Get ready to vote for TUSD school board

If you live in the Tucson Unified School District, these are the people you will see on your general election ballot. They are seeking one of three volunteer positions.

Kristel Foster, 45

Employer and position: Sunnyside Unified School District, language acquisition department program specialist

Education: Master's in Education Leadership (Northern Arizona University); Master's in Latin American Studies (University of Arizona); Bachelor's in Elementary Education — Bilingual & Multicultural Focus (NAU)

Political experience: Incumbent, Tucson Unified Governing Board, 2013 to present

Top priority: Achieve unitary status in our desegregation case; improve student discipline through restorative practices; and complete the five-year strategic plan

HER TAKE ON ...

Why she's running: To fulfill the five-year strategic plan of which we are more than halfway through; I want to keep the focus and the work moving forward. We are also ready to file for unitary status in September 2017 — we are at the finish line and I want to keep consistent leadership.

Single biggest challenge facing TUSD: What we have that other districts do not is our reputation and the board drives that conversation. We can help the district or we can rip it apart.

What TUSD is doing well: We are focused on the strategic plan, making improvements to transform technology, communication, finance reporting, diversity and facilities.

Her contributions to public education: Bringing the educator voice and perspective to the governing board.

Testing: Opposes standardized testing. Supports teacher-designed benchmark testing and alternative ways of measuring achievement.

Improving teacher retention: Continued support for increased compensation; continued advocacy for professional learning communities; work with the Tucson Education Association to ensure teachers' voices are heard.

Improving academic achievement: TUSD has established good teaching practices and a curriculum guide to ensure state standards are followed, now the work must continue to assess what students know to inform instruction and make it relevant.

Getting more dollars into classrooms: Continue to ask how the money being spent directly affects the classroom and ensure the community understands that. 

Cam Juarez, 44

Employer and position: National Park Service (Saguaro National Park), Community Outreach & Engagement Coordinator/Public Information Officer

Education: Bachelors Degree in Mexican American Studies/Political Science (UA); Masters Degree in Urban Planning (UA)

Political experience: Incumbent, Tucson Unified Governing Board, 2013 to present

Top priority: Focus on students and employees, the unitary status plan and five-year strategic plan; work towards 2017-18 bond/override election

HIS TAKE ON ...

Why he's running: I was part of the K-12 educational system in Arizona that I thought was substandard and that resulted in me spending resources to get remedial education before going to the University of Arizona. I would love for our students to move on without taking on an enormous student loan debt.

Single biggest challenge facing TUSD: Managing the complexities of being under a federal desegregation order and finding ways to support programming when the associated funding is no longer available.

What TUSD is doing well: Reducing teacher vacancies; increased teacher pay; increased opportunities for career training; investing in early education; investing in special education programs; working to close the achievement gap for minority children; long-range planning; reducing administrative positions.

His contributions to public education: Being an activist in the community for 20 years. As a board member, he works to be responsive to parents, staff and community member’s concerns.

Testing: Opposes standardized testing but supports assessing students with locally-designed tools.

Improving teacher retention: Continued support for teacher pay raises; appropriate training and the use of professional learning communities.

Improving academic achievement: Address the needs of all students in a culturally relevant way; continue to increase advanced learning opportunities like dual language, dual enrollment; cater to the whole child; ensure a safe environment.

Getting more dollars into classrooms: Work with the legislature to ensure they follow through on their duty to fund public education; build public confidence and pursue a bond election to improve the learning environment.

Betts Putnam-Hidalgo, 60

Employer and position: retired

Education: Bachelor's in Natural Resource Management; Master's in Latin American Studies with a focus on Political Science

Political experience: None

Top priority: Passionate advocate for fiscal accountability and oversight. Put more money in the classrooms, desegregate the schools and raise student achievement

HER TAKE ON ...

Why she's running: The good work happening at schools is being undermined by the actions of the district. I'm not seeing transparency, I'm not seeing enrollment or achievement increase. I'm not seeing creativity being allowed to come back to the classroom and I'm not seeing schools desegregated.

Single biggest challenge facing TUSD: Failure to use resources better — both human and financial. 

What TUSD is doing well: Teachers are doing as much as they can with the resources they have.

Her contributions to public education: Volunteering at her son's schools and on district subcommittees; service on School Community Partnership Council; attends and speaks at board meetings with the intention of improving education; teaching English to mothers; worked as a school-community liaison.

Testing: Remove as many standardized tests as possible and allow teachers to assess kids on a shared rubric that they design.

Improving teacher retention: Improve working conditions while giving raises; give teachers more liberty and time to collaborate with colleagues, to design relevant professional development; train parent volunteers to assist in the classroom with conflict resolution.

Improving academic achievement: Let teachers teach, the more we have to teach to the test, it doesn’t help kids become creative thinkers; diversify reading and instructional materials to make learning relevant.

Getting more dollars into classrooms: Dial back on dollars to administration with a focus on bonuses and incentive packages; use reserve funds on teachers and classroom needs; expand on collaborations with community organizations.

Lori Riegel, 44 

Employer and position: Arizona’s Children Association, Development Director, Southern Arizona

Education: Bachelors in Education (UA); Masters in Jewish Education with Certificate in Special Education (Hebrew College); PhD Candidate in Educational Leadership (Lesley University)

Political experience: None

Top priority: Reduce cabinet-level administrative salary spending; prioritize increased instructional spending to include reduced class sizes in kindergarten and first grades

HER TAKE ON ...

Why she's running: My skills as chair of the technology oversight committee and my 25-plus year as a teacher and school leader in Jewish education would be helpful to the district. As part of the TOC, we provide oversight for technology purchases and strategy and have helped save the district millions of dollars. My role as a school leader involved budgeting, teacher contracts and salaries — all skills that board members should have.

