With reactionary forces looking to reshape public education in the MAGA- Project 2025’s image, a trio of candidates in the suburbs of Tucson are running for seats on the Catalina Foothills School District Governing Board (CFSD) to continue the many programs that shine in that small district and build on them to bring more positive results to the district’s school children.
Current board members Eileen Jackson, Jacquelyn Davoli, and Tom Logue are the candidates who have formed this CFSD Students First team.
If they are all successful in the November elections, this team would focus on continuing CFSD’s welcoming and inclusive environment, adhering to the school district’s already successful academic mission and strategic planning, and building on the district’s dynamic academic and extracurricular program.
Ms. Jackson, Ms. Davoli, and Mr. Logue graciously discussed their candidacies for the Catalina Foothills School Board.
- Please tell the readers why you want to seek election to the Catalina Foothills School District Governing Board.
Eileen Jackson
“I originally ran for the governing board because I think any student who enrolls in CFSD deserves to get the same quality education that launched my three kids into their futures. I wanted to be part of preserving and developing the district’s educational program, and I’ve been really grateful to have participated in its success for the last 12 years that I’ve been on the board. My initial intention was to retire at the end of this year, which is the end of my third term. I changed that plan when we lost our good friend and colleague Amy Bhola. Amy, and I served on the board together for quite a while. We were pretty simpatico in our approach to board leadership and service. She was extremely supportive of the district, as am I. We both worked collaboratively to promote policy and curriculum that best served our kids. I hope I don’t sound immodest but I think Amy would approve of me taking on the last bit of her term, because we shared the same values and the same approach to our district leadership. I’d be proud to stand in for Amy, to protect her legacy and continue my work supporting CFSD.”
If I may, Amy passed away?
“She did in March of this year. It was a huge loss to the CFSD community and the Tucson community at large. Amy had been a tireless volunteer on behalf of the community and on behalf of the district.”
Jacquelyn Davoli
My husband and I open enrolled our daughter at a CFSD elementary school for several years, and then moved into the district. She graduated this May, and over the course of her education, I was impressed by the curriculum, academic opportunities, extracurriculars, and even the employment opportunities the district offers its students. She’s starting at the U of A this fall and she will tell you she is incredibly well-positioned to start at the University. We have friends and family with younger children in the district, and it’s very important to me that the opportunities my daughter enjoyed continue for all students.”
Tom Logue
“I have two children in CFSD schools right now and will be a district parent for the next seven years. My daughter is entering middle school and my son is entering high school. These are some of the most important formative years of their lives, both academically and socially, and I can think of no better place for them than CFSD. When we moved to Tucson four years ago, we specifically selected this district because of the schools. I am running to ensure that my children, and all CFSD students, continue to enjoy the same high caliber of education that the district has historically delivered.”
- What are two or three main issues you will be running on in this campaign? Please explain.
Eileen Jackson
“CFSD’s tradition of excellence is rooted in its adherence to its strategic plan. I had the privilege of helping to craft this plan in my first year on the governing board. Our mission to provide a caring and collaborative learning environment that works for each student—our vision for students to transfer what they glean in CFSD to life beyond CFSD—these two aims must remain CFSD’s guideposts.
“Another way to put this is that I’ll work toward making sure CFSD stays the course. I want it to maintain its reputation as the top public school in Arizona. I want to continue to graduate 90 plus percent of its students into the college of their choice and successful careers. I want to make sure it continues to offer a wide range of curriculum to our students, and I want it to continue its emphasis on increasing teacher and staff pay because it’s so important to take care of the people who take care of our kids. So, I would say my main focus is ensuring that CFSD stays on its current trajectory of excellence.
Jacquelyn Davoli
“It’s important to continue education excellence by innovating the curriculum to keep pace with where we are now and also look to the future. There’s a lot of emphasis on post-graduate high school education and our curriculum needs to reflect opportunities for those students who wish to excel in that area. We also need to provide a curriculum, such as JTED/CTE learning opportunities, for students who choose to enter the workforce or go into a trade or apprentice program after high school. This is one way we put students first.”
Tom Logue
“Another one of our focus areas is ensuring a welcoming and safe environment for all students. In concrete terms, that translates into prioritizing student-counselor ratios so that student support is available when needed. It’s upholding the district’s inclusive policies so that all students experience a comfortable environment that’s conducive to learning. It’s seeking out evidence-based curricula incorporating social and emotional learning and academics.”
- What is your view on some in the Legislature’s attempt to restrict what books can be read, what history can be taught and how LGBTQ children should be treated? Please explain.
