According to Tucson Unified School District Superintendent H.T. Sanchez, an investigation is underway into the alleged illegal activities of elementary school principal Carmen Campuzano and officials’ roles in a political rally at Davis Bilingual Magnet School. During the rally, Campuzano and other district officials promoted the passage of a paid vacation for City of Tucson workers in honor of labor rights leader César Chavez.
The rally for children ages 5 through 12 was intended to promote a policy. Such activity is in direct violation of Arizona law, which prohibits the use of school resources to promote either a candidate or political position.
Last week, the Arizona Daily Independent published video footage taken by a Latino TUSD father, who was alarmed by the indoctrination he witnessed. On Friday, district PR woman, Cara Rene, and the district’s General Counsel, Julie Tolleson, contacted the Arizona Daily Independent and demanded that the video be taken down from the site. Both Rene and Tolleson claimed that the video violated FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) laws.
Sanchez responded to one question about the rally in an email, “Yes, an investigation is underway.” He refused to respond to the question as to whether the District would remind employees the state law, which prohibits campaigning. Based on the false claims made by Rene and Tolleson, it would appear that the District’s staff needs a refresher on FERPA laws as well. According to the Arizona Daily Star, they might want to review the state’s rules governing procurement, too.
Sanchez, who was in Texas this weekend, also refused to answer whether or not he had authorized the unusually aggressive calls by Rene and Tolleson.
TUSD Governing Board member Cam Juarez, chair of the Arizona César E. Chávez Holiday Coalition, was an organizer behind Huerta’s Davis appearance. In January, Juarez told the Arizona Daily Star that the holiday would be another step toward statewide recognition of the former labor leader. The Star reported that Juarez has spent the past 12 or 13 years educating the public on the life and accomplishments of Chavez in order to lay the foundation for Chavez holidays to gain traction.
“Our focus has been on education. Because before people are going to support a holiday, you really, truly need to understand what you’re supporting,” Juarez told the Star.
After the Davis event, the TUSD father, who captured the rally on film, said, “Based on his appearance at Davis Bilingual, Juarez has definitely decided that he is going to start ‘educating’ little union soldiers. Maybe someday the kids will understand exactly what it is they are supporting,” concluded the father, “but I understand exactly what they want them to support now. I am glad I came today, otherwise I would not have believed this stuff really goes on.”
The TUSD Governing Board will vote on an item brought by Juarez to proclaim March 24-28, 2014, Cesar Chavez Week in the District. The Board’s agenda reads: “To have the District be a partner in the César E. Chavez Week events happening all over the City of Tucson, and acknowledge the contributions of one of our Nation’s great civil rights leaders.”
Sanchez refused to answer questions regarding the amount of monies, if any, set aside for this participation.
However, it appears that money is no object in TUSD under Sanchez’s leadership. While the District has closed many schools across town the past few years and increased the size of classrooms as a result, Sanchez is in the middle of a scandal that has national implications.
But for the parents of TUSD, money matters little. They want their children to have equal access to a rigorous curricula which will prepare them to help themselves and others.
The TUSD father said of the Davis rally, “These kids were being told that they needed to hold each other’s hands, which was cool, we all should be supportive of each other in this world. But then all of the sudden the principal was yelling viva Cesar Chavez, and viva Dolores Huerta, and si se puede, and then they started the César Chavez clap and the room changed. This was not to honor a civil rights hero, it was a political rally.” Read about it here.
Later, Juarez escorted Huerta to City Hall to fight for the paid day off proposed by Tucson Councilwoman Regina Romero, who is married to progressive Congressman Raul Grijalva’s top aide.
In 2004, Arizona Attorney General published guidelines regarding the state law, which prohibits school district political activities and the inappropriate use of resources and personnel. The guidelines are: “intended to address possible ambiguous situations….” and school board members and District staff “must not represent that they are acting on behalf of the school district or charter school while engaged in activities to influence the outcomes of elections.”
In 2006, Huerta addressed the District’s students and touched off a firestorm when she told Tucson High Magnet School students to start a postcard campaign with the theme: “Republicans hate Latinos.”
Huerta’s speech set off a firestorm that led to an investigation of the District’s Mexican American Studies (MAS) classes, which were based on the radical Critical Race pedagogy. The classes were brought to Horne’s attention by a Latino teacher, John Ward, who had seen firsthand the indoctrination of older students in the District’s largest high school.
Two years later, Administrative Law Judge Lewis Kowal, after reviewing over approximately 7000 pieces of evidence and hearing testimony from concerned parents and teachers, found the classes to violate state law. That law, commonly known as HB2281, prohibited using the classroom to create resentment in children against persons for their race or ethnicity.
In Kowal’s hearing, testimony was offered by a District teacher whose child took an MAS American History class. The witness explained that when her daughter first signed up for the class, she was excited for her. She felt that as a student at Rincon, her daughter had been sheltered, and she thought that the classes would give “her daughter a different perspective” and “thought it would be important to round out her education.” She testified that her white daughter had experienced rejection by her Latino classmates, who had previously been friends, after they had all taken the class together.
According to Arizona authorities, the State Board of Education is reviewing the Davis Bilingual Magnet matter. The Cesar Chavez proclamation is expected to pass in a unanimous vote.
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