Single biggest challenge facing TUSD: Dropping enrollment

What TUSD is doing well: The self-contained gifted education program, but it is not publicized well; the arts programs are incomparable but we don't hear enough about them.

Her contributions to public education: I’ve shown what I can do through my passion of volunteer work. I’m a single mom supporting a daughter in college but I find the time to serve the district as a volunteer. Organizer of community event to help families find a pathway to higher education.

Testing: Standardized testing takes too much time away from instructional time, harming students and teachers.

Improving teacher retention: Conduct exit interviews to find out why teachers are leaving; engage community to build support for teachers; give what was promised in Prop. 123 funds would help, too.

Improving academic achievement: Increase classroom spending so TUSD is more on par with other school districts; make sure every student has a teacher instead of a long-term sub; make sure every student has a textbook to take home; address out-of-school factors like hunger, environment, family stability, health, dental.

Getting more dollars into classrooms: Look at where the money is going; move away from giving astronomical salary increases when changes are made in the superintendent's cabinet.

Brett Rustand, 42

Employer and position: Crest Insurance, vice president

Education: Bachelor's in international relations and Latin American studies (Brigham Young University)

Political experience: None

Top priority: Provide the vital leadership to bring together the board and community as one, to effectively support our teachers and students

HIS TAKE ON ...

Why he's running: Public education is the foundation upon which the community is built. TUSD as a district has many great people and schools but the dysfunction of the governing board affects everyone and we need a board that is not focused on fighting each other but one that approaches business with the students' best interest.

Single biggest challenge facing TUSD: The governing board itself is the single biggest impediment to bringing about the change needed.

What TUSD is doing well: Moving in the right direction to increase the depth and uniformity of curriculum; making progress on meeting the goals of the unitary status plan; TUSD's greatest strength is its diversity.

His contributions to public education: Serving on a site council at Fruchthendler Elementary, supporting site-based leadership.

Testing: Reduce the amount of testing where possible, excessive testing impacts student's ability to learn and teacher's ability to teach.

Improving teacher retention: Increase pay; provide effective professional development; give teachers the authority to discipline students and maintain control over classrooms; strengthen mentoring program for new teachers.

Improving academic achievement: Make it a board priority so it can emanate through policy; need quantifiable metrics for students, schools and the district as a whole; monitor metrics and adjust accordingly; support teachers to improve recruitment and retention.

Getting more dollars into classrooms: Identify school needs and start budgeting at sites, working way up to central rather than budgeting from the top down; cut administrative costs where possible.

Rachael Sedgwick, 37

Employer and position: McNorton Fox PLLC, legal clerk

Education: Master's in in secondary education (University of Pennsylvania); third-year law student, UA James E. Rogers College of Law

Political experience: None

Top priority: Help raise student achievement levels by ensuring that TUSD's superintendent operates strategically, efficiently, and effectively

HER TAKE ON ...

Why she's running: Concerned over lack of support for public schools at the state level while support for arming citizens and investing in the prison system has grown.

Single biggest challenge facing TUSD: The fact that student achievement has not gone up and in some cases it has gone down.

What TUSD is doing well: The schools are amazing, they are highly functioning despite obstacles in their way.

Her contributions to public education: The years I've spent as a teacher in Tucson, Arizona and around the world.

Testing: Does not believe test scores should be the be-all and end-all. She would get involved and give input when it is sought on test development and cut-scores.

Improving teacher retention: Collaborate with the University of Arizona; ensure exit surveys are conducted to understand why teachers are leaving; survey teachers on working conditions; reallocate funding to increase salaries and classroom funds.

Improving academic achievement: Help the superintendent focus on very specific goals and clearly explain what schools need to do to meet their responsibilities.

Getting more dollars into classrooms: Lower fixed costs and administrative costs to allocate more to classrooms.

Mark Stegeman, 60

Employer and position: University of Arizona, economics professor

Education: PhD in economics (MIT)

Political experience: Incumbent, Tucson Unified Governing Board, 2009 to present

Top priority: Governance should focus on raising student achievement, making schools safer, reducing administrative costs, and supporting teachers and schools – not personalities

HIS TAKE ON ...

Why he's running: At the University, I see the consequences of students coming unprepared out of the K-12 system. We must do better and strengthening TUSD will help to bring people and businesses to central Tucson.

Single biggest challenge facing TUSD: Rebuilding enrollment

What TUSD is doing well: Improving the information technology infrastructure; updating and improving the consistency of curriculum.

His contributions to public education: Consistently worked to improve financial accountability and transparency to make a stronger case for increased funding to the legislature.

Testing: I have persuaded the district to reduce standardized testing but I do not believe it should be eliminated. It is one tool for holding school districts accountable and ensuring students are learning.

Improving teacher retention: I would redirect funds from central administration toward teacher compensation; increase flexibility in teacher compensation; and support teachers in protecting staff and student safety and a productive educational environment.

Improving academic achievement: Revise the strategic plan to focus on academic achievement; invest more resources in early grades; continue to update curriculum and professional development.

Getting more dollars into classrooms: Conduct anonymous surveys of principals and other employees and use those results, combined with previous efficiency audits and external review, to overhaul and streamline central administration.

Seven candidates are running for three seats on the Tucson Unified School District’s Governing Board. Incumbents Kristel Foster, Mark Stegeman and Cam Juarez face challengers Betts Putnam-Hidalgo, Lori Riegel, Brett Rustand and Rachael Sedgwick.

The candidates shared their takes on key education issues:

TUSD’S biggest challenge

Foster: What we have that other districts do not is our reputation, and the board drives that conversation. We can help the district or we can rip it apart.

