Sanchez Strategically Awarded Contracts To TUSD Faithful

Sanchez strategically awarded high dollar contracts to Holt and others

The first time Tucson Unified School District stakeholders became aware of Dr. Damond Holt was at the June 28, 2016 Governing Board Meeting. Holt was joined by Pima County Attorney Barbara LaWall, Tina Mattison and Judge Kathleen Quigley, in a presentation on “Reimagining Juvenile Discipline in Pima County.”

At the time, the presentation was viewed as a campaign opportunity arranged for LaWall, who was in the middle of a Democratic Party primary campaign. The feel good presentation was arranged by TUSD Board president Adelita Grijalva, who is a staunch supporter of LaWall and works in the Pima County Juvenile Justice system with Holt.

Inter Baptist Theological Seminary was founded in 2001, and was located at 2120 Laurel St in Shreveport. Records indicate that it is no longer in business.

When Holt, who says he obtained a Doctorate in Theology degree from Inter-Baptist Theological Seminary in 2002 and an online degree from Ashworth College in Criminal Law and Procedure, introduced himself to the Board he said that he was excited about an upcoming forum his company, Justice 4 America, was putting together for the District to address bullying.

Justice 4 America was formed on May, 4, 2016 according to Arizona Corporation Commission records. Those records indicate that Holt formed a nonprofit “faith based organization that assists in reducing mass incarceration” using his home address. The record shows that the corporation had intentions to eventually have members. There are no records to indicate that members have been added to the corporate record. Holt is listed as the statutory agent.

A TUSD purchase order was generated on July 26, 2016 with a due date of July 29, 2016 for Holt in the amount of $3,000 for event coordinator services described as “Impact Tucson Coordinator.”

Holt had submitted a quote to TUSD for the IMPACT Tucson Conference and Resource Fair to be held at Palo Verde Magnet High School. For $3,000 he was to act as the Project Manager. The Project Manager’s responsibilities included:

Working with the district and community leaders on information and resource integration
Program integration and design
Program & project schedule management and integration
Project schedule design and resource planning
Workshop design, tools integration & coordination

On August 16, the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance, under the presidency of Dr. Holt, held a education forum featuring TUSD Board members Kristel Foster and Cam Juarez. In an email sent to promote the event, Dr. Holt wrote: “…this is a great opportunity for the board members that are running for re-election to have dialogue with the people of the community to learn more about their candidates…”

In violation of Arizona statute, District resources were used for the clearly political event. In violation of decency standards, the District used desegregation funds for the event. Those funds are supposed to be used for ensuring equal access for students, yet they were diverted from students in order to create political theater which did not grant all school board candidates equal access.

Holt who?

The majority of attendees were TUSD staff members

It wasn’t until October though that Dr. Holt became known to many TUSD stakeholders. After Utterback parents had come before the Board on at least two occasions to express their concerns about the District’s neglect of the school, former Superintendent H.T. Sanchez proclaimed “that he has appointed a parent from Utterback, Dr. DaMond Holt, to be his go-to man to make things better,” according to a report on the ThreeSonorans.com.

“A few problems arise, and the first is that none of the parents in this tight-knit community know who the heck Dr. Holt is, and the second is that Holt is already biased in doing what HT and his G-Crew always do; pretend there is no problem and that all is fine,” wrote David Morales on the ThreeSonorans.com.

Undaunted by the outrage and controversy he had created, Dr. Holt was in demand by Sanchez. Holt was paid $3,200 to serve as the guest speaker for the 2nd Annual African American Parent conference held on November 19, 2016. The announcement for the event read:

Join us for the 2nd Annual African American Parent Conference – “Purpose, Preparation, Perseverance, Pride, Praise.” This Free event includes continental breakfast, lunch, childcare, and workshops for parents and students in Kindergarten through 12th grade. We are giving away 50 turkeys to families in attendance. Join us for engaging workshops focused on our students and families.

Graduating high school seniors will learn about scholarships for college and completing the United Negro College Fund application process.

When: 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 19, 2016
Where: Palo Verde High Magnet School Auditorium
1302 S Ave Vega, Tucson, AZ 85710

Surprisingly virtually nothing can be found on the event online except for TUSD’s Facebook page despite the massive public relations department budget. Not even KVOA, which holds a $750,000 contract with the District, covered the event. The majority of attendees were TUSD staff members.

Some African American stakeholders later stated that they were uncomfortable with the religious overtones in the title of the event and therefore passed on the “opportunity.”

Bigger and better

Records show that TUSD administrator Abel Morado sought quotes for “consultant services related to bullying, harassment, and peer conflict. “Two proposals were submitted by Morado’s close friend, Mr. Frank Moraga, and Holt. Cathy Comstock was asked to submit a quote but declined.

Moraga’s proposed bid was for a total cost of $525 a day and a total cost of $55,650. Holt’s proposal included working a maximum of 125 days between January and June at a daily rate of $200 for a total contract of $25,000.

Somehow, that consulting contract morphed and Holt became the District’s “ombudsman.” A search of Board actions from August 2016 through March 7, 2017 shows that Sanchez did not seek the Board’s approval for the creation of an ombudsman position, contrary to the terms of Sanchez’s contract. It appears that Sanchez avoided the need for Board action by making Holt a consultant. Shortly after taking the helm at TUSD, Grijalva successfully passed a policy that allowed Sanchez to spend up to $200,000 on consulting and other services without Board approval. It was through this policy that Sanchez and Grijalva have been able to grant contracts to associates.

Currently, the plaintiff’s representatives in the District’s desegregation case are insisting that desegregation monies not be used for a position that no one asked for and for which there is no clear purpose.