Eileen Jackson
“I think parents should have a say in the types of books their own students are reading in school. Our teaching staff offers menus of books for kids to choose from in a given lesson. Our schools notify parents if there’s language or scenes in a book that they might not want their kid to be exposed to. Parents can guide their students in what book choices they will make in school, and our educators consistently respect those choices. I do draw the line, however, at one set of parents telling another set of parents what their children can read. I can’t support that and will work to make sure all families have this choice in CFSD.
Jacquelyn Davoli
“What materials my child can access is for my family to decide, not the Legislature or other parents. I respect the rights of other parents to make choices for their children just as I would hope they would respect mine. As for history instruction, it should be evidence-based, taught from a variety of perspectives, and inclusive of all experiences. The Legislature should not be acting as historians.”
Tom Logue
“As a parent of younger children in the district, my experience has been that our schools are consistently proactive about reaching out to inform us as parents about any materials or lessons that might be deemed sensitive. That allows us to opt out of anything that we don’t want our children participating in, and that decision happens at the family level rather than being imposed by the Legislature.”
Eileen Jackson
“To your question regarding history instruction. I have to say in CFSD, we haven’t had a lot of feedback from people who take exception to our history or social studies curriculum. Constituents are free to review curriculum materials. Whenever we change curriculum materials, they’re subject to a 90-day public review period. I really can’t remember any parents or any other constituents attending our board meetings to express concern about social studies and history courses. The curriculum at CFSD is expansive, and it strives to teach our students from a variety of viewpoints. I think that’s appropriate and that CFSD does a great job with that. I would continue to approve curriculum that has a multifaceted approach.”
Tom Logue
“Regarding curriculum review, I think it’s important to emphasize that Board meetings are open to all. Anyone interested in that can see the agenda, show up to the meetings, stay for those discussions, and witness how the curriculum is discussed and reviewed. Every bit of this is absolutely transparent.”
Eileen Jackson
“LGBTQ+ students have been attending our schools since the district has existed. And when they come to CFSD, they find a supportive environment and classrooms led by supportive teachers. There are people in our community who advocate for LGBTQ+ plus students, and they recommend CFSD as a safe place for those students to enroll. I fully support the district’s non-discrimination policy and I’m proud CFSD offers this welcoming experience for these kids. Teaching kids to accept those who are different from themselves is good for all kids. I might also mention that our practices fully comply with the law. Our district and our board have always taken great care to craft and approve only those policies that comport with the law and any expert guidance in whatever area we’re talking about.”
Jacquelyn Davoli
“Public schools are about educating all children equally, they gather everyone. Our public schools, which reflect our broader society, should be non-discriminatory, welcoming, and inclusive of all.”
Tom Logue
“Regarding LGBTQ students, I will emphasize my earlier response that one of our top priorities is upholding the district’s inclusive policies that contribute to a welcoming and safe environment. That is front and center for us.”
- What is your view on some in the legislature not supporting a full repeal of the Aggregate Expenditure Limit (AEL) while fully supporting Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESA?) Please explain.
Jacquelyn Davoli
“AEL puts districts in a reactionary position. First and foremost, it’s a relic from 1980, when charter schools were nonexistent, so AEL only impacts public district schools. It also doesn’t account for the ways education has changed since then. It’s hard for districts to manage and budget for the future with the uncertainty of not knowing if they’ll be able to fully spend their budgets today. It can lead to cuts and loss of services in the middle of a school year, which throws learning, our students, staff, teachers, and families into chaos. It hurts our community and tells our students and families we don’t think public schools are important enough to allow them to spend the money allocated to them. It puts our public schools at a competitive disadvantage compared to charter and private schools and must be repealed. Our legislature as a whole needs to address this issue rather than every legislative session continually use public schools as a political pawn.”
Eileen Jackson
“Let’s just say the machinations around the Aggregate Expenditure Limit perfectly illustrate why politics and education don’t mix.”
Tom Logue
“ESAs are problematic both fiscally and socially. It’s not a responsible policy, objectively speaking. Beyond that, I have an objection to ESAs in principle. Education is a public good, not a bundle of individual transactions in the form of diplomas that cost X dollars. Any system or policy that erodes investment in our public schools, whether wholesale or incrementally, risks significant damage to our community. ESAs ignore the economics of maintaining an educational system that works for all students. School districts should be able to operate without the kind of undue financial pressure that ESAs and the AEL impose. Not that there shouldn’t be responsible economics when it comes to education, but that’s why you have School Board elections and the transparency of budget planning.”