Juarez: Managing the complexities of being under a federal desegregation order and finding ways to support programming when the associated funding is no longer available.

Putnam-Hidalgo: Failure to use resources better — both human and financial.

Riegel: Dropping enrollment.

Rustand: The Governing Board itself is the single biggest impediment to bringing about the change needed.

Sedgwick: The fact that student achievement has not gone up and in some cases it has gone down.

Stegeman: Rebuilding enrollment.

Testing

Foster: Opposes standardized testing. Supports teacher-designed benchmark testing and alternative ways of measuring achievement.

Juarez: Opposes standardized testing but supports assessing students with locally designed tools.

Putnam-Hidalgo: Remove as many standardized tests as possible and allow teachers to assess kids on a shared rubric that they design.

Riegel: Standardized testing takes too much time away from instructional time, harming students and teachers.

Rustand: Reduce the amount of testing where possible; excessive testing impacts students’ ability to learn and teachers’ ability to teach.

Sedgwick: Does not believe test scores should be the be-all and end-all. She would get involved and give input when it is sought on test development and cut-scores.

Stegeman: I have persuaded the district to reduce standardized testing, but I do not believe it should be eliminated. It is one tool for holding school districts accountable and ensuring students are learning.

T

eacher retention

Foster: Continued support for increased compensation, continued advocacy for professional learning communities, work with the Tucson Education Association to ensure teachers’ voices are heard.

Juarez: Continued support for teacher pay raises, appropriate training and the use of professional learning communities.

Putnam-Hidalgo: Improve working conditions while giving raises, give teachers more liberty and time to collaborate with colleagues to design relevant professional development, train parent volunteers to assist in the classroom with conflict resolution.

Riegel: Conduct exit interviews to find out why teachers are leaving, engage community to build support for teachers, give what was promised in Prop. 123 funds would help, too.

Rustand: Increase pay, provide effective professional development, give teachers the authority to discipline students and maintain control over classrooms, strengthen mentoring program for new teachers.

Sedgwick: Collaborate with the University of Arizona, ensure exit surveys are conducted to understand why teachers are leaving, survey teachers on working conditions, reallocate funding to increase salaries and classroom funds.

Stegeman: I would redirect funds from central administration toward teacher compensation, increase flexibility in teacher compensation and support teachers in protecting staff and student safety and a productive educational environment.

Academic achievement

Foster: TUSD has established good teaching practices and a curriculum guide to ensure state standards are followed; now the work must continue to assess what students know to inform instruction and make it relevant.

Juarez: Address the needs of all students in a culturally relevant way; continue to increase advanced learning opportunities like dual language, dual enrollment; cater to the whole child; ensure a safe environment.

Putnam-Hidalgo: Let teachers teach, the more we have to teach to the test, it doesn’t help kids become creative thinkers; diversify reading and instructional materials to make learning relevant.

Riegel: Increase classroom spending so TUSD is more on par with other school districts; make sure every student has a teacher instead of a long-term sub; make sure every student has a textbook to take home; address out-of-school factors like hunger, environment, family stability, health, dental.

Rustand: Make it a board priority so it can emanate through policy; need quantifiable metrics for students, schools and the district as a whole; monitor metrics and adjust accordingly; support teachers to improve recruitment and retention.

Sedgwick: Help the superintendent focus on very specific goals and clearly explain what schools need to do to meet their responsibilities.

Stegeman: Revise the strategic plan to focus on academic achievement, invest more resources in early grades, continue to update curriculum and professional development.

Classroom funding

Foster: Continue to ask how the money being spent directly affects the classroom and ensure the community understands that.

Juarez: Work with the Legislature to ensure they follow through on their duty to fund public education, build public confidence and pursue a bond election to improve the learning environment.

Putnam-Hidalgo: Dial back on dollars to administration with a focus on bonuses and incentive packages, use reserve funds on teachers and classroom needs, expand on collaborations with community organizations.

Riegel: Look at where the money is going, move away from giving astronomical salary increases when changes are made in the superintendent’s Cabinet.

Rustand: Identify school needs and start budgeting at sites, working way up to central rather than budgeting from the top down; cut administrative costs where possible.

Sedgwick: Lower fixed costs and administrative costs to allocate more to classrooms.

Stegeman: Conduct anonymous surveys of principals and other employees and use those results, combined with previous efficiency audits and external review, to overhaul and streamline central administration.

Now it’s mean and ugly.

The Tucson Unified School District board race could aptly have been called “hotly contested” before, but it’s gone far beyond that.

Two independent-expenditure groups have entered the race in force, with increasingly vitriolic attacks on the candidates they oppose.

In public view, much of the rhetoric has centered on the idea of closing schools in TUSD.

Supporters of incumbents Cam Juarez and Kristel Foster have been arguing for weeks that the forces behind the TUSD Kids First group that is trying to unseat them are actually committed to a more sinister plan. They want to close schools and sell them off to developers, the argument goes.

Now Juarez and Foster have the backing of Protect Our Schools, an independent-expenditure group supported by U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva. That group is focusing its attacks on incumbent Mark Stegeman, accusing him of leading a “special interest takeover of TUSD.”

Grijalva, whose daughter Adelita is board president but not up for re-election, told me Thursday that he helped found the Protect Our Schools group to counteract the one trying to unseat Juarez and Foster.

“The other IE was out there with a lot more money and a lot more connections,” he said.

So he authorized a $5,500 donation from his Livable Communities PAC. Two other entities, Great Schools Now and Arizona List, also are supporting Protect Our Schools. Beyond putting up signs, they’ve sent out mailers that imitate the style and message of the TUSD Kids First campaign.

