Pushback prompts TUSD to pause creation of faith-based committee

Plans to form a faith-based advisory committee have been paused by the Tucson Unified School District after some parents expressed concerns.

In a March 9 email sent by Kinasha Brown, TUSD’s assistant superintendent of equity, diversity and inclusiveness, parents were told the formation of the faith-based advisory committee would partner with the district to help achieve a list of outcomes. The outcomes listed were:

to have a say in TUSD initiatives, programs, policies or projects;

coordinate activities focused on literacy for grades K-2;

synchronize and support TUSD enrollment and registration drives;

develop service-based learning opportunities for students;

and develop and coordinate an annual faith-based partnership symposium.

But on Tuesday, March 28, Superintendent Gabriel Trujillo said the district had postponed its plans.

“This committee can potentially give the impression that TUSD is straying from its secular and religiously neutral status. For this reason, there will be a postponing of this committee at this time,” Trujillo wrote in a memo that the district emailed to parents Tuesday night, after the governing board meeting.

The initial email called for applicants for the 22-member committee, comprising 10 faith-based organizations, three members of the Interdenominational Ministers Alliance, one regional superintendent, an elementary teacher, high school principal, two support staff, two parent representatives and two members of the equity and diversity team.

The committee would meet on five different occasions between April and August, though more dates could be added as needed, the email stated. The district included a link for interested parties to apply to be a part of the committee and an email for further questions.

“Our community prepares all students to become responsible, ethical and engaged global citizens by creating relevant, dynamic and joyful educational experiences that embrace cultural diversity,” the email stated.

The faith-based advisory committee, according to information provided in the email, would align with the goals of “culture of inclusion” and “community strength” in TUSD’s Strategic Plan.

Parents pushback

But the idea of a faith-based advisory committee did not sit well with some parents, including Kate Goldman and Arnie Bermudez, who have a son at Davis Bilingual Elementary School and addressed the governing board about their concerns at the March 28 meeting.

“My child, we intentionally put in a public school where I felt there would be a safe difference and distinction between church and state,” Goldman said during the meeting’s call to the audience. “And so when I saw this email, as someone from a Jewish background, so many things flooded my mind about where this leads to and where this is coming from and who’s really benefiting from this.”

Speaking to the Arizona Daily Star on Thursday, Bermudez, who identifies himself as an atheist, said that his main concern with the formation of this committee was that it was a way for certain groups and people to bring Christian conservatism into public schools.

He noted that faith-based groups have recently tried to influence schools’ curriculum, such as with sexual education and LGBTQ+ issues, and he’s worried that the formation of this new committee would be another way for those beliefs to find a way into the public education system.

Bermudez also expressed concern with the lack of equal representation reflected in the kind of members the district was searching for this committee.

“TUSD is the largest district in Pima County and they’re allowing 10 (faith-based) organizations… but only two parents out of the whole district? That’s not equal and fair representation in my mind,” he said.

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Goldman and Bermudez tried to apply to be committee members when they first received the email, but they said the link shared in the email did not work. The email address that was included for further questions also did not work, Goldman said.

Bermudez said the fact that the application link and email address provided did not work gave the impression that the members of the committee had already been selected prior to public notification.

“I want to participate if they’re going to do this, and I want to make sure that things are on the up and up and that they’re being fair,” Bermudez said.

While the district said it was postponing the formation of the committee, the link to apply as a member was still active and functioning properly as of Thursday, and Goldman submitted an application.

Mixed messages

Board members Sadie Shaw and Natalie Luna Rose said they had also heard similar concerns from community members regarding the faith-based advisory committee.

“As somebody who is secular most of the time, I frankly would be coming up here as a parent if I was on the other side of the dais,” Luna Rose said.

The two also noted that, like other TUSD parents, they had only found out about the committee through the mass email sent out by the district.

“I want to be clear that the TUSD Governing Board was not notified or consulted about the formation of the faith-based committee,” Shaw said in an email on Thursday, adding that she was glad the plans had been postponed.

“It was also unclear to me as a governing board member on what the role of this committee would be considering the need for public schools to remain secular,” she said.

During the governing board meeting, Superintendent Trujillo addressed Goldman’s and Bermudez’s concerns, stating that the email’s wording may have been misleading about the committee’s purpose.

“This advisory committee is not going to have any decision-making power in any area of curriculum, instruction, programming, policy-making in schools, but we would like to at least reach out to the faith-based community in terms of where they can contribute with the overall needs of TUSD kids,” Trujillo said.

Some of those needs, he said, could include child care, assistance with food pantries and donations.

No clarification from Trujillo

Still, Trujillo declined to answer the Star’s questions about how the district came up with the idea for the committee or provide specifics about what this committee would do. He also declined to respond to a public records request seeking a list of the faith-based organizations that had submitted applications for the committee.

“As the formation of this committee will not be proceeding at this time, we will be offering no further comment,” Trujillo wrote in an email. “Further comment would be pure speculation at this point regarding a committee that may not ever be formed.”

Shaw said she requested information about who had proposed the creation of the faith-based committee on March 23, but she had not yet received a response as of Thursday.

She said district staff had said that engaging with faith-based organizations would not be unlawful or unconstitutional for TUSD.

But, Shaw said, “I would be interested in halting the formation of this committee if the makeup of the committee is not inclusive of all faith groups or if the role of the committee does indeed violate the secular nature of public schools.”