Spring is in the Air at PUSD

Freshly Unhinged Behavior

It’s the end of April in Arizona, Secular Fam, and that means schools all over the state are in the home stretch of the 2023-2024 school year. Salary schedules have been discussed and approved, contracts have gone out to educators, and teachers, staff, and administrators are about to experience the “100 days of May,” including ditch days, end-of-year pranks, and “senioritis.” As a former high school and middle school teacher, I know that these last few weeks of the school year can be grueling, so hang in there, educators! We see you, we hear you, and we’re rooting for you to make it through the month! You’ve got this!

There were a few meetings that happened last week, including one where a board member started recording a Facebook Live during a board study session.

I’ve never really seen anything like it, but in case you want to see what deeply unserious school boardsmanship looks like, you can check out the video here. At a Mesa (MPS) meeting, public school supporters showed up AGAIN, so way to go, Mesa! That meant Peoria (PUSD) received most of my attention last week. 

Without any further ado, let’s get to the 4.24.2024 meeting in PUSD! 

Secular AZ held its first candidate forum with some of the candidates in PUSD the week before, so if you’d like to see how three of the SEVERAL candidates did, you can check it out here. I’ll tell you what, folks, that candidate forum was such a nice change. The three candidates that attended were all focused on creating positive changes in the district instead of making up imaginary culture wars. If you want a boost of hope in your life, you should watch it!

And speaking of hope, the PUSD meeting opened up with celebrations of kids in Student Government (frequently referred to as “StuGo”), and then we were on to Consent Agenda items. 

A couple of items were pulled, including one about staff travel for a training out-of-state. The training is at the Ron Clark Academy (RCA) in Georgia, and basically, Ron Clark was this teacher-of-the-year who worked a ridiculous amount of hours a week, and there was even a movie named after him starring the late Matthew Perry. It’s one of those feel-good, white-savior movies that perpetuates the idea that if we act like Boxer in Animal Farm (“I WILL work harder”), all of our wishes will come true, school funding won’t matter, and bootstraps mentality will save us from the glue factory.

Spoiler alert: it won’t. Ron Clark started this program where, in order to boost positive culture and climate on school campuses, he created different “houses” that students are sorted into. It’s similar to how in Harry Potter the kids are sorted into the different houses, but from what I understand, there is no magical sorting hat and it’s more random. The purpose is to create a sense of fellowship and family among students, faculty, and staff.

When I was on a K-8 school board, one of our schools decided to bring the RCA “houses” program to its campus, and it’s been wildly successful. I was even “sorted” (using a giant Plinko board) into House Tembo Kali. 

From what I can tell, it’s a benign, fun, and effective way to encourage camaraderie on a school campus. This program also has been proven in various settings to build a positive climate and improve academic outcomes, so no one would be against this, right?  

An elderly woman was up to oppose it, and she said that she couldn’t understand why the district (PUSD) that she complains about every single meeting couldn’t offer this training in-district instead of spending money to learn from another school or district..

Board Member Rooks was opposed to the staff travel and attempted to create controversy where there was none by asking why the board saw the full form of the travel request that listed all the names of attendees. If I had to guess, I’d say maybe that information is left out to protect attendees from being somehow targeted by extremists, but I don’t know if this is why.

Board Member Sorensen asked if it was a policy or a practice and said if the board wants to change that practice, he’s all for it. See, by asking this simple question, he exposed once again, how if you don’t know how anything works (or even TRY to figure out how things work), everything may seem like a conspiracy theory. It’s not. 

An assistant superintendent explained the difference between “school safety” and “threat assessment” to justify staff attending a threat assessment conference in California, and the motion passed, with Ms. Rooks being the lone dissenter. 

The next Consent Agenda item that was pulled was about the district’s evaluation system, and the board voted unanimously to table that agenda item. The next item was a presentation about upgrading and repairing bathrooms at two of the oldest schools in the district. The presenter shared the current design, referenced reasons for wanting to make changes, and the stakeholders who were involved in the initial planning stages.

I thought to myself, “This is great! They’re going to address the vaping issues and kids congregating in bathrooms when they shouldn’t. Everyone will be grateful for these changes!” Right?

