If you’re looking for TUSD board candidates who support closing more schools, they’re out there, but they’re not Cam Juarez and Kristel Foster. Two, maybe two-and-a-half candidates have said they think closing more schools is a strong possibility, even a good idea. One, maybe one-and-a-half of them are supported by the independent expenditure campaign, TUSD Kids First. But Cam and Kristel have both said in no uncertain terms, they don’t plan to vote for closing any more schools.

So why are we seeing yellow roadway signs paid for by TKF that say, “Foster + Juarez = Closed Schools,” signs whose purpose is to lead voters to think if they vote for Foster and Juarez, they’re likely to see more school closures? The answer is, TKF wants to confuse and confound voters by using a time tested, cynical disinformation strategy. If you or some of your chosen candidates are accused of wanting to close schools and the accusation has some validity, throw it back at your opponents. “I don’t want to close more schools. You want to close more schools!” Voters don’t know who to believe, so the issue, which could be a problem at the polls, is nullified.

Let me try to set the record straight on who is for closing more schools and who is not, using the candidates’ own words to decide where they stand. Here’s the breakdown:

• For More School Closures: Brett Rustand, Rachel Sedgwick
• Against More School Closures: Kristel Foster, Cam Juarez, Betts Putnam-Hidalgo, Lori Riegel
• Both For and Against More School Closures: Mark Stegeman

As for TUSD Kids First, the evidence suggests strongly that its donors are in favor of more closures.

At the October forum for the board candidates at Palo Verde High, the candidates were asked where they stood on school closures.

Brett Rustand and Rachel Sedgwick were the only two who had positive things to say on the subject. Sedgwick stated in no uncertain terms, we need to close—she used the term “consolidate”—schools. Rustand hedged his bets. He said keeping all the schools open comes at a cost, and he portrayed himself as a realist who is willing to make hard decisions. Then he made the soft, easy decision to evade the question, saying “If” we need to close schools, well, he’ll be there to help make the hard decisions. Rustand is the only one of the seven candidates who gave an ambiguous answer.

Four other candidates, Kristel Foster, Cam Juarez, Betts Putnam-Hidalgo and Lori Riegel, said they would not vote to close more schools. They had different ways of fleshing out their ideas about ways TUSD can utilize its schools better, but none of them hedged on their commitment to keeping the schools open.

I couldn’t find anything about school closures on any of these candidates’ websites or in other writings, so their statements at the Palo Verde forum are what I’ve got to go on.

Mark Stegeman, however, is another story.

Most of what Stegeman said at the forum was justifying the ten school closures that were approved on his watch in 2012 and saying Foster and Juarez “own” the decision as well, because they came on the board in 2013 and could have stopped the closures if they wanted to. He finished by saying he didn’t agree with closing more schools, because TUSD had closed enough schools already. So, at the forum, Stegeman came out against additional closures.

However, in an open letter dated a week after the forum, Stegeman contradicted himself, saying TUSD may have closed enough schools already, but “isolated further closures may make sense,” though he said it’s not a pressing issue right now. He followed that statement with a paragraph about an “exception” to his wobbly stand on further closures, making a stronger argument for closing high schools.

The one exception, as I have said for years, lies in the ten major high schools. The previous closure rounds excluded the major high schools, and Pedicone left before we did any serious analysis of that part. High school enrollment has held up fairly well, which argues against closure, but it makes sense to study the potential costs and benefits of high school consolidation.

Putting his various statements together, Stegeman said he was against more school closures, except for maybe isolated school closures, adding the exception that we need to look more closely at some high school closures. If it’s not clear by now, Stegeman is the half a candidate I referred to at the beginning of the post.

Finally, let’s look at TUSD Kids First whose sign wrongly accuses Foster and Juarez of supporting more school closures. Though the committee has formally endorsed three candidates, only two of them received campaign money from the five people who contributed a total of $31,500 to the committee. Stegeman received $1,000 from one of the five TKF funders. Brett Rustand received a total of $14,500 from three of them (Jim Click gave $12,500 of that, split between himself and his wife). Betts Putnam-Hidalgo, the third candidate endorsed on the TKF signs, received no money from the committee’s benefactors. In other words, the one-and-a-half candidates who think closing more schools in the future may make sense were generously supported, while the other endorsed candidate who came out against more closures didn’t receive a penny.

