DVUSD - FBC(Fact-Based Conservative)

A rare sighting in the wild.

It sure has been quiet in Deer Valley Unified School District (DVUSD) these last few months, and if you ask me, Secular Fam, that’s a good thing!

In case your memory needs some jostling, DVUSD elected new leadership on the governing board. The amount of time spent trying to make sense of the things that come out of the mouths of Board Members Fisher and Paperman has been greatly reduced because President Ann Ordway runs a tight ship, and these meetings are so much more efficient. 

Since President Ordway provides such a strong example of leadership and collaboration, I feel it’s important to highlight the good that also happens at so many of these school board meetings.

(Unfortunately, there will also be bad.)

The meeting started straight away without student celebrations now that students are on summer break. 

The first item on the agenda was information only about Medicaid and an expansion of the program called “Open Care.” The presenter said that DVUSD is one of the only districts in Arizona that is utilizing this program. Things covered in this program are open to students with disabilities and include things like mental health supports, medical supports, behavioral supports, and educational supports. She went on to say that these are things that the district already provides, but through this Open Care program, they’ll now get reimbursed. 

Schools do this because there is an expectation to provide FAPE, or “Free Appropriate Public Education,” to all students. Unfortunately, private school vouchers are bankrupting the state, and districts in Arizona are severely underfunded.

Therefore, federal programs like this can help bridge the gap. In fact, Dr. Finch, the superintendent of DVUSD, recently voiced his concerns about unfunded mandates for voucher students who are utilizing public school resources. 

So here’s my favorite little tidbit about this discussion item: Vice President Paul Carver was the board member who asked for it. Do y’all remember the Peoria (PUSD) meeting a couple of weeks ago? It was riddled with conspiracy theories and misinformation about the Mental Health Services Professionals (MHSP) grant that has been in place (without controversy, I might add) since 2019. 

VP Carver is what I’d like to call a “Fact-Based Conservative” or FBC. They’re a dying breed. The number of lifelong Republicans I know who are leaving the party should be alarming to members of the GOP, but too many of these knuckleheads seem more interested in infighting and censuring their own. It’s wild. I may be wrong, but VP Carver seems to be cut from a different cloth.

VP Carver, the “Fact BASED Conservative” (see what I did there?) seems to be a very thorough, rule-following guy. I imagine he anticipated pushback on this program, and he may have even watched the circus that was the PUSD meeting a couple of weeks back. I believe that is why he asked for this presentation - so he could get in front of whatever lies and misinformation might go out about the Open Care Program. 

Dr. Finch chimed in to speak about the rigorous process and attention to detail required to implement this program. A staffer highlighted the number of highly qualified medical and mental health care providers in the district, and again, referenced how these are all services that the district already provides without reimbursement. Board Member Fisher insinuated that Individual Education Program (IEP) meetings are a formality with educators purposefully keeping parents in the dark without any proof (!!!).

The staff that presents at these meetings are incredible, Secular Fam. It really sucks that these deeply unserious board members come to meetings so obviously unprepared. There was a brief moment during my school board tenure where board members refused to meet with district leadership because they preferred beating the drums of mistrust online and throwing “gotcha” grenades during meetings. 

The result was that district staff were meticulously prepared for every single one of their nitpicky non-issues that they may bring up. Since these folks treat everything as if it’s all a part of some plot from a Dan Brown novel, district staff are now like shell-shocked soldiers that need to be at the ready for whatever dimwitted questions they come up with. Thank you, public school staff all over our state! I appreciate all of your hard work in the face of utter stupidity. 

There was a brief update about an English Language Arts (ELA) adoption, and then Consent Agenda items, and then we were into the Pay for Performance (PFP) for Superintendent Finch. The two deeply unserious board members claimed that they weren’t given information they asked for and that there’s a lack of “transparency” in the district to justify their nay votes. 

The next item on the agenda was about a lawsuit in Maricopa County where, because of a policy change in 2022 regarding Short Term Rentals (STRs), Maricopa County now faces a massive budget shortfall. It’s fairly complicated, and you can read all about it here. 

Also, in August, we’ve invited both Maricopa County Assessor candidates to a Friday Speaker Series special candidate forum to provide insight on this lawsuit, how it affects school districts, and what county assessors in Arizona do. Be sure to register for it. 

[sign up here to register]

Basically, public school districts and some government agencies are on the hook for this error, and in DVUSD, the deficit is $11 million. School districts all over the county are scrambling to patch together budgets right now. These errors have resulted in a $330 budget shortfall that the Maricopa County Treasurer is demanding be paid in full ASAP. Additionally, the Arizona Legislature has just barely started banging out a budget, and the massive shortfalls private and homeschool vouchers have created are bankrupting our state. All of this mismanagement by state and county leaders has public school district financial officers all over Arizona scrambling. As if they weren’t already.

The vote passed 4-1, with Board Member Paperman abstaining because she said she didn’t understand the topic 👀. Sometimes understanding things means trying to understand, maybe?

Next were some other “preview” items. There was one about the Mandarin curriculum, a first policy reading, an MOU with the Deer Valley Education Foundation, a budget preview, and the pro-statement for the Maintenance & Operations (M&O) Override Election. There was actual collaboration that took place during this item, so that was a nice change. 

