Fagen departure leaves TUSD in gray zone

But on Friday, less than two years into her tenure, the superintendent announced that she will abandon her post, leaving the image-plagued district in limbo.

The search for a strong superintendent will be difficult, some said, considering the economic climate.

Hours after Fagen was named the sole finalist for the Douglas County School District superintendent position in Colorado, Governing Board President Judy Burns called the situation "damaging."

"The first year she did amazingly well considering what she inherited," Burns said. "My feeling was over time, we would see the leader she was, but she was not here long enough to change public opinion, and now we have to start from scratch again.

"This does not look good for the district."

Arizona's budget crisis won't help either, said Ann-Eve Pedersen, an education advocate and TUSD parent.

"This is a huge loss for the district and for the community," Pedersen said. "She is the best thing that happened to TUSD. On the other hand, I'm not surprised, living in Arizona, where the state fails to adequately fund public education.

"We will lose highly qualified educators, like Dr. Fagen, as a result."

While Fagen was not available to comment on what factored into her decision to seek employment elsewhere, some speculate that the lack of funding to make her vision come true, and having to continuously make cuts to essential programs might have played a role.

Twice taxpayers have voted against budget overrides that could have helped the district during the economic downturn.

A lack of support may have been a factor as well, said Adelita Grijalva, a member of TUSD's governing board.

"I don't think she had the full support of the board," Grijalva said. "If the superintendent isn't given that support, it's difficult to do the job you're hired to do."

Upon coming on board with TUSD, Fagen inherited a number of problems. Those included a declining enrollment, steep budget cuts and possible school closures.

Since then, enrollment has continued to rapidly decline at a rate of 1,500 students per year for the last three years.

Schools had to cut 14 percent from their budgets for the current school year and are now facing a 10 percent cut for the 2010-11 school year.

And earlier this month, the Governing Board approved the closure of Wrightstown Elementary School, which will merge with another school.

Some maintained that Fagen was on the right track and simply needed more time to bring her vision to fruition and turn around Tucson's largest K-12 district.

Others voiced disappointment in her decision to leave, with initiatives that are just barely getting off the ground.

One effort Fagen put in place was first-choice schools, in which campuses were encouraged to come up with a niche to retain and attract students.

This would put the district in competition with specialty charter schools, but many district schools have yet to identify a focus.

Despite the fact that the project is not fully implemented, Assistant Superintendent Edith Macklin-Isquierdo is grateful for the opportunity to make changes and believes it will be carried out under the next superintendent.

"The ideas she has are really refreshing, and they are the right things to do for our students," she said. "We will continue to push forward to best serve them. We're not falling apart. Our vision is still very much intact."

Board member Bruce Burke agreed.

"Anytime there is a change in leadership, there is potential for a change in direction," he said. "Where we are going now is a model for the future, and we will look for leadership that will continue to move us forward."

Fagen also placed emphasis on empowering individual school sites by initiating site-based decision-making - giving schools a say in how budgets would be spent.

Related to that was the way Fagen approached school closures. When she arrived, there was talk of forcing the closure of four under-enrolled elementary schools.

This year, Fagen gave schools the option of merging and offered incentives to make it more appealing to faculty and parents.

While the initiative has been applauded as a cost-saving measure, only two schools have decided to combine.

Some of Fagen's strategies indicated she wasn't comfortable making hard decisions, said Luci Messing, president of the Tucson Education Association. With certain situations - like the school mergers - more guidance would have been appropriate to improve the district as a whole.

Fagen worked to increase accountability and improve the quality of teachers and administrators, said Governing Board member Mark Stegeman.

She also took steps to reduce administrative costs. Stegeman said that process needs to continue, keeping only administrative functions that are critical to the district's mission.

TUSD is now operating under the Post Unitary Plan, following decades under a federal desegregation order.

Fagen helped draft the plan, which aims to narrow the gaps in achievement and a disparity in discipline between minority and non-minority students.

It will now be up to staff and a new superintendent to ensure that the plan is upheld.

Fagen's appointment to the Douglas County School District, south of Denver, is anticipated next month.

If she is appointed, Fagen intends to take the job in July.

"Where we are going now is a model for the future, and we will look for leadership that will continue to move us forward."

Bruce Burke,

TUSD board member

Contact reporter Alexis Huicochea at 573-4175 or ahuicochea@azstarnet.com