The TDK website includes a list of a number of things it thinks the TUSD board should do. Two items on the list are related to school closures. Item 8 states the board should “Address facility shortfalls,” which includes “identifying opportunities to repurpose underutilized facilities.” The wording of that last phrase is fancy (half of the words have five syllables) business-speak, the kind of language you use to impress the higher-ups in the firm, leaving yourself enough wiggle room that if you need to, you can explain what you meant to fit what the boss wants to hear. “Repurpose underutilized facilities.” I suppose you can say that could mean a lot of things, but it’s awfully close to saying the district should close schools with low enrollment.

Item 2 heads in the same direction. It refers to the 2014 Operational Efficiency Audit completed for the district by Gibson Consulting Group, saying the district should either explain how it plans to implement the audit’s recommendations or explain why it disagrees with certain recommendations. In the audit’s report summary, the first recommendation is, “TUSD should consider closing additional schools and eliminating portable building space at underutilized schools.” Later when the report goes into more detail, it discusses the probable need to close more schools. Remember, this is in 2014, two years after ten schools had been closed. The table estimating cost savings from school closures is based on closing nine additional elementary schools and two high schools.

True, the Gibson Audit has lots of recommendations beyond school closings. True, TKF’s “repurposing” schools could mean giving them other uses rather than closing them. And true, the financial support lavished on Rustand and Stegeman’s campaigns could be for reasons other than their nods to the possibility of closing schools. But when you add everything together, it looks like those new roadside signs should be removed and replaced with more accurate ones that read, “Rustand + Stegeman + TUSD Kids First = Closed Schools.”

A “Please, No ‘That’s-Not-What-The-Sign-Says’ Excuses” Note: I’m a retired English teacher, someone who loves language and studies its use. I expect some commenters to argue that a sign reading “So-And-So Equals Closed Schools” could be read literally to mean they were partially responsible for closing schools in the past, not that they want to close schools in the future. To which I say, Give me a break. Get real. The language of campaigns, like the language of advertising, like the language of poetry, is chosen to carry an impact beyond what you get from a literal parsing of the words. The intended impact of the words on the sign is clear, and misleading. Anyone who “equals” closed schools is for closing schools, in the past, in the present and in the future. It’s dishonest to argue otherwise.

This article appears in Oct 20-26, 2016.

33 replies on “Which TUSD Board Candidates Favor Closing More Schools?”

  1. This is a no brainer. The perfect candidate would support closing them all.

    So why are we seeing yellow roadway signs paid for by TKF that say, “Foster + Juarez = Closed Schools,” signs whose purpose is to lead voters to think if they vote for Foster and Juarez, they’re likely to see more school closures?

    Another no brainer. You are seeing those signs because of the “Stop Stegeman” signs.

    This is a race to the bottom folks. Get your kids and run away from TUSD.

  3. The southern border of Mexico has been eliminated and it has become part of Central America. AZ will join them soon.

  4. David, there you go again. The fact is no one wants to close schools. Everyone wants their children to have a safe and desirable learning environment. Everyone wants a growing school district. However…

    If the current Board Majority stays in place then there are few other choices than to be realistic. Shrinking enrollment causes major issues. Like bussing a huge amount of students to Sabino. Or trying to make sense of Santa Rita shrinking from 1200 to 500 in the past few years as parents pull their children for other schools. The fact is an empty school is closed no matter how you look at it. You are trying to mislead by making closed schools the issue but the true issue is shrinking enrollment because of the multitude of TUSD issues. We have teacher flight and kid flight…from TUSD. So again, I know it takes a bit of journalistic thought but if the Majority is reelected there will be more school closures. Why? Because parents can’t deal with the discipline (distraction) issues and the lack of certified teachers (learning) in the classroom. That is a simple explanation for the past few years under the Grijalva agenda.

