Miguel Cuevas has been selected to take over the presidency of the TUSD Governing Board through the remainder of the calendar year.
The board voted 4-1 Tuesday in support of the change, with board member Adelita Grijalva dissenting.
Board members also approved raising activity fees beginning with the upcoming school year and reduced the number of pink slips issued to employees.
The midyear selection for board president was necessary after Mark Stegeman announced in May that he was resigning from the position but would remain on the board as a regular member.
Stegeman said stepping down would give him the freedom "of any ordinary board member to express my views on district issues, untangled from the president's role as the board's spokesman."
"I respect Dr. Stegeman's decision to step down from board leadership and look forward to helping guide this district towards academic success," Cuevas said.
The recommendation to make Cuevas president came from board member Michael Hicks. The motion was seconded by member Alex Sugiyama.
Cuevas was elected to the board in 2009. He previously served as board president for four months in 2011 after Stegeman was ousted from the seat amid criticism that he did not know how to effectively lead the board or maintain order.
Cuevas' term is scheduled to come to a close at the end of this calendar year. Also coming to the end of their terms are Stegeman and Sugiyama.
The fact that Cuevas will be running for his seat again this fall factored into Grijalva's decision not to support the appointment, she said.
"Basically we have three board members running for office, and I thought it would be better to have someone who wasn't in that position," Grijalva said. "We have really serious issues facing the district, and we've had a little bit of grandstanding on the dais already - that's probably going to continue."
Grijalva said that two years ago, Cuevas had the opportunity to support her for president of the board but he chose not to because she was running for re-election at the time.
"It's interesting that it applied to me, but not to him," Grijalva said, adding that she would have been interested in holding the position for the next several months.
Activity fees increased
In other business, the board gave the green light to increasing extracurricular fees for elementary, middle and high school students.
The board unanimously approved the hike for the upcoming school year, but also authorized principals to waive fees for families unable to raise the funds because of economic hardships.
The high school sports fee will go from $50 per sport to $65.
The flat fee of $20 for all sports for middle schoolers has been changed to $30 per sport.
Additionally, a $3 fee - up from $1 - for elementary activities to include art, band, dance, music and sports has been implemented.
Currently, high school sports cost TUSD at least $230 per student per sport; for middle school, it's approximately $160 per student per sport.
The new fees, if paid in full by every student, will cover about 20 percent of the cost.
For a full list of fees, go online to tusd1.org/contents/events_fee.html
The last time TUSD raised activity fees was for the 2008-09 school year.
25 Positions reinstated
The number of teachers, counselors and other certified employees receiving pink slips in TUSD has been reduced from 72 to 47.
Positions have since become available for 25 of those who were originally subject to the reduction in force last month, which is said to be budget-related.
Those still impacted by the reduction have the option of applying for open positions in the district.
Aside from teachers, other positions affected include counselors, a school-improvement coach and various specialists.
Two of the teachers who were on the original list but not brought back are from the Mexican American Studies department - Larissa Ortiz and Rene Martinez.
The pair taught classes under the supervision of the department until January, when the board suspended the courses amid a threat of losing millions of dollars in state aid.
Since then, all of the teachers working in the department have been assigned to teach traditional courses.
4 schools going solar
Four TUSD high schools will receive solar energy systems courtesy of Tucson Electric Power Co.
Tucson High Magnet, Palo Verde Magnet, Catalina Magnet and Rincon will have the systems installed at no charge to the schools.
The 5-kilowatt systems are being donated through TEP's Solar for Schools program, which seeks to provide an educational resource that encourages students to learn more about solar energy.
The program also will allow sites to use the power generated to cut back on energy bills. Each of the systems being installed could save TUSD $800 to $1,200 annually.
Last summer, Pueblo Magnet, Cholla Magnet, Sabino, Santa Rita and Sahuaro high schools were selected to receive solar energy systems.
Contact reporter Alexis Huicochea at ahuicochea@azstarnet.com or 573-4175.