The first comment was by another elderly woman who wanted the school district to real quick create a full-scale model of these proposed bathrooms so she would feel more comfortable, kthxbye! Another elderly meeting regular was up to perpetuate gender stereotypes and share every thought she’s ever had with the audience and then advocated for getting rid of the hot water heater or something? I’m sure she’s an architect or general contractor, or something

Next up, the president of the Peoria teachers union was up, and explained to everyone what an actual teacher on the campus is worried about when it comes to bathrooms (get this! She’s not singularly focused on kids’ genitalia!).

Next up was a student and PUSD school board candidate, Mikah Dyer, and he shared why he supports the proposed changes at the two high school campuses. He contends that his peers are most concerned with the crowds in the bathrooms and vaping. They just want to get in and out without being tardy to their next classes. He encouraged the district to keep kids centered in this conversation as they’re the ones who will be affected by any changes. It was so normal. 

Next up was another candidate for the PUSD board, Jeff Touvi/Tobey. Jeff listed a bunch of complaints that he had about these proposed restrooms, and gave the board and admin a bunch of advice they didn’t ask for.

And then, Tiffany Benson was up. Tiffany also hated the bathroom plans, but she wanted to see the blueprints and learn more about who drew them up. She then disparaged President Biden (should have gotten gaveled) and expressed once again that she’s constantly thinking about children’s genitalia

Another woman was up to complain about the cost (I wonder if she supports vouchers?), and showed folks that she doesn’t know how school funding and bonds/overrides work, and then she asked about what would happen if a girl needs to wash a “soiled garment” and how do we “hide sounds” in the bathroom. 

Also, WTH are people doing in public restrooms? 

Another regular was up to let everyone know that she was going to be redundant about the topic, so at least she warned us. She then talked about “the noises” that happen in bathrooms and again, these folks are making an excellent case for Comprehensive Sex Ed (CSE). Maybe if we taught children that their bodies will go through changes, and that everyone defecates, urinates, flatulates, and half of us menstruate, maybe we’ll be less ashamed of it?

Like, maybe it’s just because my family had a healthy attitude about bodily functions (my dad NEVER got tired of the “barking spider” joke), or maybe it’s my lifelong struggle with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), but I had no hang ups about using public restrooms when I was younger, and I still don’t.

Also, I’m a big fan of the art of drag and drag shows usually happen in gay bars, so guess what? At a lot of gay bars, there are ZERO gender-specific bathrooms, and I may end up sharing that space with all kinds of people, including a drag queen who stands at seven feet tall in heels and a wig. I’m far more concerned about my safety around straight, cisgender men than a bunch of cuddly bears.

Also, another thing this board meeting proves is that PUSD is suffering and is doing more with less because they haven’t been able to pass a bond or override. If they had a capital override and/or bond in place, they may be able to make these improvements more easily. As was mentioned at their last meeting, this district faces a $4.5 million deficit compared to neighboring districts because the voters in PUSD have historically rejected bond/override elections. 

To me, this whole discussion was a great example of how the “antis” - you know - the ones who are ANTI-everything - don’t really want solutions. This crowd has been squawking for over a year about bathrooms, and now that the district is working on solutions, they’re moving the goalposts.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Problems are easy to identify, working on solutions is the hard part. For most of these elected evangelical extremists, they don’t really want solutions. 

In fact, during the discussion, Mr. Molino, the presenter, even said that if money was no object, all parties could get what they want, and a private restroom would be an option. So remember that, folks. The same folks who show up to complain about bathrooms can often be seen online advocating for NO bonds and/or overrides in PUSD. These folks have no one to blame but themselves if they disagree with these bathroom plans. 

Board Member Rooks used her time to disparage the district (again), show her lack of understanding of transgender folks, and complain about Biden (again, she should have been gaveled).

Next we were onto a couple of administrative appointments, and once again, I have mad respect for ANYONE who is willing to apply for these roles in such hostile environments like PUSD. I wish these folks nothing but the best in their new roles! Mazel tov!

The next agenda item was a report from a citizens’ advisory committee that studied the idea of going for a bond and/or override election in 2024. The presenter shared the makeup of the committee, and acknowledged two members of the committee who were present in the audience. The committee recommended that PUSD should go for a bond election, but not a Maintenance & Operations (M&O) override.

The motion passed with Heather Rooks abstaining. Remember, this is a tactic used by more of these extremist board members as a way to play both sides. My guess is that since some of her pals were on the committee, she wanted to appear to support their time, but she also needed to use her time to complain about the district, so she had to “stand morally” whatever that means, and abstained while assuring everyone she “was really looking forward to voting for this.” 