Eileen Jackson
“If parents are choosing a private school for their own family’s reasons, regardless of whether they’ve been enrolled in a private school for the last ten years, they are now taking general funds out of the state’s coffers and that translates into less dollars available to fund our school districts. I know of no other government service where taxpayers are allowed to opt out and get their money back because they don’t use a particular service. Why is this allowed to happen in the all-important public education sphere?”
- Please describe your get-out-the-vote operation and how your campaign will appeal to all voters.
Eileen Jackson
“CFSD already draws widespread support of voters across our district. Our district is a good mix of registered Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. We’ve consistently passed our bond and override measures. Our last measures in 2022 passed 2 to 1 in support of CFSD funding. Our voting public is already pro-CFSD. Our job is going to be to make sure voters know that there is a governing board election that’s going to appear at the bottom of a really long ballot in Arizona, and that there is an excellent slate of candidates; myself, Jacquelyn, and Tom who’ve been supporting CFSD with their volunteer work consistently for years. Our message will be that we are the candidates best positioned to build on the excellence of CFSD.”
Jacquelyn Davoli
“We started engaging with our community well before the traditional campaign season. CFSD is a small district. We have an early learning/Pre-K center, four elementary, two middle, and one high school that connect our community. Our combined decades of supporting our students and schools have enabled us to engage with so many people. When it came time to gather signatures, the three of us called on neighbors, friends, family, and people with whom we volunteered to help. I was out canvassing door-to-door, having conversations with voters and asking for their support. We will continue to engage our networks to grow our supporters to show that our slate, CFSD Students First, is the right choice.”
Tom Logue
“I want to answer this question from the perspective of my role as Family Faculty Organization (FFO) president at Manzanita Elementary over the past 18 months. In that role, I worked with administrators, teachers, parents, and volunteers regularly, day in and day out, emailing, meeting in person, and attending events. Political beliefs never came up. We worked together for the good of the school and for the good of our students. When we – Jacquelyn, Eileen, and I – talk about the importance of school boards being nonpartisan, that’s what we mean. It’s about putting students first. Why should we as a slate appeal across the board? Because we are the best and most qualified candidates; the ones who have demonstrated that we’re willing to do the real work that’s required of a governing board.”
- Is there anything not covered in the first five questions that you’d like the readers to know about your candidacies for the Catalina Foothills School Governing Board? Please explain.
Jacquelyn Davoli
“I am excited to have the opportunity to continue serving students and our school communities via board service. Tom, Eileen, and I care deeply about this district. We appreciate the robust opportunities it offers its students. We must remember how pivotal a great school district is to our community, and positive, collaborative leadership is a big part of success. It would be an honor to serve my community and its students as a board member.”
Eileen Jackson
“I think our love and support for the district is shown through our countless hours of volunteer service in our schools. We’ve put in the time and effort to really know our district, and we’re eager to put that knowledge and familiarity to work for our students. I’d be honored to continue my school district service, even though I was planning on retiring. I’ll be honest – I knew I would really miss the work and had started wondering – what am I going to do on Tuesday nights now? So, I’m very excited about this opportunity. I’m not sure why it came about, but I’m excited about spending another couple of years on the board, working side-by-side with Jacquelyn and Tom. They are excellent candidates, great volunteers for the district, and really just wonderful people.”
Tom Logue
“With my son going into high school, we had the opportunity a couple of months ago to go to an event there and hear about all of the different offerings that were available. As we walked out of that presentation, my wife and I turned to each other and we both said, I want to go back to high school! It’s absolutely incredible what the district offers for students. Knowing that I can’t go back to high school, the next best thing is finding a way to get involved to make sure that these amazing opportunities continue to be available to all students.”
Eileen Jackson
“If I can just add something as I’m listening to all of us singing the praises of CFSD. It’s a great place for our students to be. We’re very much cheerleaders for CFSD, and we know the district does not require wholesale change. But we do recognize that in any organization, there’s room for improvement. I think the enthusiasm the three of us have for CFSD makes us qualified to meet the challenges that will arise. We’re prepared to work constructively and collaboratively with the district administration to meet those challenges. Without that constructive approach—when you approach problems from an adversarial point of view, our kids lose. We want to put our enthusiasm into working for the district, maintaining what it does so well, and helping it move into and adapt to the future.
Please click here for more information about these three Catalina Foothills School Board Candidates.
Link: https://www.cfsdstudentsfirst.org
Their Facebook page is: CFSD Students First Facebook
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