TUSD: Sanchez PR Crew Lands Him Top Honors

No, it is not an April Fool’s joke – Tucson Unified School District’s Superintendent H.T. Sanchez and his crack PR team have focused much of their energy and the District’s money on selling him as an all-round great guy and on Thursday that spin paid off when Sanchez was named one of the country’s top 25 ‘Superintendents to Watch in 2015-16’ by the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA).

Despite the fact that administrators continue to flee the District due to H.T. Sanchez’s unusual leadership style, his PR crew led by Stephanie Boe has worked wonders in portraying Sanchez as a cutting-edge team player.

One other Arizona superintendent, D. Mario Ventura from Isaac School District No. 5 in Phoenix, also made the list. Like TUSD, the Isaac School District has unusually high administrative costs compared to other districts in the state.

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#TucsonUnified has been nominated for an award for promoting our Science, Technology, Engineering and Math programs!If…

Posted by Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) on Wednesday, March 30, 2016

“These superintendents are recognized for using dynamic, fast-paced leadership with strong communication at its core,” said NSPRA in announcing the 25 winners. “They engage and inform their school communities with new communication technology tools combined with tried-and-true techniques.”

NSPRA does not offer an award based on the veracity of the information.

Contrary to the PR Sanchez and Boe have generated, TUSD whistleblowers have claimed: “1010 Central Administration rage has become a norm in TUSD. Cussing, vulgarities, racial epitaphs have all become the methodology used to intimidate anyone who is not seen as going along with the Sanchez core group. Anyone who speaks up against any of a dozen stupid ideas coming from the Sanchez brigade is immediately frozen out and criticized. They are tagged as being divisive and/or not having the needed information to know what they are talking about. It is ironic because the most divisive people in the District right now are Sanchez, his brigade, and Adelita Grijalva, Kristel Foster and Cam Juarez- his three rubber-stamp board members.”

As part of the NSPRA award, which also was sponsored by the educational technology company SchoolMessenger, Sanchez will be profiled in the nationally distributed NSPRA newsletter and receive an award certificate. Sanchez has also been invited to attend NSPRA’s national seminar and superintendents’ luncheon in Chicago this July.

Last year, Sanchez won the tongue-and-cheek Testifier of the Year award from the Arizona Capitol Times for his less-than-honest testimony before the Arizona Legislature. At the time, his crack PR crew succeeded in touting that award as a legitimate honor.

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Currently, Boe is using District resources to encourage the District’s Facebook friends to: “Cast your vote for Stefanie Boe: Tucson Unified School District in the “Creative Media Award” section” of the second annual Cox Connect2STEM Awards. According to the Cox website, “Each Cox Connect2STEM Award Winner will receive $1,000 donated to a STEM non-profit program in their name. The winners will also be profiled in a video highlighting their contributions to STEM. Finally, all winners will be recognized in a congratulatory spot that will run across all Cox channels.”