    Now if the Change the Board (yellow sign) gang gets their way maybe hope exists. Hope that a Board made of individuals that are all different yet with a common goal of good schools can turn this boat around. So rather than march in lock step like you do with the Grijalva gang the other side has endorsed a Republican, a Democrat and an Independent. How refreshing is that? So keep spinning the yarn David but the fact of the matter is the majority of your readers (yes, you are fun) see that you are nothing but a Board Majority Troll without a unique thought of your own. But we hope…

  5. Close schools and use the money to increase teachers pay. Keep the good ones toss the junk. You could also eliminate many administration level jobs that are completely unnecessary. Freeze and reduce pensions. Sell the buses and put computers in the classrooms.

    TUSD is fixable, but this may be our last chance. It’s headed for collapse as can be seen by the traffic jams at charter schools as the parents have fled TUSD.

  7. Thanks, Morales, and thanks for the excellent summary with the clip of Putnam-Hidalgo speaking about school closures at a Board meeting a few years ago:
    http://threesonorans.com/2016/10/24/fact-check-schools-did-close-under-current-board-no-schools-reopened-to-tusd-students-two-were-demolished-to-be-condos/

    The fact is, David Safier, when you have candidates who say one thing and then “on the basis of new information they’ve received since joining the Board,” do another, you never know WHAT you’re going to get from them. Closed schools? Yes, though they’ve said they’re opposed to closures. Outsourcing? Yes, they outsourced subs, though if you listened to Foster’s rhetoric at the end of the League of Women Voters debate, you would think outsourcing ANYTHING would be the very last thing she would think of doing. Failing to implement the Strategic Plan? You bet, in spades, though they brag of its implementation. I could sit here for much longer than I am willing to give to this comment stream, listing ways that their actions in office have been the opposite of the commitments they have very clearly SAID that they have.

    They are LIARS, and YOU, David Safier, are a chronic LIAR. For three long years you have spewed out useless commentary whose Truth value, is, as they say “Less Than Zero.” So how dare you use the word “dishonest” in your last sentence of this piece? People who can’t manage honesty themselves or require it of the candidates they endorse have no right to call others “dishonest.”

  8. It’s also important to note that public district schools are supposed to be TRANSPARENT. When they make decisions, the basis for those decisions should be made clear to the public. This apparently was not done with the last round of school closures in 2013, cf. the Three Sonorans post linked by the commenter above, and Putnam-Hidalgo’s apt remark at the end of her remarks in Call to the Audience: “Whatever that information is, we need it.” Indeed. That could be said on any number of topics in TUSD, where the perpetual cloud of smoke blown to conceal what is actually going on is always, on every subject, thick as tar.

    What Putnam-Hidalgo said at the end of that speech could be a fine motto for the project of parent advocacy in TUSD: “Whatever that information is, we need it.” The first part, “Whatever that information is” accurately reflects that TUSD tells you so little you don’t even know the shape of the beast you should be looking for, and the second part, tragically, reflects the fact that what TUSD is withholding is information relevant to parents being able to make informed decisions about their children’s educations, their health, and their wellbeing.

  9. TUSD is like this: a sinking ship where the crew and captain (and investors with whom the crew and captain are communicating remotely) are committed to a program of concealing the conspicuous holes in the hull, with water rushing in, from the passengers, lest the passengers run for the lifeboats and demand a refund on what they paid for their tickets. The crew and captain (central admin and Board) and investors (Pima County Democrats) are hoping not to lose those fares (per pupil funding which the Board and admin allocate in part to keep the local political machine running) together with the passengers. Crew, captain, and investors could care less about the fate of the passengers. All they care about is retaining the fares.

    And, as was said above, they LIE and LIE and LIE, shamelessly, relentlessly, systematically, with total abandon. I doubt new Board members will fix the problem, but some are better than others, and Putnam-Hidalgo is, in my humble opinion, the most well-informed and the toughest. She will need both of those qualities, if she has the misfortunate to be elected to that Board.