“Change the board,” the mailer says, using the same slogan TUSD Kids First uses. “Stop Stegeman Now.”

Naturally, Stegeman has gotten agitated over this. In an email, he said:

“I have said repeatedly, for several years, that closures are not on my agenda, with the possible exception of one high school, since we never reached the question of closing any of our 10 major high schools. It is also not on TUSD’s current agenda; it is a completely made-up issue.”

But since people are talking about closings, TUSD Kids First decided to get in on the act. After the first round of signs encouraging people to “Change the board” and support candidates Stegeman, Brett Rustand and Betts Putnam-Hidalgo, the group put up signs in the form of an addition problem that say “Foster + Juarez = Closed Schools.”

This one I couldn’t figure out at first, because nobody is accusing them of wanting to close schools. TUSD Kids First co-chair Jimmy Lovelace explained to me this isn’t a forward-looking critique — that those two plan to close more schools — but backward-looking: They did close schools.

What makes this a low blow is that Foster and Juarez joined the board in 2013, after the previous board had voted to close schools. Their board simply implemented the changes the previous one had decided on.

But there have been lower blows. Rustand told me 400 of his 600 signs have been stolen. Stegeman wrote me Thursday afternoon to say, “Volunteers are putting out new signs today and they are swept up in broad daylight within hours. (Not all the signs of course.)”

Someone else anonymously had hundreds of signs printed that say “Boot the Board” and target Foster and Juarez. Board critic DA Morales told me he got dozens of them from fellow board critic Lori Hunnicutt. Foster pointed out they’re posted at every exit to her neighborhood. They don’t say who’s responsible for them.

And Kathy Campbell, another co-chair of the TUSD Kids First group, contacted me Thursday upset over how she’s being dragged through the mud.

“Somewhere along the line, the personal attacks have got to stop,” she said.

It’s true — they should, and people should be held responsible for the sign stealing and campaigns of half-truths. However, it’s not surprising that our first school-board campaign involving big-money independent-expenditure groups devolved this way.

Solar irony alert

For two years, the pro-rooftop-solar forces have been slamming Arizona Public Service Co. for its apparent contributions of dark money to political campaigns in the 2014 election.

How things change.

The Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission filed a complaint against Save Our AZ Solar for not reporting its spending on political campaigning in a timely fashion. State law requires independent committees to report their spending to both the commission and the Arizona secretary of state, but the commission requires faster reporting.

The group chose to report in a more leisurely fashion with the Secretary of State’s Office.

When the commission challenged it, Save Our AZ Solar’s answer instantly was entered in the Hypocrisy Hall of Fame: Your reporting requirements are unconstitutional!

Now that’s rich, coming from them.

The commission found Tuesday that Save Our AZ Solar, which is financed by the rooftop-solar leasing company Solar City, failed to timely report.

Tom Collins, a former Star reporter who became a lawyer and is director of the commission, told me: “Our reports are time-sensitive. The public would have known the pace of spending had they filed timely. They did not because they only filed the secretary of state’s report.”

APS’s allies were quick to pounce on the hypocrisy. Matt Benson, who is working as spokesman for the new Arizona Coalition for Reliable Electricity, called it a “through the looking glass experience.”

The coalition, by the way, is basically a vehicle for one entity, Pinnacle West, the parent company of APS. It has put about $1.6 million into the race for Corporation Commission this week, hoping to elect the three Republicans.

That comes after tremendous spending by Save Our AZ Solar, as Rachel Leingang of the Arizona Capitol Times reported. So far, just in the general election, the solar group has spent $2.5 million, she reported.

Said Benson: “The fact of the matter is Pinnacle West intended not to engage in the 2016 races. But in the face of a multimillion-dollar spending blitz, it became clear we couldn’t sit on the sidelines any longer.”

Adelson against 205

You can add to the roster of gazillionaires against marijuana legalization the name of Sheldon Adelson. The casino magnate from Las Vegas put $500,000 into the anti-Prop. 205 campaign this week.

That came on the heels of a $1 million contribution by Discount Tire owner Bruce Halle of Paradise Valley. Ernie Garcia of Drivetime Automotive has donated a comparatively tiny $250,000.

Adelson, the gambling magnate, apparently prefers that people engage in the vice of his choice.

Miller on tape

I mentioned in Wednesday’s column that Pima County Supervisor Ally Miller prevented me from attending the Republican Club meeting at which she spoke on Tuesday.

Well, I was able to get a recording of her presentation, and you’ll be surprised by what the outcome was. I actually found her somewhat persuasive. She argued forcefully that she is doing the hard work of protecting the taxpayer against entrenched political interests.

Despite my many criticisms over the years, if I lived in her district, I might even vote for her, to ensure there is someone playing the role of skeptic on the board. However, I still wouldn’t want her running a board majority — not because I’m wedded to the idea of Chuck Huckelberry remaining county administrator but because of the threat I think she would pose to the functioning of county government.

It provokes complicated feelings when a school district takes out an ad in your own newspaper to try to counter your own reporting.

Should I be unhappy the Star ran information from TUSD attempting to contradict my column last Friday? Or happy that my reporting provoked such a response? Or unhappy that the school district spent public money on such an ad? Or happy that the money went to my employer?

Confusing. Still, the ad in Thursday’s Star was just the latest twist in what is turning into a remarkable race for TUSD board.

Last Friday’s column argued that Tucson Unified School District had used Prop. 301 sales-tax money intended for teachers to balance its budget. It was bolstered by comments from the district’s chief financial officer, Karla Soto, at the Sept. 27 board meeting and an interview with her.

