April 28, 2011

Open letter to the public, concerning the April 26 meeting of the Tucson Unified School District:

As is well known, the Tucson Unified School District Governing Board postponed its April 26 meeting after a crowd of students and allied persons filled the Board room shortly before the meeting was scheduled to start.

The frequent exercise of free speech, especially dissenting opinions, is one indicator of a healthy democratic society. At the same time, the district has a basic responsibility to conduct its meetings in an orderly manner and to provide a safe environment for persons who wish to attend.

Many members of the public were scheduled to speak to the Board on April 26; other members of the public were scheduled to make a major presentation; and many members of our community and the district’s staff had a stake in various items on the agenda. By failing to ensure an orderly environment and timely consideration of those items, the district failed in its obligations to all of those persons. The Board is ultimately accountable for that failure. On behalf of the Board, I apologize to the community.

In recent months TUSD has improved security at its meetings in response to increased public attendance, demonstrations, and some episodes of disorderly conduct. We knew that the ethnic studies item on the agenda raised the risk of problems, and TUSD’s security personnel revised some procedures accordingly. They did not anticipate the rapid and well-coordinated seizure of the dais (where the Board normally sits) by numerous students, who had brought hidden chains and locks into the Board room.

After the students controlled the dais and the room flooded with people, our primary concern was to avoid injuries. We decided that postponing the Board meeting and allowing the protest to wind down at its own speed was the safest option. TPD officers were available, nearby but outside the building, in case the situation deteriorated. Fortunately this did not happen and no injuries occurred. Staff is carefully reviewing our security staffing and procedures, to avoid repetition of this or any similar incident.

We also considered moving the April 26 meeting to another room in the building. This would have presented logistical problems, because of the number of presentations scheduled, the number of persons who were supposed to speak to the Board, and the difficulty of taping the meeting. By statute the meeting would still be open to the public, but any alternative room would have been much smaller, and the prospect of hundreds of persons trying to reach that room presented new risks of injuries.

The right of free speech and the right to political protest are fundamental and respected by the Board. In recent months, I have often extended the length of the audience call, to allow more people to speak at TUSD’s public meetings. The April 26 agenda included a special audience call, to allow members of the public to speak on the specific topic of ethnic studies. This special audience call will remain on the agenda of the rescheduled meeting.

Other essential pillars of a democratic society include the right of citizens to choose public officials in free elections and the capacity of those elected officials to conduct the public’s business in open meetings.

I appreciate the sincere passion that many students feel for the Mexican-American Studies (MAS) courses and know the frustration that something which one treasures could change. What occurred on Tuesday, however, went well beyond the exercise of free and passionate speech: the students shut down an elected body by force.

One of the MAS teachers was quoted in the press: “They’re [the students are] brilliant. This is not a one-time event. It looks like they’re not going to stop until they have an impact on this decision.” In this environment, ordinary prudence requires the Board to prepare for a continuing campaign of physical disruption, which aims to block measures (or even the debating of measures) which the students find undesirable.

Just as the Board is committed to free speech, so is it committed to protecting its ability to deliberate and make decisions in public meetings, in which all members of the public feel safe and respected.

Mark Stegeman
President of the Governing Board, Tucson Unified School District

I reported on these candidates on August 5 (click here), before the fifth candidate Dr. Cassandra Bolden was later found ineligible (click here) due to less than the required signatures (400) on her petition.

The KUAT interview online consisted of 4 questions to all four candidates:

1. What are your objectives in seeking this position?
2. How do you intend to improve the quality of students’ education?
3. What qualities are you looking for in a new Superintendent?
4. How do you aim to improve the district’s image and improve the relationship with the community?

To view this interview on KUAT, click here or view it below. This election for 2 seats will be on November 2nd ballot (General Election).

Three petitions were filed in Arizona Superior Court on August 17 and 18 challenging the validity of some of the signatures submitted by candidates Dr. Bolden (who works at the Tucson Urban League) and also by Michael Hicks (who works for the City of Tucson’s Transportation Dept.)

Since Bolden only submitted 398 signatures (less than the minimum required),when 29 of the signatures were found invalid, her candidacy was no longer viable, and her name will not be on the November ballot.

Hicks’ petition challenge was ruled valid by Judge Gordon. Hicks issued a press release about the petition challenge on August 26 (click here.) Although 65 signatures on his petition were found invalid, he had 420 valid ones, over the minimum required.

Two separate petitions were filed against Dr. Bolden by Ralph Lim, and Jan Allard. The petition against Michael Hicks was filed by Ruben Carlos Romero. Bolden submitted 398 signatures and Hicks submitted 485 signatures by the deadline of August 4, in order to qualify to run for one of 2 seats open on the the T.U.S.D. Governing Board.

According to the Pima County School Superintendent’s Office August 18 was the deadline to file petition challenges to these governing board candidates’ signatures. The filing fee for such petitions in Superior Court is $236. The Judge assigned to these petitions has 10 days from the filing date to schedule a hearing and to determine the validity of the challenges. Hearings on these petitions were held on August 25 and 26. Bolden did concede that she did not have enough valid signatures in court.

See my earlier blog (with photos) announcing the 5 candidates seeking two seats up for election this November. (click here)

The other candidates are Ward 3 Council aide Miguel Ortega, attorney Armand Salese, and incumbent Governing Board member Adelita Grijalva, who has served since 2003. There were no petition challenges filed against these 3 candidates.

Questions about these petition challenges can be directed to Ricky Hernandez (Chief Financial Officer) at 520-740-8451, Pima County School Superintendent’s Office.

Who filed to run for the 2 seats on this board this year? Each term is for four years. With 2 openings, these are the names below of candidates who gathered about 400 signatures to be on the Nov. 2nd ballot, by the deadline of 5 p.m. yesterday August 4th, per the office of Linda Arzoumanian, School Superintendent.

1. Dr. Cassandra Bolden, Program Facilitator (educational programs) of Tucson Urban League
2. Adelita Grijalva, incumbent board member (has served 2 terms since 2003)
3. Michael Hicks, Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Manager for City of Tucson, Dept. of Transportation
4. Miguel Ortega, Council Administrative Assistant to Ward 3 Councilwoman Karin Uhlich (formerly Chief of Staff)
5. Armand Salese, J.D., attorney in private practice, ran for this office before in November, 2004

Current board members:
–President : Judy Burns (term expires 12/31/2012)
–Clerk: Miguel Cuervas (term expries 12/31/2012)
–Bruce Burke, J.D. (not seeking re-election this year)
–Adelita Grijalva, seeking re-election this year, daughter of Congressman Raul Grijalva (CD 7), who is also up for re-election
–Dr. Mark Stegeman (term expires 12/31/2012)

Good luck to these non-partisan candidates, as governing T.U.S.D. is not an easy job, with upcoming school closures and a struggling budget due to the economy. Interim Superintendent is Dr. John Carroll.

Questions about these T.U.S.D. candidates and other school district Governing Board candidates can be directed to 520-740-8451 (Pima County School Superintendent’s Office).

Photo of Dr. Cassandra Bolden not available at press time

Board member Adelita Grijalva

Michael Hicks

Miguel Ortega

Armand Salese, J.D.