  10. Sinking ship, you are so correct. The current board is self serving and has their own agenda that does not include out children. As the sign says the TUSD Kids should come First. All I can say is:

    VOTE RUSTAND, STEGEMAN AND BETTS.

    #ChangeTheBoard

  11. Stegeman? Wouldn’t vote for him if he was the only candidate running. The district needs him to be voted out together with Juarez and Foster.

    The slate with the greatest likelihood of changing the configuration of the board in a constructive way is Putnam-Hidalgo, Sedgwick — and Rustand for lack of a better alternative. Perhaps Rustand’s SALC connections will be helpful in some respects, but we certainly don’t want him forming a threesome with Hicks and Stegeman on some of the issues that will come before this Board. He is a “prevent white flight by giving parents in affluent schools what they want” sort of thinker, a Fruchthendler parent, and someone who wants the Fruchthendler-Sabino direct feed created in spite of the fact that the plan has been twice rejected (and rightly so) by the desegregation authority.

  12. David Safier,

    Perhaps you should have remained a retired English teacher. Your coverage is so compromised by your web of alliances and undisclosed biases that I honestly no longer bother to read you. I just read the comments. At least they’re sincere. And it wouldn’t even matter, except that in this space the Weekly could actually post real reporting on these critical issues. Instead, we get, well, whatever it is that you do, on behalf of whomever you do it for.

  13. A letter written at leisure can obviously provide more detail than a one-minute timed response at a forum, especially on an issue as complicated as school closures. It does not seem reasonable to characterize those differences as a contradiction. I have stated my views on this issue many times over the last several years, and neither the forum nor the letter contained any changes.

  14. The Superintendent is responsible for implementation, and implementation was fundamentally flawed when it came to closing schools in TUSD. The Gibson Operational Efficiency Audit makes sense–it also makes more than 60 different recommendations, most of which have nothing to do with closing schools. Yes, the Audit makes a very persuasive argument that there are too many old buildings in TUSD that do not serve the students well–but that is largely because there are not enough students to fill the buildings. As such, the Audit makes clear that declining enrollment is the single biggest issue facing TUSD. The second biggest problem in TUSD, according to the Audit, is poor management, which of course results in lower enrollment.

    Supt. Sanchez and his team are responsible for management. The board is only responsible as far as it has allowed the Superintendent to manage TUSD as he has, unchecked. Any member of the school board who is not alarmed by the community’s cries, who does not heed our calls to better govern the Supt., needs to go. It is clear to the entire community that there are three members on the TUSD governing board who allow the Supt. to do as he pleases. They praise him for the job he has done. Now it is up to us, the community, to stand together and let them know that we disagree. We don’t have to yell at them anymore–they don’t seem to have been listening anyway. Note to self: They get it. Now it’s time to vote.

    This article, the street signs calling for the ousting of our school board members, the bad blood, its all just making TUSD worse. This comments section is evidence–this war is making people want to leave. It has to stop. Whoever is putting out the signs may claim that they care about TUSD, but their actions are hurting this district. If they really want to help the schools, they should invest their money toward spreading goodwill for a bond election so that we can increase the budget to pay for the buildings that everyone wants so badly to keep open.

    No one wants to close schools. But if we don’t stop this fight, families will just keep leaving, and there will be no choice. We can make this district great. But we have to work together. Tucson is a wonderful city, and TUSD has some great schools. They can all be great. We have to have faith, vote for school board candidates who will not blindly support the Superintendent, and smile! We got this.

  15. Thank you David. I am so glad TUSD has stopped the trend of student’s leaving and are holding steady in their enrollment. We need candidates who look forward to continual improvement rather than those who really want to see TUSD closed. That is the bottom line. Vote for Cam Juarez and Kristel Foster.

  16. Thank you David. I am so glad TUSD has stopped the trend of students’ leaving and are holding steady in their enrollment. We need candidates who look forward to continual improvement of TUSD for the students benefit rather than those who really want to see TUSD closed. That is the bottom line. Vote for Cam Juarez and Kristel Foster.

  17. I hope after Foster and Juarez are defeated in the upcoming elections “Guardians” will hang up her dream catcher and retire from these comment streams.

