Investigation of Sunnyside Unified School District begins

Just recently the Sunnyside School District’s Governing board decided to give their Superintendent a pay increase of approximately $225,000 pay over the next 3 years, and at the same time it was asking taxpayer’s for a tax increase in this past election.

The district’s effort to win voter approval through the exploitation of students is the subject of an Arizona Attorney General’s investigation. The district’s Governing Board President Louie Gonzales was notified of the investigation in a letter today.

The Arizona Attorney General’s Office is investigating allegations that the district attempted to influence the outcome of the Proposition 402 Override election and the proposition 403 Bond election. The district has until December 5, to respond to the allegations.

Sunnyside officials had threatened that layoffs would occur if the override did not pass despite awarding the Superintendent the $75,000 a year increase in pay.

The Attorney General’s letter outlines the allegations in a series of questions:

1. On Saturday, October 15, 2011, did student athletes attend a practice at an off campus field which their coach or coaches distributed leaflets and flyers in favor of the override and bond elections? Were the student athletes directed to distribute these materials in local neighborhoods? Was participation in this activity voluntary?

2. On Wednesday, October 26, 2011, were copies of the Sunnyside Yes! For Student Success flyer (the Yes! Flyer”), which is enclosed in this letter, distributed to teachers with instructions to send these flyers hoe with their students?

3. On Saturday, November 5, 2011, did Sunnyside high School students in football uniforms go door to door in the Nogales Highway/Bilby area encouraging voters to vote yes on Propositions 402 and 403?

4. In the month prior to the November 8, 2011 elections, did schools within the district display the Yes! Flyer and encourage parents visiting the school to take the Yes! Flyer home? Were schools within the District directed to display the Yes! Flyer?

In the month prior to the November 8, 2011 elections, did SUSD students distribute materials related to bond or override elections at Family Dollar or Walgreen’s? Were SUSD students involved in distributing materials related to these elections at any other businesses within the SUSD boundaries?

The letter goes on to ask what funding source was used for the production of the October 2011 edition of Your Sunnyside, and who received a copy of the publication. It asks the district to specify whether that publication was sent “only to staff, to staff and parents, to the whole community, etc.?”

The efforts by district officials and staff could be in violation of A.R.S. § 15-511 and §15-481.

A.R.S. § 15-511 Use of school district or charter school resources or employees to influence elections; prohibition; civil penalty; definition

A. A person acting on behalf of a school district or a person who aids another person acting on behalf of a school district shall not use school district or charter school personnel, equipment, materials, buildings or other resources for the purpose of influencing the outcomes of elections. Notwithstanding this section, a school district may distribute informational reports on a proposed budget override election as provided in section 15-481, subsections B and C or informational reports on a proposed bond election as provided in section 15-491, subsection D. Nothing in this section precludes a school district from reporting on official actions of the governing board.

B. An employee of a school district or charter school who is acting as an agent of or working in an official capacity for the school district or charter school may not give pupils written materials to influence the outcome of an election or to advocate support for or opposition to pending or proposed legislation.

C. Employees of a school district or charter school may not use the authority of their positions to influence the vote or political activities of any subordinate employee.

D. Notwithstanding section 15-342, paragraph 8, a school district shall not spend monies for membership in an association that attempts to influence the outcome of an election.

E. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed as denying the civil and political liberties of any person as guaranteed by the United States and Arizona Constitutions.

F. The attorney general shall publish and distribute to school districts and charter schools a detailed guideline regarding activities prohibited under this section. The attorney general may distribute these guidelines through a website or electronically.

15-481. Override election; budget increases; notice; ballot; effect

C. For the purpose of this section, the school district may use its staff, equipment, materials, buildings or other resources only to distribute the informational report at the school district office or at public hearings and to produce such information as required in subsection B of this section, provided that nothing in this subsection shall preclude school districts from holding or participating in any public hearings at which testimony is given by at least one person for the proposed increase and one person against the proposed increase. Any written information provided by the district pertaining to the override election shall include financial information showing the estimated first year tax rate for the proposed budget override amount.

Prior to last week’s election, one Sunnyside teacher wrote in the Tucson Citizen.com, “It’s difficult to ask taxpayers, who have always given more than their fair share to education, for support when foremost in their minds is that a single employee was given a huge raise. It’s understandable for taxpayers to conclude our schools can’t be that destitute. The impact of this single decision has made an already uphill battle of passing the bond/override much steeper.”

The district’s bond measure passed, and the override failed. It is likely the teachers and student will suffer as a result of the loss, while the administration prospers.