Education tidbits: In the Arizona Daily Star’s batch of education news nuggets, reporter Jessica Votipka touches on the expansion of Desert Christian Schools, the new principal at San Miguel High School, a Sahuarita High School student who is advancing in a nationwide poetry competition, and much more. (April 11)

Teens take on the issues: Sixty-five high school students from 10 schools in four districts participated in the Metropolitan Education Commission’s 29th annual Teen Town Hall this spring, the Arizona Daily Star’s Jessica Votipka reports. Students discussed societal issues determined by members of the Youth Advisory Council of the Metropolitan Education Commission, including mental health, substance abuse, civic engagement, climate change and more. (April 29)

Changes coming: Tucson educators are bracing for upcoming restrictions on how they can teach reading, the Arizona Daily Star’s Ellie Wolfe and Jessica Votipka report. The Science of Reading places an emphasis on phonics, with students focusing on sounding out letters into words. While some literacy experts say there’s data to show the program is effective, others say that the research is based on a “very, very small” number of students and that teaching kids to read shouldn’t involve a one-size-fits-all approach. (November 6, 2023)

Getting good grades: Schools in Pima County did really well in the Arizona Department of Education’s letter grading system, the Star’s Jessica Votipka reports. More than 80 schools earned A’s, and none failed. Last year, one school had a failing grade, but they pulled a C this year. In all, local schools earned 83 A’s,  77 B's, 47 C's and 18 D's. (October 31, 2023)

You might not have heard, but schools are one of the country’s largest emitters of greenhouse gasses every year, producing as much as 15 million cars, according to Harvard University. They’re also heavy hitters when it comes to energy costs, spending more than $10 billion a year on power. That’s why Tucson’s largest school district is exploring an ambitious climate action plan that, if adopted, would be one of the most comprehensive in the nation. (April 12) (Tucson Agenda)

Making a change: Patagonia School District’s governing board will decide next week whether the elementary and high schools will switch to a four-day week starting in the fall, the Patagonia Regional Times’ Dottie Farrar writes. In a survey conducted by the district last fall, 90% of parents approved the change, saying that the current schedule of half-days on Friday makes it difficult to pick up or arrange for their children to be picked up. With the new schedule, students would be in school from Monday to Thursday, with the length of each day increased between 30 and 40 minutes to make up for the time lost on Friday.

“A four-day week is a great tool to retain and recruit teachers,” said Superintendent-Principal Kenny Hayes. “Hopefully, it would reduce our absenteeism problem on Fridays and consequently students would miss fewer days.” (January 9)

Five local school districts are asking Pima County voters to approve six bond and override questions in November, with the deadline for submitting arguments for or against each rapidly approaching. Between the five districts, we’re talking about at least $550 million in funding, which begs the question, just how much slack are local taxpayers picking up when it comes to funding education? (August 3, 2023) (Tucson Agenda)

Property taxes peak: Pima County’s Continental Elementary School District — a one-school district without a high school — will be impacted more than any other district in the state by a 2022 law that will see property taxes rise 16.7% for those in the district, the Green Valley News’ Jamie Verwys writes. Six districts across the state are affected, but not to the level of CESD. (September 19, 2023)

Election day is a month away and voter information pamphlets hit mailboxes last week, providing voters with details about each proposition and arguments in support and opposition. As we previously noted, at least $550 million in funding is at stake for the five districts seeking voter approval. Officials say that if the propositions fail, the consequences will be steep. In a state that woefully underfunds education, districts rely on voters to pick up the slack. But Southern Arizona’s school bonds and overrides often fall short despite widespread support for increased education funding. (October 2, 2023) (Tucson Agenda)

Check those credentials: Ten school boards in Pima County have approved a resolution asking the Arizona School Boards Association to conduct a “thorough and independent investigation” into its appointment of an executive director who is accused of falsifying his resume and “take immediate corrective actions,” the Arizona Republic’s Ray Stern reports. Devin Del Palacio, a Tolleson Union High School governing board member, is alleged to have falsely claimed to have a college degree. (October 25, 2023)

Building connections: Pima JTED has created and filled a new position, with Merrill Kemp-Wilcox signing on as the program’s director of research and development, the Star’s Jessica Votipka reports. The Joint Technical Education District works with 14 member public school districts in Pima County to provide career and technical education programs to roughly 22,000 sophomore, junior and senior high schoolers each year. Kemp-Wilcox hopes to strengthen connections between students and industries including mining, optics, health care, tech and the trades. (November 8, 2023)

More political battles: A bill from state Sen. Justine Wadsack, a Tucson-area Republican, cleared a hurdle this week, KJZZ’s Camryn Sanchez reports. Her bill would make elections for school district governing boards partisan and require primary elections. Critics of the bill worried it would turn governing boards into “partisan battlegrounds,” but Wadsack seemed to think that was a good idea.

“‘We should have partisan, maybe, partisan judges, maybe we should do partisan everybody, because right now the world is split, I think, and you have people that want to live their lives by one ideology and others that want to live by another, and they get to choose,’ Wadsack said.” (January 25)

Constructive criticism: The Arizona School Boards Association is panning Sen. Justine Wadsack’s idea of turning school board elections partisan, with one board member calling the proposal “stupid,” Capitol Media Services’ Howard Fischer writes. Senate Bill 1097 was approved on a party-line vote in the Senate and cleared a House committee, also with a party split. It’s now waiting for a vote in the full House, where Republicans also are in the majority. The law is based on Wadsack’s argument that voters don’t know much about school board candidates and putting a party label behind a name on the ballot will provide some idea of what the person believes. (March 31)

It’s becoming clear that nobody has a clear picture of what is going on with Arizona’s school voucher system. Not the top officials in the state and not the top education official in Pima County. Gov. Katie Hobbs’ office sent out a memo saying the program’s expected cost of $944 million was “unsustainable” and is on track to create a $320 million budget shortfall. (Tucson Agenda) (July 27, 2023)