Save our Schools Endorses “Students First” Team for Catalina Foothills School Board

Save Our Schools Arizona announced:

“We are thrilled to endorse Jacquelyn Davoli, Tom Logue, & Eileen Jackson for Catalina Foothills School District School Board! These #PublicSchoolProud candidates are running to ensure that all Catalina Foothills students have access to an excellent education. #Vote4PublicEd.”

The community has had two great opportunities to hear from CFSD Governing Board candidates about their positions on the issues. These forums were organized and moderated by nonpartisan groups with a reputation for professionalism and years of experience running candidate forums. You can access recordings here:

• League of Women Voters (9/26/24): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEpiquL1k0o
• Secular AZ (9/30/24): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGdqAwCa7jY

As candidates answered audience questions, voters had the opportunity to see for themselves who the most qualified candidates are for the CFSD Board seats. 

Here are some highlights about your CFSD Students First candidates:

• Eileen’s twelve years of board service and deep institutional knowledge are a huge asset to the district and the Students First team. She spoke knowledgeably and in detail about district policies, how the district serves its students, and how the community has enthusiastically supported CFSD. Eileen’s continued service speaks to her remarkable dedication to the district.
• Jacquelyn can speak to the many benefits of a CFSD education as she watches her child, a 2024 CFHS graduate, confidently tackling the rigors of her college career thanks to her excellent education at CFSD schools. Jacquelyn has immersed herself in school district policies and procedures through regular board meeting attendance and independent research, and it shows when she discusses everything from social-emotional learning to budget decisions.
• Tom is eager to bring the voice and perspectives of a current CFSD parent to the board. With a child at OGMS and another at CFHS, Tom has first-hand knowledge of how CFSD policies impact students and their families daily. Tom’s role as Manzanita FFO President allowed him to foster truly collaborative relationships with parents, staff, administrators, and district personnel and gain an in-depth understanding of how families, schools, and the district work together to create an amazing learning environment for students.

Meanwhile, here’s what we learned about their Republican-backed opponents:

They had to sponsor their own forum, but almost nobody came. Read: GOP-backed Candidates for Catalina Foothills School Board Hold a “Debate” in a Big Empty Room

They can’t quite keep their stories straight, both in their current campaign and compared to 2022.

• Is CFSD a great district? Or is it failing its students? The answer seems to depend on who is asking the question and which answer they think the audience will like more.
• Are they in favor of bonds and overrides, or are they opposed? They both indicated their support of bond and override funding at the Secular AZ forum, but they opposed it in an earlier candidate survey.
• They are critical of CFSD in broad strokes but seem to agree with the specific policies, procedures, and actions district leadership took. We saw this same pattern in parental involvement, curriculum decisions, safety, and other topics. They know they are against something but aren’t quite sure what it is.

They like to play fast and loose with language to ignore inconvenient truths.

• Unless and until directly confronted, they have trouble admitting that they have no children in CFSD schools. Instead, they say things like, “All my children have attended CFSD schools,” and hope voters won’t notice.
• They ignore the precedent of existing law in protecting vulnerable students, instead arguing that cases are “currently being adjudicated.” If you think this doesn’t matter, look no further than Mesa, AZ, where an extremist school board member sued their own district over a disagreement about transgender students. That case was also being adjudicated until a judge tossed it out. We don’t need that drama at CFSD – not the protests, discord, or legal bills. Instead, we must reinforce that CFSD is an inclusive community where ALL students feel safe and welcome.
• They mention the school straying from academics without saying exactly where those resources are going instead. They vaguely talk about some things being better left to parents without concrete examples of those “things.” Perhaps they are referring to social-emotional learning (although it’s hard to tell), but painting that as “woke” means ignoring the many benefits of SEL to students in areas such as emotional development, behavioral regulation, and even school safety. Perhaps it’s easier for them to just use culture-war buzzwords and ignore the advice of education experts.

They are ill-informed about the district.

• They admit to not being familiar with the district budget and budgetary decision-making despite it being posted publicly on the district website and available to all.
• They don’t know about CFSD stakeholder outreach activities that have been discussed in district communications, board meetings, and the local news. They seem more aware of what is happening in other districts than in CFSD. Their impressions about CFSD parental involvement seem to be based on experiences from years ago rather than what is happening right now.

After these two forums, we can’t imagine anyone is still deciding how to cast their votes. Our opponents simply aren’t up to the job. They don’t want to do the work; they just want to make noise and fight culture wars in our schools. And while that makes them unserious candidates, it means they are capable of doing serious damage to our district.

The choice is clear. If you want CFSD to continue delivering a top-notch education to the more than 5,000 students currently enrolled in our schools, vote for Eileen Jackson, Jacquelyn Davoli, and Tom Logue. Vote to put CFSD Students First.