In the interview, Soto — joined by Renee Weatherless, a former Star employee who is now director of financial services at TUSD — explained they had discovered that unwise accounting of the performance-pay money had occurred as late as the 2014-2015 school year. But, they said, they have been taking care of the problem of accumulating performance-pay money by increasing payouts to teachers in a sustainable way.

The ad, which cost the district $1,614, seems to focus on whose administration is responsible — specifying that it was not current Superintendent H.T. Sanchez and his staff.

“Under Dr. Sanchez,” the ad said, “no 301 funds have been used to balance the district’s budget.”

It quotes Sanchez saying, “Questionable practices related to the management of 301 monies did not begin on my watch, but my administration has ended them.”

The effort seems to be to place blame for the accumulation of performance-pay money intended for teachers on the previous administration. But Sanchez was hired in June 2013, three months after the district had 10 special compliance audits concluded, clearing up many pre-existing financial issues.

Then-deputy superintendent for operations Yousef Awwad, the man hailed as a savior then but being blamed now, oversaw finances until leaving for Portland, Oregon, in late 2014. It wasn’t until January 2015 that Soto really took over the district’s finances.

In any case, the district’s comprehensive annual financial review for the 2014-2015 school year shows that the district used $12 million of Prop. 301 money for other district purposes. That doesn’t mean the money disappeared, just that it was used to shore up other maintenance and operations expenses.

I didn’t figure this out myself. It was pointed out to me by a certified public accountant, Jimmy Lovelace, who is spearheading a campaign against two board incumbents. Discard his insight if you want, but he also noted that the Prop. 301 money used by the district this way has increased year after year, from $6 million in 2012-2013 to $10 million in 2013-2014.

Maybe rather than calling it “balancing the budget” with 301 money, you’d prefer to call it keeping a positive balance in the district’s maintenance and operations budget. Fine by me.

Most important, the district has continued to have a growing balance in the performance-pay category of Prop. 301 money up to now. What was a $6 million balance when John Pedicone left as superintendent in mid-2013 has become about a $20 million balance today.

While keeping a small balance is sensible, most of that money should have been paid out to TUSD teachers, not used to maintain a cash balance in the district’s accounts or saved to create sustainable payouts for future teachers.

In 2015-2016, TUSD paid out about $5 million of this performance-pay money despite having a $12.7 million surplus from the previous year and bringing in more millions from the state that year.

I understand that the district wants to pay the money out at a sustainable rate until the tax sunsets at the end of 2020. It makes some sense to try to provide a dependable $3,000-per-year payout from now on. But it’s the teachers in the district when the money comes in that really deserve it.

What TUSD has been doing up till now I consider to be hoarding money that rightfully belongs to current-year teachers and, at least through the 2014-2015 school year, using it to ensure the district’s maintenance and operations budget remains positive.

The current administration argues that they’re solving the problem by increasing payouts sustainably, but the problem occurred and grew under their watch.

Controversial campaigning

For weeks, supporters of TUSD board incumbents Cam Juarez and Kristel Foster have puzzled over why an unprecedented independent-expenditure campaign formed this year.

Their conclusion: It’s a business move. The founders of TUSD Kids First want to push the district to close more schools and sell off more properties that business interests — perhaps co-chair Kathy Campbell’s own homebuilding business — can purchase and develop.

As evidence,Juarez and Foster supporters point to the fact that Campbell’s business bid in 2011 on properties TUSD had offloaded but the district picked other winners.

At Tuesday night’s candidate forum, Foster accused the group of trying to turn the board into a “business board.”

On Thursday, she told me, “I’m concerned that a homebuilder who has already considered buying TUSD property has put in so much money.”

She noted how much money the effort has raised, adding, “If there’s $40,000 being invested into changing this board, that has to be an investment in something.”

I met with Jimmy Lovelace and Campbell, the co-chairs of the group, Thursday morning, and of course they explained their motives quite differently. Campbell is a TUSD parent who has at times been upset with the way the district handled discipline of a student who bullied her daughter, she said.

The “restorative circle” approach used by the school did not work, she said.

But, she added, “We kept both of our kids in TUSD. We refused to say, ‘We give up.’ ”

Lovelace, a CPA, does not live in the district but has served on its internal audit committee and helped campaigns for bond elections and budget overrides on behalf of the district. He was ousted from the audit committee when the board decided to impose a residency requirement, meaning he could not serve because he lives outside the district’s boundaries.

“They didn’t like the questions I was asking,” he said.

He says he’s simply motivated by wanting to improve the board, which he considers dysfunctional, and thereby improve the district.

Radiation in Tucson!!!

On Thursday, Sept. 29, host Sean Hannity was pondering terrorist catastrophe when he casually said this on his nationally broadcast radio show:

“A friend of mine in law enforcement told me that there were some type of radiation detection going on in Tucson, Arizona, in the last number of days. It’s somebody that I trust and somebody I believe.”

He went on to describe radiation detectors used in New York, then said, “How is it all of a sudden going off in Tucson? That’s a scary scenario.”

Well, I checked with the Tucson Police Department, Pima County Sheriff’s Department and U.S. Border Patrol, an agency that uses radiation detectors, and they didn’t know what he was referring to.

It’s old fashioned, I know, but I find that kind of casual fearmongering despicable. If it’s verifiably happening, say it. Otherwise, no way. Thankfully, not enough people listen to the show for it to have caused a panic.

Two TUSD Governing Board members who are running for re-election have decided to return $5,000 contributions made to their campaigns last month.

Donations of $5,000 each were made to Cam Juarez and Kristel Foster by a Phoenix couple — one half of whom is an executive for a business that holds a multi-million dollar contract with the Tucson Unified School District.

The contributions from Carly and Rob Brooks on Aug. 14 accounted for more than half of the donations Juarez and Foster have received over the course of their campaigns.

