Tucson School Board Members Lay Out Their Positions

by David Safier

Joel Ireland says he’s voting against all closings. The reason is, the judge’s lifting of the desegregation order means schools can be considered for cutting that couldn’t be considered under the deseg order. So he wants to table the decision for now and begin the process over again, creating a committee and doing the proper groundwork and considering closure of all schools in the district.

Adelita Grijalva kinda agrees, I think.

Judy Burns agrees with Joel Ireland completely.

So we have two members definitely against any closings, and a third who may be.

Bruce Burke says, “I can count votes, and it looks like we’re not closing any schools tonight.” But he wants to deal with it tonight and is disappointed the Board is planning to put it off.

Alex Rodriguez says, TUSD is in financial crisis. Our process hasn’t been wonderful, but what do you expect from us? We’ve done our best. He thinks fiscal accountability “trumps not closing schools.” Rodriguez says the one school he would have voted to close is Wrightstown, because it is so under-enrolled. He would have voted to keep the others open. So Wrightstown, this is your last chance, says Rodriguez. You have to prove you can raise your enrollment or expect to close when this topic comes up again.