Parent after parent came forward on Tuesday night to address the Tucson Unified School District Governing Board regarding the Special Master’s recommendation to demagnetize 6 schools and continuing discipline issues. Emotions were high in the Boardroom, which was filled nearly to capacity, as education activists discussed the failure of the District to comply with the unitary status plan.
Once again Utterback Magnet Middle School parents were forced to come before the Board and beg for teachers and resources. Because Utterback has been neglected by the District’s administration it has failed to attract students. As a result, it is one of the schools proposed for demagnetization by the Special Master.
Utterback parent, Leo Fleming, stated that unlike other schools that were featured and won praise earlier in the meeting, Utterback had nothing. “I have seen the presentations tonight. I have listened to you guys and what you have done, but Utterback doesn’t have any presentations to give.” He questioned how it was possible that the school did not have a community liaison like other schools do. “I don’t understand how you can leave money on the table. You lose the money when you don’t spend it and how can you not spend it on teachers – or something? I don’t understand how we are still not staffed. I don’t understand how you can celebrate stuff when you have a failing District.”
Utterback can’t do anything because you are not supporting it,” said Fleming.
Mendoza plaintiff representative Sylvia Campoy referred to those failing when she addressed the Board. Campoy, reading from a prepared statement began, “On September 28, 2016 TUSD filed its nearly 3000 page 2015-16 Annual Desegregation Report with the Federal District Court. It reads like a fictional novel full of imaginary circumstances which vividly portray a school system very much Unlike TUSD; one which has embraced its desegregation court order and one which has fully complied with it. For those of us who recognize TUSD fact from fiction, based on verifiable evidence and recurrent information shared by site administrators, faculty, students and parents – the document raises more questions than it provides credible and convincing evidence.”
Campoy addressed the issues surrounding magnet schools, and Utterback specifically: “The District committed to integrate its magnet schools through the Unitary Status Plan, its Comprehensive Magnet Plan, its individual magnet improvement & transition plans, and the magnet school stipulation. Yet, it is unquestionable that TUSD has failed in meeting its legal commitment at all of the magnet schools, which has resulted in the Special Master’s recommendation to lift the magnet status from six schools, five of which are south side or west side schools. The Mendoza Plaintiffs have stated in court filings, that for years prior to the USP, the magnet schools were starved of the authentic support needed to be successful. Yet, post-USP, the needed resource-nutrition to these schools during the last three and half years has been minimal. For example, as reported by parents and students, a fine arts magnet middle school such as Utterback has been plagued by: numerous teacher vacancies; a vacated parent liaison position, compressed course offerings which have limited curricular opportunities to Utterback students in math; the requirement to have support professionals “cover” classrooms as substitutes which then further depletes the school of its professional support; placing several teachers on 6/5 stipends which eliminates a critical planning period for them while demanding more planning and grading; facility problems with its stage and theater (while comparable non-magnet middle schools east of Alvernon Way do not apparently experience such facility problems); virtually no training for its faculty on TUSD’s discipline programs with a resulting problem in managing discipline; an interim principal and an interim assistant principal; lack of textbooks; and other such deficiencies. Does this sound like a magnet school that is supported by TUSD officials to succeed as a magnet school (or even a school)?”
Board president Adelita Grijalva, in an obvious display of disrespect, played with papers as Campoy spoke.
[Read Campoy’s full statement here]
When a young Secrist Middle School student addressed the Board about discipline issues and bullying, they had little choice but to be still. “I have been threatened. They told me they were going to burn my hair off,” she said referring to classmates. “I have been hit with pencils, and scissors. Today, I had oranges and pencils thrown at me during lunch. Because of all of this, I wake up not wanting to go to school, I’m suicidal,” she said through tears. The 11 year old said, “I have been jumped three times now because I stand up for kids, who are being bullied, and no one likes anyone to be a hero.”
