Recall Michael Hicks campaign gears up

February 24, 2012

by David Safier

This Sunday, a group of people interested in recalling TUSD Board member Michael Hicks will be meeting with Randy Parraz. If anyone knows anything about running a recall, it's Parraz who spearheaded the successful effort to take down Russell Pearce.

The question is, why recall Hicks? [You don't need a reason, by the way, only the required number of signatures.] By me, it shouldn't be for his votes alone. Hicks was elected to vote as he sees fit. The real question should be, is Hicks unfit to be on a board whose purpose is to oversee the education of Tucson's children? My tentative answer is yes, he is unfit. I say "tentative" because I'm basically a cautious guy who tries not to rush to judgement. I need to give it more thought. But here is my reason for saying Hicks is unfit to serve on the board.

In a radio interview Hicks gave and in a phone conversation with me, Hicks showed he was willing to hurl unwarranted accusations with racist overtones at people connected with the Mexican-American Studies program. On the radio show, he implied TUSD middle school students could have been subject to sexual abuse, similar to what allegedly occurred at Penn State, when they went into a UA Mexican-American Studies classroom. Hicks' implication was, not only are these MAS people animals, but they are so vile, it's possible a group of them — a prof and his students — could physically abuse the TUSD students with everyone in the classroom participating or watching, then keep silent about what happened.

(You can read the rest of the post below the fold.)

MAS News: Don’t mess with librarians!

February 24, 2012

by David Safier When I was a young teacher, I was surprised more than once when a sweet, gray haired, conservatively dressed librarian would talk, voice quivering with passion, about the right to have books in the high school library some community members found objectionable. Occasionally, I'd ask, "Really? That's in our library?" Librarians are

How many TUSD students get to Skype with Yale profs and students?

February 23, 2012

by David Safier What does it mean to TUSD middle school students who get to participate in a UA class and be accepted, listened to, applauded? You think it might make the dream of attending college seem a little more real? How about if some TUSD students have the opportunity to Skype with profs and