Rob Brooks is the vice president of marketing for Educational Services, Inc., a firm that the Tucson Unified School District contracts substitute teachers from at a cost of more than $20 million a year.

About a month before the contributions were made, Foster and Juarez along with TUSD Board President Adelita Grijalva approved the ESI contract for this school year. Michael Hicks voted against the contract as did Mark Stegeman, who is also up for re-election but did not receive a contribution from the Brooks family.

The donations, documented in Juarez’ and Foster’s campaign finance reports, raised red flags for community members and candidates running against the two incumbents, including Betts Putnam-Hidalgo, a TUSD parent and governing board member hopeful.

“I think that this does not pass the smell test,” Putnam-Hidalgo said. “It certainly appears this is a pay for play. We don’t know that, we don’t know whether they are being rewarded for their vote … we don’t know whether they’re being rewarded for upcoming behavior. In any case, this is outrageous. We teach our kids that honesty pays and yet that doesn’t seem to be what we are showing our kids with this incident.”

An attorney representing Rob and Carly Brooks denied that the contributions are “pay to play,” adding the pair has not made contributions before or while a contract was under consideration.

While it is unclear why the couple took an interest in a school board race in a different county, they explained, through their attorney, that they sought to help grow the campaigns of candidates they respect, just as “millions of other Americans” have done.

“We will continue to be involved in the political process and back strong leaders who believe that Arizona’s children deserve the highest quality education,” Rob and Carly Brooks said through their attorney.

Foster announced Tuesday — weeks after receiving the contribution — that she would be returning the money, saying she was not aware of the the couple’s connection to ESI.

“Now that this issue has been brought to my attention, I am returning this individual’s donation,” she said. “It is the right thing to do … Openness, transparency and honesty are values that I hold dear.”

Juarez echoed that sentiment Wednesday saying he wasn’t aware of the link but now that he is, he will also return the money.

“I maintain I did nothing wrong and the contribution was a legal contribution, the issue is my moral compass ... I’m more concerned with the appearance of impropriety,” Juarez said.

By law, individuals can contribute up to $6,250 to local candidates’ campaigns. Those donations can be used to cover the cost of running for office, including printing campaign materials and signs, buying advertisements, hosting events and more.

Corporations are prohibited from making contributions to local candidates, like those who run for school boards.

The race is on for three seats on the TUSD Governing Board and the seven candidates are sharing their thoughts on academic achievement, student discipline and the need for a cohesive board.

Those elected in November will make decisions over the next four years for more than 47,000 Tucson children. Incumbents Kristel Foster, Cam Juarez and Mark Stegeman are going up against Betts Putnam-Hidalgo, Lori Riegel, Brett Rustand and Rachael Sedgwick.

What you need to know

The Tucson Unified School District is the largest public school district in Tucson and the second largest in the state.

It has long struggled with low academic achievement and declining enrollment. In 2015, nearly 75 percent of TUSD students failed to pass the state’s math and English Language Arts test — a higher failure rate than the state average of 65 percent.

It is also operating under a decades-old court order for failing to adequately serve Latino and African-American children.

The school board is made up of five volunteers whose job it is to hire the superintendent, decide how the district spends its money and to establish policies that influence student’s educational outcomes.

Here’s where the candidates stand on the following issues:

Academic Achievement

Foster: To improve achievement, it’s important to know how schools are performing and to hold the superintendent accountable for whether the district is performing on par with the state average. She pointed to Arizona’s shift to a new assessment as being partly to blame for the district’s dismal performance.

Juarez: Describing the state of Arizona education as “deplorable,” Juarez said it is difficult for students to learn without the resources needed. He also said he believes the emphasis needs to be on educating the whole child and moving beyond the snapshot provided by high stakes assessments.

Putnam-Hidalgo: Called for increased mentoring opportunities for new teachers, and adequately compensating teachers who meet performance goals. Individualizing instruction to meet individual students’ needs and holding the superintendent accountable for student performance are also key in improving performance.

Riegel: Filling teacher vacancies, ensuring students have the materials they need and increasing classroom spending would all positively impact student achievement. She also advocated for empowering and supporting school principals and teachers.

Rustand: Significant progress must be made and policies need to be created with student achievement in mind. He called for a more challenging curriculum that would require teachers to teach to a higher standard. He also argued that if administrative spending can be reduced, that would free up funds for the classroom.

Sedgwick: TUSD test scores have either been stagnant or on the decline in the case of minority students. She urged the district to form a partnership with the University of Arizona to train teachers to be leaders within their schools and to train teachers on how to work collaboratively for the benefit of children.

Stegeman: The superintendent and the Governing Board need to prioritize academic achievement, and to increase classroom spending by reducing administrative expenses. He specifically called for the funds to going toward teacher pay and classroom materials.

Discipline

The candidates were not directly asked about TUSD’s discipline philosophy but many weaved it into responses on how to improve academic outcomes for students.

Both Foster and Juarez argued that historically, Latino and African-American students have been disciplined disproportionately and the district is working to turn that around through programs that seek to address the root causes of behavior.

Riegel, Rustand, Stegeman and Sedgwick called for supporting teachers’ decisions to maintain order in their classrooms.

Working together

Research has found that effective school boards can have a positive impact student achievement, but TUSD Governing Boards past and present often have been described as dysfunctional and driven by personalities rather than policy.

Foster: Public education is under attack in Arizona and the board needs to come together to build the community’s trust and confidence.

Juarez: The drama of the TUSD board has been known to push people away from the district. It’s imperative for the board to come together and support approved policies even when a board member opposes it.