    It is astounding the persistence, over the course of three years, of such a naive understanding of the district. Juarez, Foster, and Sanchez could do ANYTHING and she would not stop promoting them.

    Bulletin from the real world, Guardians: they lied about enrollment figures in 2014. They are no doubt lying about enrollment figures in 2016. That’s the sort of thing people who do not believe they have any obligation to tell the public the truth do: when it benefits them, they give false information.

    There is NO WAY that the enrollment declines have stopped. Anyone who has lived in the reality of what has ACTUALLY been going on in TUSD schools for the last three years (instead of in Dream Catcher Land) knows that the message that enrollment declines have finally stopped under Sanchez’s leadership is a bold-faced LIE.

    We need leaders on this Board who are willing to accept responsibility for telling the public and parents with children enrolled in these schools the TRUTH. It is a necessary pre-condition for any kind of constructive improvement in the district’s operations, and a necessary pre-condition for running a successful bond campaign. The electorate is not stupid: it will not vote more funding into the hands of chronic liars.

  18. You ought to be reality based if you expect to get the best outcomes for your children. The reality is, other commenters have mentioned, no favors closing schools. However, the bleeding hasn’t stopped for TUSD, it has only slowed. TUSD is still shrinking about a school a year with no end in sight. Carefully synchronizing school closures with retirements at the principal level to keep the trauma of leadership changes to a minimum is the way to go. The only way to end the bleeding is getting those excellent ratings up from the low 30’s into the 70’s – then, you could open some of these closed schools and help make Tucson an economic magnet.

  19. Just when I needed my crackpot fix, MJ is back! Hallelujah! After Donald Trump disappears, we’re gonna need you full-time, my friend.

  20. Off Ox –

    I challenge you to look at my sources and tell me what part of Betts’ “Jewish Problem” you think is crackpot.

    She’s stood with a dude who minimizes or denies the Holocaust, and picketed a Jewish Festival and attended events which deny Israel’s right to exist.

    Based on that, can she represent all students, including Jews and Christians?

    You’re not arguing with me, you’re arguing with the AJL, Jewish Virtual Library and Alan Dershowitz.

    After Trump disappears, there will still be racists, liars and fear-mongers like him – on both sides. Let’s figure out how to discern some truth.

  21. MJ is a known pro occupation- Israel can do no wrong Zionist. It is his right to think whatever he wants about Israel/Palestine. However, to smear a candidate for the Tucson school board because of her politics on Israel/Palestine and to call it her “Jewish Problem” is both wrong and dishonest. Betts does not have a “Jewish Problem”. Her positions on Israel/Palestine are shared by many people, Jews and non-Jews alike and these positions in no way have anything to do with the work she would do on the school board, other than advocating for human rights for all. Betts is a human rights activist and that includes advocacy for the rights of Palestinians, a people currently subject to a brutal and almost 50 year occupation. Her courage to stand up for the oppressed, even if it does not comport with the mainstream, is a testament to what she will bring to the school board.

  22. I’m sorry but I don’t see the relevance of MJ’s post about Betts-Hildago’s support for human rights as a warning sign.If anything that would lead me to believe she’s a caring individual and the right person for the job. If I remember correctly, Women in Black was started because of the white Apartheid regime in S.Africa as a response to the murders of the children (100’s) of them murdered in Soweto by the police and white police state which was finally dismantled by international boycotts as a response to the Nazi Apartheid regime. MJ’s post just gave me much information I needed about Betts Hidalgo and now know who to vote for. Thanks, in a back handed way MJ.

