their tenure? The approximate 500 page April 2014 Curriculum Audit is a condemnation on both incumbents, but particularly for A. Grijalva who has been on the Board for three terms- at 4 years a term- that is a dozen years. Curriculum is to TUSD- a public school system- as coffee is to Star Bucks- it is the key commodity provided to students. In a nutshell, the Audit found that TUSD has no curriculum and also found that it has not addressed its court mandated obligation under a desegregation court order. In twelve years, either Grijalva didn’t have a clue about these problems or just ignored them. Perhaps the east side believes that they have been short-changed by Grijalva but the constituents who have most supported Grijalva are the ones who she has flatly failed: west and south side.
The Audit is on line and it is worth any parents’/voters’ time to review it and hopefully vote based on the candidates who will address curriculum and the 40 year desegregation case as top priorities. These two critical areas will support all students across the District. Michael Hicks has simply been an ongoing embarrassment for all of us in Tucson. The Daily show exposed both his ignorance and his racism. Even for those who remain to be supportive of racism, ignorance on a school board in counter-intuitive. He often reads his motions and or resolutions aloud and stumbles over his words, stammering all the way through his statements.
As for the non-incumbents running for the two seats, it would be wise to steer away from people who seem to run for the sake of running, like Rene Bernal who ran for City Council and lost (so now the school board looks good to him) or Debe Campos Fleener whose perspective will bring that of those backing her- big Republican business. The Corporate world has done enough damage to public education- keep them out. We need student advocates, involved parents, intelligent people who will put student- focused policy in place and hold the superintendent accountable. Sanchez has three rubber stamps giving him anything he has wanted for 10 months. Thus far all he has done is blame the prior administration, administer the District in dictator fashion, contest the desegregation order, personally attack administrators and members of the public who do not agree with him and hire and contract out services with his Texan connections. His honey-moon of one year is almost over (July 1) at which point he will have to stop blaming his predecessors.
As an interesting and pretty alarming note, he is the first superintend in history to “use” his wife as a “first lady.” He “has her” talk to those who are not on his cheerleading squad in an effort to bring them over to “his side.” She is spending lots of time at 1010 and involved in many issues which are NONE, repeat- NONE, of her business. “His” Board majority really need to rein him in in.
The comment below was also posted in last week’s TW which is written by someone within TUSD. Today Tucson broke a temperature record at 108 degrees. As I was listening to the news it was reported that the hot air is streaming from Texas. TUSD was the first to experience the hot air from Texas in the name of H.T. Sanchez and Adrian Vega. Anyone who works at TUSD can tell you that H.T. likes to talk a lot- he loves his own voice. It is mostly hot air though. Anyway what needs to be said has already been said and is cut and pasted below.
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If you ask HT Sanchez, or his hinge man, Adrian, they will give you the TUSD marketing response; ‘TUSD is changing and some people are uncomfortable with the change’ or they may even get bolder and say that ‘it is all about accountability’. Sanchez, Vega and, at least in one case, Adelita – do- anything- for- Sanchez- Grijalva, are chasing administrators out of the District very fast and very furiously. Grijalva allegedly asked the McCorkle Principal to leave (Hum, isn’t this called micro-management?); a principal who has more experience than any of her bosses. Others are leaving based on the abundant arrogance shown by Sanchez and Vega, the lack of leadership and professionalism. The two Texans at the helm are smooth talkers but they are driving the District backwards; their management style is hyperactive and helter-skelter. I am a site administrator watching all of this unfold.
These two Texans, with little administrative experience, especially applicable to a large school district are manipulating their way through every decision that is made in TUSD. Sanchez barely was an interim superintend of a small school district and Vega was a high school principal before he was appointed Deputy Superintendent by Sanchez and had no central administration experience. They have a hoax of a strategic planning process unrolling. Participants walk in and are handed half a pound of bologna and are asked to look at it and react in writing. Guess what the participant has at the end of his/her thoughtful process? Half a pound of bologna! But those who have never felt involved in the TUSD decision-making process- now feel “involved”, even though it is all a deception. Sanchez has told people that if the Board does not vote for HIS strategic plan, he will resign and move back to Texas where his daddy owns oil wells and can will take care of him. He got his job through this type of manipulative coercion and continues to use this tactic to get his way. It is disgusting to watch.
What I see is two hyperactive top level administrators raising a lot of dust but delivering very little. In one year’s time what we have is a bunch of expensive audits and processes which are all a basically a con; everyone knew that there was no curriculum in place; everyone knew that the desegregation order has never been taken seriously; and everyone knew that TUSD is not efficient. Dare any of us disagree with Sanchez- and Vega deals with us in his tyrannical manner; screaming and flaying his arms around like a crazy man. What I see are these two Texan transplants hurting many good people in TUSD while their young, immature and naïve board majority bless all of their damnations. What I see is these two young inexperienced administrators working towards ridding the District of its experienced administrators, since these are the individuals with the most history, wisdom and knowledge, and, of course can see right through these two. What I see are these two minority men do more damage to desegregation that what I have seen take place the entire time I have dealt with TUSD and, again I see a Board majority applauding a right wing push back. Both administrators and teachers are fearful because they keep seeing heads roll in an environment where the only word allowed is “yes” without any questions asked.
I can only hope there are actually three Board members who will vote no on the strategic plan and send Sanchez packing back to his precious Texas. He tells a story about driving back to Texas in his 2 ton truck and getting out of his truck to kiss the Texas earth the minute he crossed the Texan border. Go kiss Texan dirt Sanchez!