What is being done to increase funding for education? How are districts planning to deal with teacher shortages? What can be done to restore funding for technical education?
These are some of the questions Pima County’s high school students asked a group of politicians and leaders from the city, county and school districts at the 21st annual Teen Town Hall event Friday.
More than 200 students from 20 schools across the county attended the event at Catalina Magnet High School, which was hosted by the Metropolitan Education Commission.
“This is your forum,” June Webb-Vignery, the commission’s executive director, told the students.
Panelists included Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild, state Sens. Steve Farley and David Bradley, Pima County Supervisor Ramón Valadez, Sunnyside Superintendent Steve Holmes, former Tucson Unified Superintendent Roger Pfeuffer and Governing Board President Adelita Grijalva.
In an opening speech, Rothschild encouraged a crowd of students to register to vote when they turn of age and to participate actively in creating change.
“It is your age group that is going to have to come forward and say, ‘We need to find a way,’” he said.
At least one student was uncertain if the teens have a say in creating change.
“How do we know that our voice would be heard when we know nothing has changed?” asked Lexi Hayes, a senior at Catalina Magnet High School and a member of its student council.
Many teens want to do the right thing, she said in an interview after the event. “We are the people of tomorrow,” she added. But many often feel discouraged.
Rothschild told her he felt similarly disillusioned when he was younger, but also reminded her that political change takes a long time of many people working together.
“It is not a sprint,” he said. “It’s a marathon.”
Cholla High School sophomore Leshawn Bowen wanted to know what steps are being taken to bring more teachers into Arizona classrooms. He warned the panelists that he did not want a generalized answer.
First to respond to that question was Holmes, the Sunnyside superintendent, who said his district is working on improving teacher pay and getting teachers involved in decision-making processes.
Grijalva of the TUSD board chimed in, saying there are not enough graduates seeking to become educators. She echoed Holmes in saying that teachers deserve to be paid more.
But Bowen, who said he is interested in a career in politics and business, was not satisfied with their answers.
“I was specifically asking what steps they are taking,” he said later in an interview. “These aren’t specific steps. They’re just ideas.”
The town hall at times expanded into discussions with teachers, principals, districts’ governing board members and others chiming into issues brought up by students.
Last year’s comments from students led to the implementation of the Student Advocacy Day, on which the education commission’s youth advisory council members visited the Arizona Capitol to talk with state legislators.
