Breaking Ties: Arizona School Districts Move to Competitors for Policy Services
West Valley school districts seek choice. An exclusive report on the people and policies local school boards are seeing this week.
A vote will be held tonight in the Liberty Elementary School District whether to discontinue the use of Arizona School Board Association Policy Services. If passed the move would go into effect January 1, 2025.
I first brought you this exclusive news here last week.
In the past week, we’ve also received word from two separate school districts stating they’ve received policy copyright warnings from the Arizona Schools Boards Association. In fact, sources at both districts reporting receipt of this warning are current policy services members and have not left the ASBA - at least not yet.
You can read more about this here.
If the Liberty Elementary School District resolution passes tonight, it would not be alone in considering a move to a policy competitor.
Agua Fria Union High School District discontinued ASBA policy services prior to this school year. We’ve been following its transition to the Arizona School Risk Retention Trust, Inc. (the Trust) in our reporting since their vote last December.
We now see the count for school districts leaving ASBA policy services at 38.
Ellen White, the Acting Executive Director for the ASBA, tells me even though disticts are discontinuing policy services, they’re still members of the organization. Note, this interview was September 3rd… about a week-and-a-half prior to the warning sent to school districts last week.
REJOINING FORCES WITH THE NATIONAL SCHOOL BOARDS ASSOCIATION
In our exclusive interview with Ellen White, the Acting Executive Director for the ASBA, we found out the organization has had talks about rejoining forces with the National School Boards Association - or NSBA.
In early 2022, the Arizona School Boards association cut ties with the national group as reported by the AP.
The relationship between the NSBA and its member state organizations began to deteoriate after the NSBA wrote this letter in September 2021 equating threats and acts of violence at school board meetings to those of “domestic terrorism.”
ASBA Executive Director Sheila Harrison-Williams notified NSBA Executive Director John Heim of the state group’s decision in a letter Wednesday, the Arizona Capitol Times reported.
“While we continue to believe that there is value in a national association of school boards, our primary obligation is to advocate for Arizona’s students to have strong, quality public schools,” Harrison-Williams wrote. “We are unable to do that if we are continuously called to account for the actions of NSBA.”
-AP | February 18, 2022
Here is my exchange with Ms. White about the Arizona School Boards Association considering a reconnection with NSBA.
The ASBA has a new executive director coming on board. Justan Rice, “brings a wealth of experience as a CEO, educator and lobbyist, making her a dynamic leader for ASBA as we continue our mission to support and advocate for Arizona’s public schools,” reports the organization. Rice begins next Monday.
JEN’S TWO CENTS
I’ve been slammed with a lot of news tips out the local school districts in the past six weeks.
A few updates…
Prior to the November election, I’ll be reaching out to school board candidates from the West Valley for interviews.
I’ve received a first decline from candidates Kellie Zimmerman and Sarah Schmidt running for office in the Liberty Elementary School District.
How would these two candidates go about turning around student proficiency scores? Are they in favor of new curriculum? Would they vote to discontinue policy services with the ASBA? We do not have an opportunity to ask that question.
As we’ve reported, Liberty Elementary School District is one of several in the West Valley with dismal proficiency scores. Please view our YouTube for numerous reports on this topic. We’ve heard opinions on the topic from board members Michael Todd and Bryan Parks. We’ve also reported board meeting comments from the district’s three other board members - including candidates Bryan Cirrincione and Kris Kenyon regarding proficiency scores and curriculum needs.
Our door is open to interviews with school board candidates leading up the November election.
Coming up this week, the price tag on taxpayer-funded travel for school board members and top administrative staff. The number tops $100,000 in one school district for the last school year.
Please send news tips to jen@news2jb.com.