There were no comments from the public (!!!) and the next agenda item was board member comments. Board Member Paperman gave an incoherent “update” where she complained about Finch (again), implied there’s no transparency (again), and explained that she doesn’t trust the DVUSD staff to create valid surveys (again). 

When Board Member Fisher delivered her comments, she said that there was favoritism in the district because she and Mrs. Paperman never get invited to speak at any events. 

She also referenced the “extreme gossip that happens in our district” and Secular Fam! When I tell you what she did right after this meeting! She ran right to her social media account and spit out some “extreme gossip” for over 96 minutes! 

Board Member Fisher does this frequently after meetings. She’s recorded herself right at the dais of the boardroom, in her hot tub, from her workplace, and in her car. And we’re not talking about quick Snaps or TikTok-length videos. We’re talking about soliloquies that yammer on for sometimes more than an hour. One thing about narcissists, they LOVE the sound of their own voice.

The best way to describe these videos is that they are long rants almost exclusively about how everyone in the district is out to get her and Mrs. Paperman. Mrs. Fisher, like Arya Stark, has a list. But Arya Stark’s list and her reasons for seeking revenge were actually valid. And really, if Arya Stark lived in DVUSD, she’d probably add another person to her list. 

In her unhinged recording, she smears her board colleagues, Superintendent Finch and his wife, a 2022 candidate and parent in the district, and even me and the organization I work for. Given how she disparages people in her district, I can only assume that she’s trying to invite a defamation lawsuit. 

In these videos she explains her votes as well, and she accuses everyone in the district (except for her) of violating Open Meeting Law (OML). She complains about the structure of the meeting. She complains about the items up for discussion. She complains about the physical makeup of the board room. She accused President Ordway of being dishonest. It’s exhausting and it reminds me of a family member who is the eternal victim.

Do y’all know any of these folks? Like, ANYTHING that happens to this person is someone else’s fault. She blames everyone else but herself for her own problems. Whenever I heard her complain about her life and how she was treated, it was all projection. We no longer speak, and my life has improved greatly.

 

Mrs. Fisher also seems to not understand executive sessions and that executive sessions are never open to the public. This all by itself is alarming since she’s been a board member on-and-off for the last ten years. 

BUT. 

The most disturbing part of this video was when she insinuated that President Ordway is using her cancer diagnosis to manipulate people to do her bidding. 

Did you hear that, Secular Fam? 

A sitting board member in N. Phoenix accused her colleague of using her cancer diagnosis to manipulate people to do her bidding. 

It’s not the first time she’s made these kinds of accusations. 

And guess what? Board Member Fisher’s leadership style is exactly what her supporters want, apparently. I’ve heard that the AZ GOP will be endorsing Board Member Fisher and two other extremist candidates in the DVUSD school board election this year. They even snubbed Board Member Paperman in favor of new candidates. I wonder how Mrs. Paperman feels now about her alignment with Mrs. Fisher? 

Hmmm, let’s see, what else, what else did she say in that video? Oh right. 

She admitted to being a White Christian nationalist. 

No biggie. 

👀 - whew - that’s a lot. 

Despite the behavior of self-proclaimed white Christian nationalist and DVUSD Governing Board Member Kim Fisher, DVUSD is a success story for now. 

Unlike PUSD, where they’re still visited at every meeting by another white Christian nationalist (fluent in Shamala Hamala): Arizona’s own J6 Insurrectionist, CD8 Congressional Hopeful,

Newly Indicted Fake Elector, Arizona’s Biggest Manbaby, recently reprimanded Nazi sympathizer, AND Mama Fratelli Look Alike, Senator Anthony Kern (R-LD27), 

DVUSD’s board meetings this year are productive and efficient. Additionally, the pro-public school candidates in DVUSD have put aside egos to do what’s best for students, families, and staff, and are running on slates to ensure a victory. 

I firmly believe that because Paul Carver is one of those rare Fact-Based Conservatives (FBCs), this district basically lucked out and has been able to stay out of all the nastiness plaguing their neighboring districts. I hope this doesn’t hurt Mr. Carver’s chances at reelection, but if I lived in DVUSD, and he was one of the three choices on my ballot, I’d probably vote for him. 

OK…I’d maybe vote for him…

Really, I’m just glad that he has an open mind, asks questions, and prioritizes the needs of the families in DVUSD instead of his own ego. 

There you have it, folks. Just last year, these DVUSD meetings went on for 3-4 hours, and topics were discussed over and over and over and over and over again without direction or resolution, and that totally sucked. So let’s never go back to that nonsense again, mkay? 

So! Go find a pro-public education candidate or bond/override initiative to get behind. Did you catch the part where Arizona schools will face massive budget cuts this coming school year? Bonds and overrides can fill in the gaps. 

And of course, your support of Secular AZ is vital to our work. I watch and provide write-ups for these meetings so you don’t have to, but it takes a toll, so help a sister out. Have you been enjoying these updates without a subscription? Consider subscribing today!

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And this weekend, I’ll be in my FAVORITE city in Cochise County for the Bisbee Pride event! I hope to see folks there. Until next time, Secular Fam!