The next agenda item was about the 2025 budget and compensation recommendations. For some reason, Tiffany Benson used her time to give career advice and complained about administrator salaries,… but when she speaks, my mind wanders for some reason.

She was back up again to talk about the high-profile case of the PUSD coach and another staff member who protected his actions, and seemed to be advocating for CSE because — even though she just complained about administrators — wanted to advocate for a new administrative position that would keep kids safe from sexual predators.

At the last meeting, Benson complained about people with degrees… then at this meeting she tasked those “with PhDs” to figure it out.  It’s so hard to keep up with her!

The final action item of this meeting was to approve the updated organizational chart for PUSD. Essentially, an administrative position was vacated, so the role was reclassified. And now we were at *drum roll please*

PUBLIC COMMENTS! Also, it was 3.5 hours before we even got to public comments! That’s because you all contacted the district, and the PUSD board (as well as the DVUSD and PVUSD boards) have moved public comments to after the action items.

The first speaker was there to advocate for his brother who has autism and who was allegedly bullied pretty badly at a school in the district. His mom spoke at the last meeting, and she was back to advocate for her son again. I sure hope this family gets the help and support they need. 

This family may or may not know about the history of special education in Arizona, but the story of this child is one that I’ve heard many times before. Since the economic downturn in 2008, Arizona has made more cuts to the public education budget than any other state.

Over a decade ago, Arizona implemented the voucher system as the Silver Bullet solution for our most vulnerable kids. Then a couple of years ago, the vouchers were further expanded to include, well, EVERYONE, and now voucher parents of children who have special needs are reaching out to me right and left to tell me that they’ve been cast aside in favor of parents who are millionaires, billionaires, or maybe even cult leaders of polygamous sects.

Another regular was up to wonder out loud if perhaps low enrollment in the district could maybe, just maybe, have to do with sitting board members encouraging parents to pull their kids out of the public school district.

Next up was a newcomer to these meetings who introduced himself as Isaac Glover. I’ve seen him around a few times now, and if you look at his social media, he’s a red pill type that spends a lot of time thinking about Abe Hamadeh, Riley Gaines, and other people’s genitalia. He also makes “music” in his spare time. He’s got a better sense of style than his peers, but like them, he appears to be a bit of a broflake, since he’s preemptively blocked me on his Xitter. I’ve never once interacted with the dude.

So Isaac shared that it was his first time speaking, and that he saw a video online of a board member talking about allowing Christian clubs at school. Poor guy really struggled to get the words out, but he did assert that the US has been a Christian nation since its founding (it most assuredly has not). And then he complained that when he went to Kellis High School in the district, he was taught evolution. K. 

Tiffany was back up to talk about “dumb podcasts” for some reason, and then talked about “real” vs. “fake” Christians. Jeff Tobey/Touvi was up again to share a bunch of anecdotes that I’m sure are totally real.

I watched from home, so I couldn’t tell if his running mate was with him. Remember his running mate, Janelle Bowles is the sister of Arizona’s own J6 Insurrectionist, CD8 Congressional Hopeful, Newly Indicted Fake Elector, Arizona’s Biggest Manbaby AND Mama Fratelli Look Alike, Senator Anthony Kern (R-LD27).

I guess Tony wasn’t there. Did something happen last week or something?!?

One of the same elderly speakers was up again, and then a local parent, Josh Gray, was up to share his support of the bathroom remodel and to remind everyone who is obsessed with children’s genitalia that the district lawyer presented about bathrooms and Title IX over a year ago. 

Of course, a sitting board member was quick to attack and disparage this parent in the district she serves, and put her transphobia on full display. 

But the good news is, a bunch of folks online decided to turn this hatred into something good for the community. The meeting ended with Board Member Rooks requesting two future agenda items, but no one seconded her motion, so that was AWESOME. 

But instead of focusing on the nonsense that happened during this meeting, let’s focus on the good that we can do right now to combat these “real Christians’ ” kind of hateful rhetoric. 

So, I’m ALWAYS going to encourage you to support Secular AZ and the work we do. We’ve even added a monthly payment option for those who asked for an option to make smaller, monthly payments.

If you’re not paying for this Substack, please consider upgrading, and if you want to be known as a “Freak in Pink'' and support a great organization like AZTYPO, be sure to order your t-shirt here. 

Also, this meeting lasted four hours, so be sure to reach out and thank your local pro-public school board members today! Until next time, Secular Fam!