Putnam-Hidalgo: The TUSD board lacks a sense of civility. The focus needs to be on policy, not personalities or partisanship, to benefit kids.

Riegel: While disagreement is healthy, the TUSD board has failed at respectively listening and discussing for the greater good.

Rustand: He feels disagreement is healthy but says board members’ loyalty should not be to personal agendas; instead it should be to children and teachers.

Sedgwick: Personality clashes are taking away from the focus on student achievement, negatively impacting the district as a whole.

Stegeman: Personalities rather than issues drive outcomes. Focusing on issues and decisions will allow discussions to be less toxic.

The race is on for three seats on the TUSD Governing Board and while a local school board election may not seem as sexy as say, the 2016 presidential election, the implications are huge.

The people elected to the volunteer positions will make decisions over the next four years for more than 47,000 Tucson children. On Thursday night the seven candidates shared their thoughts on topics that hit close to home for families across the region.

The candidates are incumbents Kristel Foster, Cam Juarez and Mark Stegeman, as well as Betts Putnam-Hidalgo, Lori Riegel, Brett Rustand and Rachael Sedgwick.

What you need to know

The Tucson Unified School District is the largest public school district in Tucson and the second largest in the state.

It has long struggled with low academic achievement and declining enrollment. In 2015, nearly 75 percent of TUSD students failed to pass the state’s math and English Language Arts test — a higher failure rate than the state average of 65 percent.

It is also currently operating under a decades-old court order for failing to adequately serve Latino and African-American children.

The school board is made up of five volunteers whose job it is to hire the superintendent, decide how the district spends its money and to establish policies that influence students' educational outcomes.

See the candidates

If you missed out on Thursday's candidate forum sponsored by the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, two more are scheduled in the coming weeks. 

Temple Emanu-El is hosting a forum on Sept. 14 from 6 to 8 p.m. at 225 N. Country Club Road.

 YWCA and the League of Women Voters is hosting a forum on Sept. 29 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at 525 N. Bonita Ave.

Here’s how the candidates stand on the following issues:

Academic Achievement

Kristel Foster (incumbent): To improve achievement, she says it’s important to know how schools are performing and to hold the superintendent accountable for whether the district is performing on par with the state average. She pointed to Arizona’s shift to a new assessment as being partly to blame for the district’s dismal performance.

Cam Juarez (incumbent): Describing the state of Arizona education as “deplorable,” Juarez said it is difficult for students to learn without the resources needed. He also feels the emphasis needs to be on educating the whole child and moving beyond the snapshot provided by high stakes assessments.

Betts Putnam-Hidalgo: Called for increased mentoring opportunities for new teachers, and adequately compensating teachers who meet performance goals. Individualizing instruction to meet individual students’ needs and holding the superintendent accountable for student performance are also key in improving performance.

Lori Riegel: Filling teacher vacancies, ensuring students have the materials they need and increasing classroom spending would all positively impact student achievement, she says. She also advocated for empowering and supporting school principals and teachers.

Brett Rustand: Significant progress must be made and policies need to be created with student achievement in mind. He called for a more challenging curriculum that would require teachers to teach to a higher standard. He also argued that if administrative spending can be reduced, that would free up funds for the classroom.

Rachael Sedgwick: TUSD test scores have either been stagnant or on the decline in the case of minority students. She urged the district to form a partnership with the University of Arizona to train teachers to be leaders within their schools and to train teachers on how to work collaboratively for the benefit of children.

Mark Stegeman (incumbent): The superintendent and the governing board need to prioritize academic achievement. Increase classroom spending by reducing administrative expenses, specifically calling for the funds to go toward teacher pay and classroom materials.

Discipline

The candidates were not directly asked about TUSD’s discipline philosophy but many wove it into responses on how to improve academic outcomes for students.

Both Foster and Juarez argued that historically, Latino and African American students have been disciplined disproportionately but the district is working to turn that around through programs that seek to address the root causes of behavior.

Riegel, Rustand, Stegeman and Sedgwick called for supporting teachers’ decisions to maintain order in their classrooms.

Working together

Research has found that effective school boards positively impact student achievement, but TUSD governing boards past and present have often been described as dysfunctional and driven by personalities rather than policy. 

Foster: Public education is under attack in Arizona and the school board needs to come together to build the community’s trust and confidence.

Juarez: The drama of the TUSD school board has been known to push people away from the district. It’s imperative for the board to come together and support approved policies even when a board member opposes it.

Putnam-Hidalgo: The TUSD board lacks a sense of civility. The focus needs to be on policy, not personalities or partisanship, to benefit kids.

Riegel: While disagreement is healthy, the TUSD board has failed at respectively listening and dialoguing for the greater good.

Rustand: Like Riegel, he feels disagreement is healthy but says board members’ loyalty should not be to personal agendas, instead it should be to children and teachers.

Sedgwick: Personality clashes are taking away from the focus on student achievement, negatively impacting the district as a whole.

Stegeman: Personalities rather than issues drive outcomes. Focusing on issues and decisions will allow discussions to be less toxic

More than three dozen people have thrown their names in the hat for a chance to serve on school boards across Tucson.

While the title of governing board member may not seem all that glamorous, those elected have huge influence over the educational experience of children across the city.

School board members have the final say on decisions about the kind of curriculum children are taught, how much money is spent in the classroom, or creating student discipline policies.

“They make some of the most important decisions about the day-to-day functions of every one of our school districts,” said Ricky Hernandez, who oversees elections for the Pima County School Superintendent's Office. “It’s vitally important that voters — be they parents or be they community members — pay attention to these elections and try to do some research about these people so they can make decisions that best fit their interests.”

Voters will have the opportunity to make their picks at the polls in November or when early ballots go out in October.

