MAS

TUSD candidate forum: What about Mexican American Studies? (video)

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by Pamela Powers Hannley

Seven of 12 candidates for the Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) governing board candidates participated in a candidate forum sponsored by Dinking Liberally Tucson on September 26, 2012.

After the jump, listen to the candidates' thoughts on the controversial Mexican American Studies program. This is the second in a series of videos from the forum. Here is a link to my You Tube channel where this and other video clips reside.

TW and AZ Star on TUSD board race: Contrasting coverage shows media biases

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by Pamela Powers Hannley Undoubtedly one of the more contentious local races this election season is the non-partisan 12-person race for three unpaid positions on the Tucson Unified School District's (TUSD) Governing Board. In this race, there are two University of Arizona professors, a call center supervisor, a Sunnyside School District employee, a self-employed landscaper, a … Read more

Questions about employment and MAS purity: Will the real Kristel Foster please stand up?

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by Pamela Powers Hannley

Activist and educator Kristel Foster began campaigning for a seat on the Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) Governing Board not long after the board voted 4-1 to shut down the embattled Mexican American Studies (MAS) program– rather than lose $15 million over a program that had been declared illegal by the state of Arizona.

From the get-go, Foster made it clear that she was running as a "save MAS" candidate. In fact, when Foster and fellow "save MAS" candidate Ralph Ellinwood spoke at Drinking Liberally (DL) in June, the audience was twice the normal size, due to a strong showing of MAS stalwarts who came to cheer them on– including ThreeSonorans blogger Abie Morales and Tucson Weekly reporter Mari Herreras.

Unfortunately for Foster, since the August 8 Drinking Liberally kibitz fest, Morales has started attacking her for being an MAS turncoat. (He's even calling for MAS supporters to suggest possible write-in candidates.)

The special guest for the August 8 meeting was supposed to be Cam Juarez (also a "save MAS" candidate). Unfortunately, it poured down rain that night, and the DL turnout was very low. As a result, Drinking Liberally reverted to DL Classic Mode (ie, everyone sits around and endulges in free-form political discussion, with no official speaker). On that fateful night, four TUSD board candidates were present– Foster, Juarez, Betts Puttnam-Hildalgo, and incumbent Mark Stegeman. 

Stegeman asked the others the $15 million question: Would they have voted to shut down MAS in order to avoid the $15 million fine from the state? Puttman-Hildalgo and Juarez said, No. They said they would have defied the state ruling and voted with board member Adeltia Grijalva to retain the program– regardless of the cost to the district. (This is the MAS true believer stance.) Foster said she would have voted with the majority to shut down MAS, hence the attack from the ThreeSonorans blog. This looks like a giant flip-flop from a long-time, in-the-trenches MAS supporter.

After the jump is her Facebook explanation. Also, the plot thickens with the question: Should a Sunnyside School District employee vote on the next superintendent of TUSD?

On MAS: AG Tom Horne is like a dog with a frickin’ bone (video)

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by Pamela Powers Hannley

Multiple levels of court cases related to TUSD's Mexican American Studies (MAS) are winding their way through the judicial system. 

There's the case of former MAS teacher and whistle-blower John Ward against former MAS chair Sean Arce and teacher Jose Gonzales. (Three versions of this story and links to fundraising appeasl for both sides, here: 1, 2, 3. #1 is Ward's affidavit plus other statements; it gives you an idea why he blew the whistle. #2 is a fundraising appeal for former MAS head Sean Arce. #3 is a fundraising event for Ward. It's interesting to note that Attorney General Tom Horne spoke at the fundraiser for Ward. Is that some sort of conflict of interest for an AG?)

There's the lawsuit against SB2281– the racist Arizona Legislature bill crafted by then Superintendent of Public Instruction Horne and gleefully implemented by AG Horne. (Close as I can tell, #1 above is an excerpt from the supporting documents for this court case.)

And last but certainly not least… the decades-old TUSD desegregation suit. Is TUSD in compliance with the desegregation suit or not? This goes back and forth. (Here's some background.)  Horme wants to keep his thumb on the pulse of what's left of MAS and wants to play a role in the creation of the replacement curriculum, which would be protected under the desegregation order. Recently, a federal judge officially told Horne to butt out of the TUSD desegragation case, but Horne is not ready to let go of the MAS bone.

Video after the jump.