At Tuesday’s night meeting of the Tucson Unified School District Governing Board, Dr. Mark Stegeman and Michael Hicks demonstrated solidarity with the public by donning t-shirts which read: “TUSD Board Bullying – Our Voices Count.” The t-shirts refer to the bullying by Board president Adelita Grijalva of education activist David Morales at the last Board meeting.
Grijalva, in an effort to silence Morales, demanded that he provide a home address before being allowed to speak the Board during the public comment portion of meetings. Stegeman and Hicks have tried several times to change the arcane policy enforced by Grijalva, but their efforts have been blocked.
The two have held that the policy is discriminatory.
“When I saw David’s shirts, I knew I had to wear one. It was great to have Dr. Stegeman join me. We have to stand up to bullies wherever we find them,” said Hicks.
Governing Board candidates Betts Putnam Hidalgo and Lori Riegel, also attended the meeting and wore the shirts proudly. Riegel stated, “I witnessed David Morales being led out of the meeting by District security officers two weeks ago, under the direction of Ms. Grijalva. As a community member and volunteer committee chair for TUSD, this behavior by an elected official was uncomfortable and embarrassing to witness. During the portion of the Governing Board meeting in which Board members can respond to comments, Ms. Grijalva shut down Dr. Stegeman’s attempt to respond to anyone’s comment. I have spoken during the call to the audience and am uncomfortable sharing my home address during a public meeting that is being live-streamed to the public.”
Putnam Hidalgo stated, “In order to speak at the Board meeting, one is requested to provide address, name of child (if TUSD student) and school, whether or not one pays taxes and owns one’s own home and/or business. Particularly the information about one’s child can have a chilling effect on parents that worry that their comments may cause retaliation against their children. As a person who comments frequently, I do not have this concern, but have certainly met TUSD parents who do….and would not dare to comment to the Board for that reason. All of these requests for information should be reviewed when and if the address policy is reviewed.”