  23. I also don’t see the relevance of MJ’s post. But I’m grateful to learn more about Betts Putnam-Hidalgo’s activism in the defense of human rights! This makes me want to vote for her!
    -SR

  24. Although MJs comment has no relevance to Betts Putnam-Didalgo’s candidacy to serve on the TUSD board, I think it is very important to respond to his accusations. Betts has no problem, Jewish or otherwise, but MJ and his comment obviously have many. MJ brags about his sources but clearly he hasnt read them or he dishonestly mischaracterizes them!
    1. The complete title of Professor Finkelsteins book is The Holocaust Industry: Reflections on the Exploitation of Jewish Suffering. The son of holocaust survivors himself, professor Finkelstein, of course, is no holocaust-denier. His important study focuses attention on how Jewish suffering has been exploited and abused to justify Israeli policies. Of course this view is not acceptable to those like MJ who have a very serious problem accepting any criticism of the Israeli government regardless of what that government does.
    2. Steadfast Hope The Palestinian Quest for Just Peace is a resource developed by the Israel/Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian Church (USA). This is a very well researched and documented resource and it is absolutely incredible, crazy and dishonest to say it is full of lies and supportive of terror. MJ doesnt point out where in the book this accusation takes place. Whats even more offensive and irresponsible is to accuse the IPMN of the Presbyterian Church of anti-semitism and racism without any support for these accusations.
    3. John Mearsheimer, professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago, and Stephen Walt, Professor of International Relations at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University are authors of The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy which focuses attention on the lobbys influence on U.S. foreign policy and its negative effect on American interests. I dont know how Betts publicly expressed solidarity with the authors but if she did she was not alone for the book was a New York Times Best Seller! In addition, AIPAC, the Israel Lobby, brags all the time about their power and influence on U.S. foreign policy.
    4. Most of those who participated in the picket mentioned by MJ are Jews. The picket takes place away from the JCC. To say that picketers carrying signs frighten preschool children is the product of a very twisted and dangerous imagination. The only explanation for this remark is that it is a malicious attack on members of the community participating in a peaceful freedom of expression action.
    5. Women in Black vigils against the occupation and in support of non-violence and just peace started in Israel and spread to other countries of the world including the United States and here in Tucson. Those who participate in Women in Black vigils are responsible and dedicated advocates for peace and justice.
    The purpose of MJs comment is clearly intimidation and bullying. Israel is a foreign country and everyone has a right to criticize its policies without being labeled anti-semitic, holocaust-denier or anything like that. It is time for MJ and those who think like him to tell our community which Israel they stand for Netanyahus Israel and the policies of occupation and violation of human rights and violence or Israel of Peace Now, Jewish Voice for Peace, Rabbis for Human Rights, BTselem, Women in Black and other organizations and individuals who work for just peace in Israel/Palestine. Betts should be commended for what she does to inform, educate and inspire all of us. Her dedication, knowledge, honesty, strong analytical and critical skills are very much needed and appreciated. She deserves our support. Betts will be a great member of TUSD board. Our students, parents, teachers and our community will greatly benefit from her service.

  25. It takes a great deal of courage to not only think critically, but to then take public stands. When Betts does this, she is a powerful model for our children in living out true democracy.

    Her social justice work brings attention to the children who have been imprisoned, including solitary confinement, by the Israeli government. It is a call for action for justice and peace. This is the kind of leadership I look forward to on our school board.

    And as a Jew, I am thankful for her work that leads toward Israelis and Palestinians living as equals as a foundation for a just peace.

    There is antisemitism in the world and it is important to examine prejudices against all groups of people. But critique of Israeli policy is not antisemitic, as critique of US policy is not anti-American, but rather is necessary for democracy to function. I am concerned that when critique of Israel is conflated with antisemitism it simply serves as a tactic to shut down dialogue. In Jewish tradition, there is a long history of dialogue, hearing from many viewpoints, as how we discern our path. So I see this attempt to squelch critique as going against fundamental Jewish values. And I am grateful for Betts and others who have the courage to speak up.

  26. The person whom I was most excited to vote for this election was Betts Putnam-Hidalgo. I had the opportunity to meet her at a League of Women voter’s event this year, where she encouraged young women to get involved in politics. I appreciated her perspective, and believe she truly cares about TUSD students, one of whom is her son. She has the experience to improve the district, which we desperately need.

