TUSD

TUSD Superintendent Community Forum

by

“Join Dr. Gabriel Trujillo at the Superintendent Community Forum to talk about what’s happening in #TucsonUnified!  January 17, 6:30 to 8 pm The forum will be held in the Little Theater at Sabino High School, 5000 N. Bowes Rd. Tucson” https://www.facebook.com/events/337253860179720/ Carolyn’s Note:  We are still waiting here at BFAZ for our webmaster to migrate … Read more

2018 Arizona List Governing Bd. Endorsements for Southern AZ

by

Carolyn’s note: Adelita Grijalva is a 4 term incumbent on the TUSD Governing Board, and Leila Counts is a political newcomer/teacher running for a position on the same board. Adelita is one of CD 3 Congressman Raul Grijalva’s daughters. Debi Chess Mabie is seeking her first term on the District 5 Governing Bd. of Pima … Read more

Who’s running for TUSD Governing Board in 2018?

by

To answer that question above, there are 2 nonpartisan seats up for election on November 6, 2018 and both incumbent Governing Board members are running for re-election  – Adelita Grijalva and Michael Hicks.  Grijalva is the daughter of CD 3 Congressman Raul Grijalva and has served on this board since 2003.     Hicks is a 2 term board member and is currently the President of the 5 member TUSD Governing Board.

Adelita Grijalva’s campaign website: https://www.adelitafortusd.com/

Michael Hicks’  campaign website: https://michaelhicks4tusd1.org/

incumbent Adelita Grijalva
incumbent Michael Hicks

 

 

 

 

 

 

Political newcomer challengers  in 2018 are Leila Counts, Adam Ragan, and Doug Robson.

Read more

Budget passed by the legislature, signed by the governor

by

The #RedforEd protestors will return to work now. They only partially succeeded on one of their demands, a 20 percent pay increase for teachers, but that is all they are going to get out of this Tea-Publican legislature and governor.

The Arizona Republic reports, Arizona Legislature passes state budget, including #RedForEd teacher pay-raise plan (note to the copy editor, this is NOT the “#RedForEd teacher pay-raise plan,” it is the GOP leadership’s plan):

The Arizona Legislature passed a state budget early Thursday that included nearly $273 million aimed at giving teachers pay raises. It came after nearly 13 hours of debate in the House and Senate.

Gov. Doug Ducey signed the bill dealing with education, which had the teacher pay raise plan as part of it, at about 6:10 a.m. Thursday, according to a post on his Twitter feed.

Passage of the pay raises was called the triggering event that organizers said would end the statewide teacher walkout, the largest in recent U.S. history.

The galleries in both chambers remained crowded overnight Wednesday with teachers and education advocates wearing the red shirts indicative of the #RedForEd movement.

The Senate passed all the budget bills just after 5:30 a.m., and the House followed suit more than three hours later.

For the educators, watching the votes wasn’t about a victory. Most of the lawmakers they cheered through the hearings and debates voted against the budget bills.

All but one of the Republicans they jeered voted for it. The education portion of the budget bill had four Democratic votes for it in the Senate; in the House, all Democrats voted against it.

More so, for the educators it was about bearing witness, feeling engaged in a process they felt they had spurred on by their threat to walk off the job, followed by the unprecedented action of actually doing so.

Read more

Gov. Ducey’s budget fails to deliver, screws over Tucson and TUSD

by

Rebuffing the RedforEd protests by educators picketing the state Capitol, Republican lawmakers took the first steps Monday to providing a 9 percent raise this coming year for teachers. Arizona lawmakers take steps for 20 percent teacher pay hike, but not necessarily for all:

The final version of the budget deal negotiated between GOP leaders and Gov. Doug Ducey – no educators or even the minority Democrats in the legislature – puts $273 million into the $10.4 billion spending plan for the coming year specifically for teacher pay hikes.

But unlike Ducey’s original proposal, each school district would get its share in bulk dollars. That leaves it up to board members to decide how to divvy it up.

The Arizona Republic adds:

The additional money for districts would be based on a statewide teacher salary average of $49,000, Stefan Shepherd of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee told House Democrats Monday. Twenty percent of that figure is $9,800.

Districts will get a bundle of money based on that $9,800 figure multiplied by the number of teachers they reported having, Shepherd said.

But, Shepherd said that means districts with higher-than-average teacher salaries would not receive enough money to give all their teachers 20 percent raises.

Conversely, districts with lower-than-average salaries would receive more than enough to give teachers 20 percent raises.

And nothing in the budget bill would require the additional funds be spent on teacher salaries, Shepherd told lawmakers.

“There’s no language that says you have to give X percent pay raise,” Shepherd said.

In touting his plan on KFYI-AM last week, Ducey said, “Make no mistake. When we pass this plan, every teacher in the state will have a 20 percent pay raise by 2020.” (Yeah, he lied).

Last week Ducey said his offer meets the key demand of the educator groups whose members voted last week to walk out beginning Thursday. “So they know it’s been delivered on,” he claimed. No, it decidedly has not. Ducey’s budget “only partially meets one of the five stated demands made by protesters.” Facts still trump GOPropaganda..

Read more