Board member Cam Juarez, who lost his seat on the Board in last week’s General Election, left the dais immediately after Betts Putnam Hidalgo and David Morales were announced as the next in line to address the Board. Putnam Hidalgo, Juarez’s potential replacement, and Rachel Sedgwick are in a tight race for Juarez’s seat. Ballots are still being counted and a mere 259 votes separate the two women. Morales, an education activist, was instrumental in Juarez’s loss. It was Morales who first exposed the illegal campaign contributions that Juarez and Foster had accepted from TUSD vendor ESI, which is currently under investigation by the Attorney General’s Office.
Putnam Hidalgo told the Board, “Make no mistake; when a school gets demagnetized it is the fault of the administration – not the schools.” She stated that the administration failed to make a concerted effort to magnetize the magnet schools. “Guess who gets damaged through your lack of attention,” she asked pointedly. “Your schools, your students.”
Morales, whose website the Three Sonorans features inside information about the District and its many scandals, told the Board that he came as an emissary. He stated that because of the Board’s failure and the scandal his site is “super popular now. It’s actually a tough responsibility to have right now because I have so many people who reach out and turn to me for help. Parents, teachers, students telling me about this or that. So I feel a responsibility to stand up for them.” He stated that while the District does have positives, the negatives are overwhelming. “I would hate to drop my son off at a school knowing he is going to get beat up. We’ve been reporting on this for months.”
Morales pointed to children who had been featured earlier in the evening. “You had a math genius earlier. He was there to defend Wrightstown and everyone was focused on him. He was a cute little boy, but what they forgot to notice was that you guys closed Wrightstown. You guys sold it to be condos. It got knocked down. Also knocked down was Ft. Lowell. One of the Bonillas girls said she went to. That was also closed and knocked down. Voted 3-1, not Hicks and Stegeman but the other people voted to knock it down. That is my neighborhood school, and now it is nothing.”
Morales advised parents that the person who had been accusing them of lying on Facebook was the head of District’s public relations crew, Stephanie Boe. Boe also attacked the reporter, Valerie Cavasos with KGUN9z:
“I want you to know last night’s story on a local affiliate was one sided. The district was not contacted in any way for comment or to let parents know what we are doing about bullying.
As a journalist myself I fully support investigating reporting. But not allowing the other side to weigh in is wrong. This is the third story in two weeks in which they have not given our side (or even asked for it). While we can’t directly comment on an individual student I can share what we are doing to prevent bullying.”
Boe’s rant did not include information as to what the District was doing, if anything, to prevent bullying.
The issue of Facebook did come up again when Sedgwick addressed the Board. She suggested that officials using Facebook to make official comments should be aware that as leaders they are setting the tone of the District’s culture. She asked Board member Kristel Foster to unblock her on Facebook so that they might engage in a civil and public conversation.
Foster has used her Facebook page this election cycle to smear both Stegeman and Hicks while spreading propaganda created by Boe’s crew. Her propensity to block members of the public and delete comments is well-known and a source of controversy for months.
Foster’s absurd internet antics have also become laughable. When TUSD parent Pilar Ruiz addressed the Board she stated, “Everyone raise your hand if you need Ms. Foster to unblock you.” Ruiz then became serious and demanded that they take action against the bullying. “This has got to stop,” she said. “Change needs to happen. Our kids are scared, our kids are getting hurt.”
In her most recent story, Cavasos reported that parents were going to come before the Board Tuesday night to say “enough is enough.” Sue N’Goran told Cavasos, that her 3rd-grade son “puts his head down. He stares at his feet. He knows he gets picked on. He’s called names. And I cry for him. I try to be strong for him. But I cry for him.”
“Coming home with big bruises on his legs and arms. Being very sensitive. Wouldn’t speak about it much. His teacher came to my vehicle and told me he was being bullied in class and they were aware of it and they were working on it,” N’Goran told Cavasos.
During his address to the Board, Morales stated, “Change is coming.” For the parents, students, and teachers who have struggled with the dysfunctional administration and Board, change cannot come soon enough.
Related articles:
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Utterback Troubles, Board Travels A TUSD Dilemma
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