    And as a Jewish woman born and raised in this community, I am disgusted by the rumors started on this forum about any possible Anti-semitism. Citing ultra conservative, Xenophobic and Islamophobic organizations like CAMERA undermines criticism that Putnam-Hidalgo holds prejudice views. When people like “MJ” identify actions (like belonging to peace organizations, or criticizing violence) that are clearly not motivated by hate as Anti-Semitic, they undermine the true prejudice Jews have faced, and continue to face. I am not sure what the motivation for the comments about Putnam-Hidalgo have any thing to do with, but her fitness for office clearly has nothing to do with it. Fear mongering cannot win when we educate ourselves. This Jew continues to encourage others to VOTE PUTNAM-HIDALGO!

  27. I can see that Betts asked all of her Women in Black friends and her anti-Israel Jewish friends to post in her defense, and to lie about me. Classic Trump tactics. Divert and disparage.

    I am not pro-occupation, as Ms. Afek supposes, nor do I think Israel can do no wrong. In fact, I spearheaded an effort to for equal treatment of Israel’s Bedouin communities in direct criticism of the Israeli government, I favor a 2-state solution which ends the tragic occupation of our Palestinian brothers and sisters, and I wholly support Jewish-Muslim-Christian reconciliation.

    Sounds like Trump – facts don’t matter.

    The solution to the Israel-Palestine problem is not continued occupation and it’s not for the end the Jewish autonomy in Israel. Both positions are abhorrent. At least one of your defenders has taken that position. I have taken neither. Your camp takes the latter.

    Having a few radical Jewish friends who demonize Israel because it’s not perfect does not make a person reasonable – it is self-hatred, sick and twisted.

    Israel must be a pluralistic, multi-cultural society where Jews, Muslims and Christians live in peace.

    Instead, Betts’ friends take the Trump position of “wreck the whole thing if it’s not perfect.”

    Betts, bringing out your anti-Israel Jewish friends to defend your “Jewish Problem” and to justify a view that is contradictory to 95% of Jews and 99% of Philosemitic Christians shows the kind of lack of balance that you could bring to the board.

    Instead of defending your “Jewish Problem”, you’ve doubled down on it in favor of radicalism.
    ___________

    I’ll say it again. Betts could bring a lot to the board. But she doesn’t seem to know how to serve all students.

    By bringing a gang of anti-Israel Jews; it’s like she brought Ben Carson to say what’s wrong with #BLM instead of addressing the real problem of bad cops shooting black men.

  28. By the way – the people who defended Betts – the two who used their real names both have picketed the Jewish Community Center along with Betts. There are photos.

    I worked there and I saw the crying Jewish preschool students wondering why “people hate us”.

  29. MJ: I take responsibility for directing attention to your bullying and irresponsible attacks on Betts. Betts is probably too busy to pay attention to these false accusations. I don’t have the time right now to respond but will do asap.

  30. Mohyeddin Abdulaziz – thanks.

    I respect your right to have your opinion.

    Our desire as Jews is to have self-determination in our ancient homeland, in peace with our neighbors.

    The same dream that every indigenous group around the world has.

    Betts has supported those who wish to remove Jews from our ancient homeland, included working with those who deny or minimize the Holocaust and our ties to the land.

    That’s not acceptable in any candidate.

  32. If everyone is welcome to express his or her opinion, then please don’t criticize MJ for doing so. That would be hypocritical. I know MJ to be level-headed and fair, as I do Betts. My grandparents were Holocaust survivors, and upon my daughter’s experiencing anti-Semitism at University High, I helped arrange for a Holocaust survivor to come speak to the entire 10th grade class. I do recall the protests at the JCC, and they were on-property, where people were trying to park or otherwise enter an event. However your political views might fall, that was the reality.

  33. I don’t see that Betts has ” a Jewish problem”, but I certainly see that MJ has one: His idea is that all Jews have the obligation to tow his line about Israel and its policies as a nation state. Those of us with independent opinions deserve abusive name calling at best. I happen to be an Israeli as well a a Jew, and yet my dreams for Israel are extremely different from MJ’s, because I deeply believe in the rights of all Israeli citizens – Jews or otherwise- to have equal rights. Does that mean I should never consider running for office?
    Racheli Gai.

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