SCOTTSDALE, AZ – In what parents describe as an effort to “intimidate” them, an attorney for the Scottsdale Unified School District has put parents on notice to cease and desist from using “SUSD” in their online communications with each other. The chilling notice is in response to the parents’ effort to merely host an information night on July 28 for community members and parents.
The parents allege that Scottsdale Unified School Board President, Jann Michael Greenburg, “approved using taxpayer’s dollars to target and harass Scottsdale public school district parents.”
“We hosted this event because parents need to know what to expect when sending their kids back to school,” said Amy Carney, co-organizer of the event and a Scottsdale mother of six. “The district is not transparent or truthful with parents so we hosted the event to share what we’ve learned and give parents the tools and information to take action this upcoming school year. The board President is now retaliating against us parents for circumventing their ability to control the conversation.”
According to the district’s attorney, Jennifer MacClennan of the Gust Rosenfeld law firm, the school board trademarked the initials in October of 2020.
Parents say the district is now “selectively choosing who can and cannot use the Scottsdale Unified School District initials.”
The district’s attorney gave the unofficial Facebook group of moms and dads (formerly known as SUSD-CAN) until Friday afternoon to change the group’s name which is now the Scottsdale Unified CAN (Community Advocacy Network).
The parents say that since August, 2020 they have held the district and board “accountable for gaslighting families on everything from
school closures, to mask mandates and curriculum. On record, the board President has tried to intimidate these outspoken parents into silence by harassing them on social media and canceling their voices at school board meetings.”
“This time,” says Carney, “the school board has crossed a new threshold and must be held accountable for abusing their power to intimidate parents through legal action. Parents were sent a cease and desist letter for using the Scottsdale Unified School District initials to describe our recent event and for using “SUSD” as a part of a group of concerned parents in the districts’ social media name.”
“Why didn’t they just ask us directly to change the name? We’ve met with Scottsdale Superintendent Dr. Scott Menzel monthly, as recently as July 8,” said Trish Olson, a co-administrator of the Facebook group (formerly known as SUSD-CAN). “If they wanted to keep lines of communication open with parents, why get lawyers involved?”
Given the fact that the district, by law cannot get involved in the promotion of bond and override ballot measures, district boosters will have to change their marketing materials in the future as the “SUSD” initials have been used prolifically by them in the past:
Scottsdale parent and co-organizer of the event, Amanda Wray, raised awareness in the community last week when SUSD sent a controversial form by “mistake” asking parents for consent to have their child surveyed with questions about medical and mental health history and gun and ammunition ownership in the home. The district replaced the consent form and issued a statement of retraction.
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“Unfortunately, this just looks and feels like retaliation for scrutinizing the district over the repeated missteps and lack of transparency with parents,” said Wray. “Our mission and efforts will not be diluted or discouraged by such trivial and punitive actions against our group. We encourage all parents in public schools to get involved in their child’s education and ask questions when things don’t seem right.”