Five candidates vie for two seats on Tucson Unified school board

Five candidates are running for two seats on the Tucson Unified School District governing board. Incumbents Jennifer Eckstrom and Val Romero face challengers Pilar Acosta Ruiz, Skye Fernandez and Tre’Davon Rhodes.

Jennifer Eckstrom

Jennifer Eckstrom, a current board member, said she is running for re-election to continue improvements in the district and serve as a voice of her community.

If re-elected, Eckstrom said her top priorities would be tackling the budget and making cuts where needed, improving attendance rates and re-adjusting the amount of screen time students have in the classroom.

“School closures and school consolidations are on the table. I think those discussions are going to be crucial. They're starting now, but we really won't get into the meat and bones of it until next year,” she said. “We (also) need to look at scores and see why kids aren't progressing, and that goes hand in hand with attendance. I know that's a hot button issue right now, but really getting into the meat and bones of why kids are missing school.”

Eckstrom said when it comes to AI in the classroom, she would like to work more with parents to see what ideas they have before adding anything to the district’s policy.

“I think we can have a discussion with parents, teachers, and students to figure out what their ideas are. I think we really need more input from parents. We don't see a lot of that, and I think that's something else that the district needs to tackle,” she said. “We have to really buckle down and figure out a good way to use AI because it's here to stay, and I think we're one of the only districts in the state that has a policy. It's not perfect policy, but we wanted something in place so that students and parents and teachers understood what we’re looking at.”

She believes her experience in the community is what makes her a qualified candidate for the board, Eckstrom said.

“I was on the mayor and council in South Tucson for 18 years. I have a child in this district. It's important to me to make sure that public education is successful, I understand budgets, (and) I am out in my community all of the time,” she said. “I believe these past four years, my voice has been a really great voice for TUSD, and a lot of things have changed because of some of the input that I've given. I think we need to keep moving forward. We need to keep being innovative, we need to change things, and I think I'm promoting that change.”

Pilar Acosta Ruiz

Pilar Acosta Ruiz, a former TUSD parent, said she’s frequently watched TUSD governing board meetings in the past and believes she can bring some change.

She said her top priorities if elected would be to address budget issues and form a long-term plan, increase classroom spending and address safety issues in schools.

“The Arizona Auditor General has put us into the highest risk category. I'd like to see TUSD work on like a three-to-five-year plan for a sustainable budget,” she said. “And we need to allocate, in my opinion, some money into the budget to make the schools a little safer and also allow principals and teachers to effectively address disruptive behavior. I feel like some of the policies don't give the power to the front lines, and I believe that the front lines, the ones who are actually working with our kids, are the ones that we need to empower to be able to handle situations that they have to deal with daily.”

Ruiz said she does not believe AI should be used in the K-12 district.

“I don't think it should be deployed by the school district,” she said. “I think that as a society, we've gotten far away from reading books (and) using textbooks. Just the pleasure of reading a book has escaped this generation, and I think the district as a whole could do a better job of that.”

She believes her time watching the board since 2011 and confidence “to name and talk about the things that are ugly” are what make her a qualified candidate for the board, she said.

“I believe that in order to fix something, we have to first admit that there's a problem. There are some problems that need to be addressed, and I'm not afraid to to name them,” she said. “I'm not afraid to speak the truth, and I have enough historical knowledge to go ‘Oh, we've already tried that.’”

Skye M. Fernandez

Skye Fernandez, a former public school teacher and now a private educator, said she wants to bring a teacher’s perspective to the board.

She said her top priorities would be addressing the district’s financial problems, boosting teacher morale and keeping better track of district policies, which she says the current board is not doing well on.

“Instead of proactively figuring out how to best perform the duties of the job, most board members, and … this is a big problem for board members across the country, but especially in TUSD are just too comfortable approving the first suggestions that administration throws at them,” she said. “People will say ‘We need to balance the budget, we need to practice financial stewardship,’ and I 100% agree. And the way to me that that we will do this is by eliminating or severely minimizing that administrative bloat, as I call it.”

Fernandez said the district should proceed with caution when it comes to implementing AI.

“It's teachers' jobs to figure out how to implement that in their instruction, and as we know, teachers already have a lot on their plate,” she said. “I think AI is great for supplemental tasks. I use it all the time to organize, to edit something that I that I created, to maybe even get a comparison sometimes, and I think it's meant for those menial tasks. As a teacher, I'm a big (advocate) of creating things from our own mind, and I think that's part of what our jobs are as teachers.”

Fernandez said she believes she’s a qualified candidate because of her roots in TUSD and her experience as an educator.

“I settled on running for school board (because) it's a volunteer position, and it's not predicated on this idea of ‘I'm trying to profit off of your problems,’” she said. Fernandez said she wants to bring school board leadership “rooted in the classroom.”

Tre’Davon Rhodes

Tre’Davon Rhodes, a Sabino High School graduate and 20-year-old first-generation University of Arizona student, said he’s running for the board because he wants “to make sure that all the other students in TUSD and across Tucson have that same access and opportunity to success in their academic careers.”

He said his top three priorities would be funding issues, enrollment rates and absenteeism.

“Finding solutions to bolster our enrollment rates will be key in the next next few years,” he said. “It's been no secret that TUSD has followed the trend of districts across the nation having concerning financial struggles. We've been losing money from the state and federal level for years now, and pressure from public education opposers have really put a strain on our funding situation.”

He said he believes students should be equipped with how to ethically use AI, but should know basic skills first.

“I'm somebody that believes in the fundamentals, and I would be hesitant in a rapid expansion of AI,” he said. “ I do think it's important that we have a district-wide policy that ensures that students are learning how to use AI in an ethical and responsible way.”

Rhodes said his age is one of the greatest advantages he could bring to the board.

“I think it's incredibly important that we have this experience from a recent TUSD graduate. Somebody who understands what today's students are going through, understands the challenges they're facing, is able to connect with them on a more personal level, and is able to hopefully engage our student population in TUSD,” he said. “Some folks believe that youth equals inexperience. But what I would really urge people to realize and understand is that sometimes the experience that you deem necessary isn't the experience that is critically needed at the moment.”

Val Romero

Val Romero, a current board member, said he’s running for re-election because now that he’s gotten his feet wet, he wants to “continue to fight and promote some of the different things” the district is in need of.

He said his top three priorities would be addressing school safety issues, chronic absenteeism and strengthening foundational learning skills in kindergarten through third grade.

“One of the concerns that I have heard from principals recently was the kindergarteners and first graders that are coming into our district are the ones that were younger during that COVID, and they are not prepared. They're not potty trained (and) they're behind level than most,” he said. “Focusing on our core K-3 is going to help us later on down the line.”

Romero said he is one of the biggest critics of AI on the board and doesn’t believe it should have much of a role in the district.

“I'm in the trades and in business, so I love the CTE programs and the trade part of our schools and industry, but a lot of this AI technology is going to be taking a lot of these jobs away,” Romero said. “I am pushing back as much as I can against excessive AI in our schools … I'm on the minority side when it comes to that. But I will continue to fight that because I have had a lot of families and administration and teachers that have a shared they’re feeling similar.”

Romero said he believes his four years on the board and his life experience are what make him a qualified candidate for the board.

“As the oldest candidate, I've got a lot more life underneath my belt. I have my own personal business, and that experience helps me with processing, decision making, analytics and looking at the data, not going off of emotion, and actually having the right people to talk to to make these decisions,” he said. “One of the things that I think I have now that I didn't have when I ran for my first time is I'm aware of all the issues as incumbent. I have that as an advantage, just like Jennifer does … I think we are equals as far as going into this election.”