In his Dec. 22 article “TUSD should take judge’s hint, stop costly infighting” Star columnist Tim Steller wrote that he feels “vindicated” when it comes to his point of view in the Tucson Unified School District desegregation federal court case.
This is exactly what this situation has turned into, a handful of adults with different perspectives and the need to be right. But this isn’t an online debate or dinner conversation, it’s a federal court case, and these challenges add up to millions of dollars of lawyer fees and court costs.
As a TUSD school board member, trying to work with everyone involved in the desegregation case has been the most disheartening and frustrating part of this job, and I resent the amount of money spent on this litigation rather than where it should be, in our classrooms.
As a candidate for the board, I thought as many would: “Just get along already!” All these people needed to do was communicate and collaborate. This is exactly what I have tried to do. I have hosted many meetings with plaintiff representatives and district staff, and I’ve spoken many times with Dr. Willis Hawley, the special master appointed by the court to oversee the process. However, ideas agreed upon at the table quickly turned into more objections filed in the court.
Very few disputes have been initiated by TUSD, yet we do have to respond when objections are filed. What does communication and collaboration look like if it just promotes more and more costly court filings? This is the question I continue to ask myself.
Please remember that two of the plaintiff representatives in the desegregation case are former TUSD board members. While they were not re-elected to these official positions, I appreciate their lifelong passion and interest in TUSD. I know this is the foundation of the progress we must continue to strive for together. Can we please agree to work toward these goals without the exorbitant court costs?
The Unitary Status Plan is the agreement that the desegregation case plaintiffs (the Fishers and the Mendozas), the U.S. Department of Justice and TUSD agreed to in 2013 to officially desegregate the district.
This document is evidence that we can come together with the best interests of our students in mind and agree upon the work that should be done. As Hawley has stated, it is probably the most ambitious plan ever written.
Our community needs to understand this, and appreciate that what we are striving for is not easy and hasn’t likely even been done before.
One of the goals within this plan requires the restructuring of our district magnet schools — specialty schools meant to attract a larger and more diverse population. Right now we have 20 magnet schools. We all agree that quality should trump quantity when it comes to these magnets, that these should be condensed and funds should be used to fortify a portion of them to bring stronger academic programs to our community.
As you can imagine, this is very difficult because some schools will lose funding, their specialized programs and possibly student population. The district must continue to ask for clarification so that this process is as fair and transparent as possible. Please do not confuse clarifying questions for challenges to agreements. We have to support each of these schools and their communities within this process.
This continued debate between the parties and the need to be right, however, rather than the commitment to work together for our kids, may cost our district precious funds and the argument between us breaks down our community’s confidence in our schools.
Ultimately, there will be no winners who get the last word, only students who lose when the desegregation funds are taken away because the adults can’t agree on the best way to use them.