The following 37 candidates are competing for 28 open seats in Tucson’s nine major school districts:

Amphitheater (3 seats)

• Deanna Day*
• Julie Cozad*
• Scott Baker
• Mick Stewart
• Vicki Cox Golder

Catalina Foothills (3 seats)

• Carole Siegler*
• Eileen Jackson*
• Robert Douglas Hadley

Flowing Wells (3 seats)

• Thomas S. Jacobs*
• James A. Love*
• Wendy Effing

Marana (3 seats)

• Suzanne Hopkins*
• Maribel Lopez*
• Daniel Post*

Sahuarita (3 seats)

• J. Elaine Hall*
• Kris Ham*
• Dalia Zimmerman
• Shari S. Lowell

Sunnyside (3 seats)

• Buck Crouch*
• Becky Quintero*
• Roberto Jaramillo

Tanque Verde (4 seats)

• Jeffrey M. Neff*
• Carlos Ruiz*
• Susan E. Fry*
• Jeremy Schalk
• Vieri M. Tenuta

TUSD (3 seats)

• Kristel Foster*
• Cam Juarez*
• Mark Stegeman*
• Lori Riegel
• Betts Putnam-Hidalgo
• Rachael Sedgwick
• Brett Rustand

Vail (3 seats)

• Allison Pratt*
• Anthony Sizer
• Callie Tippett
• Mark Tate

*incumbent

There is also an opportunity for write-in candidates to file by Aug. 24.

In the case of Catalina Foothills, Flowing Wells, Marana and Sunnyside, which each have three candidates and three seats, if no write-in candidates come forward and if their signatures check out the Pima County Board of Supervisors could appoint those individuals, eliminating the need for, and cost of, an election.

Tucson Unified has no time for tomato throwing, as my fellow TUSD Governing Board member (the Oct. 22 guest opinion “The TUSD tomato wars” by Mark Stegeman) shared last week. We must focus on a shared vision, not board drama, and commit to moving our school district forward.

When Cam Juárez and I were elected to the Governing Board in 2012, it changed the TUSD board majority and the direction of the district. One of our first votes was to halt the outsourcing of transportation, custodians, payroll and human resources. We also unbanned books and approved culturally relevant classes, which mirror (as much as the law allows) the successful Mexican American Studies classes that the previous board suspended.

In 2014, we approved a Strategic Plan that 400 stakeholders helped to create, providing us with a precise vision and necessary steps to improve TUSD facilities, communication, curriculum, finance and diversity, all of which align to our desegregation plan.

This blueprint allows us to focus on concrete work, rather than endlessly criticizing administration. With this guiding framework, already, we have reopened closed schools as early childhood centers to better connect with younger students. We established community centers to help struggling families meet their basic needs. We installed solar and implemented school garden programs to model sustainability and responsible citizenship. With the help of community leaders, we re-enrolled more than 500 students who had dropped out of school. We increased academic achievement and decreased suspension rates of minority students to interrupt the school-to-prison pipeline. And finally, we are just months away from settling our 40-year old desegregation case.

Most impressively, we have done an about-face when it comes to our notorious enrollment loss. In fact, 228 more K-12 students have entered TUSD since the 40th day of the 2015-16 school year compared to the 52nd school day this year.

This shows a growing trust and belief in TUSD and will increase our state funding by almost $4 million.

In 2016, if our school board changes direction we could return to the chaos we previously saw with more school closures, outsourcing of blue-collar staff and a setback in our desegregation case. We cannot let that happen. I value our neighborhood schools, and I owe our accomplishments to the diligent work that custodians, cafeteria workers, school secretaries, bus drivers, principals and teachers do every day for our students in TUSD.

We have seen more sensationalized stories and misinformation than ever before during this election year. Our local races matter just as much as the presidency, especially when it comes to our kids. With your vote for TUSD, please do your research and consider individuals who are collaborative, focused on kids and schools and will commit to moving the district forward in a positive direction.

Persons who watch TUSD board meetings know that they often break down into board members throwing tomatoes (metaphorically) at other board members. This has escalated during the current campaign. Some of the outsiders running for seats have responded in kind, throwing tomatoes at the board for throwing tomatoes at each other. It is easy and fun. It has become quite a tomato fest.

The way you get out of the tomato festival, as I have said for years, is to stop talking about board members and instead talk about policies and schools. Instead of ceaselessly talking about the board, talk about the issues it faces and the decisions that it makes. If everyone followed that rule, then most of the toxicity would go away by itself. Talking about issues is, of course, harder than throwing tomatoes.

Board members come and go, and in the end they do not matter. Most parents and many teachers do not know or care who is on the board. What matters is what the board does, and how this makes the schools stronger or weaker.

Some discussion of personalities is inevitable during campaigns, because personalities and not policies are what appear on the ballot. But that discussion should be focused on what policies the candidates will adopt, how they will choose and evaluate superintendents, what priorities they will follow in setting TUSD’s budget, etc.

One reason that I like Betts Putnam-Hidalgo as a candidate, though we do not agree on all the issues, is that she focuses on issues. If everyone followed this model, then TUSD leadership discussions would be more substantive and lose much of their pointless pettiness.

When board members or candidates go beyond differences of opinion and actively deceive the public, or behave truly egregiously, then those specific incidents can be legitimate issues. Some such incidents may have occurred lately, but that is a separate discussion.

The point here is that throwing tomatoes is not a good way to end the culture of throwing tomatoes. It just adds more people throwing tomatoes.

Months ago I circulated a 100-day plan, which was an attempt to direct the campaign toward issues. It is a short but serious document (at stegeman4tusd.com). I am happy to receive comments on it and hope that voters will compare it to other candidates’ proposals.