Two views: Two residents’ opinions about MUSD controversies

Editor’s note: The following opinions are addressing the non-renewal of employment contracts for four administrators and one teacher. A decision will be made Wednesday night at the Maricopa Unified School District Board meeting. MUSD Superintendent Dr. John Flores, recently recommended that school board not renew their contracts based on performance evaluations.

Dear Editor,

As we all wait anxiously to find out the decision of the school board April 11, my thoughts turn back to Maricopa Unified School District Superintendent Dr. John Flores, the source of all of this upheaval, and I can’t help but question his motives. Why would he want to remove successful staff from schools that are succeeding?

In my quest for answers, I turned to school records thinking there were problems that were not immediately apparent. To my delight, I found that Pima Butte Elementary School is a “Performing Plus Elementary School.” This data can be found at the Arizona Department of Education Web site. The district as a whole has some performance issues, but the problems are not stemming from this school.

I then looked up data for the Indiana Department of Education where Dr. Flores was the Superintendent for the School City of East Chicago School District. Their state test for measuring academic levels is called ISTEP. The results given there show that for the 2005-2006 school year the School City of East Chicago was an under performing school district when compared to the state averages. Results from previous years show similar results – that this school district was under performing compared to the rest of the state. The link below is for the data for the 2005-2006 academic year and there is an interactive chart for selecting data for previous years. ISTEP Results For School City East of Chicago 2005-06

I think that we should also address the graduation rates of the School City of East Chicago. On the Web site for the Department of Education in Indiana it is stated that they have recently changed their method of calculating graduation rates. They have selected a more accurate method that follows each individual student from the entry of High School through graduation. So, graduation rates prior to the 2005-2006 school year are higher and not based on the actual number of graduates. They are based on the number of students who dropped out in a given year. This data and further information can be found at this link to the Indiana Department of Education Web site.

My opinion here is that while there are some areas of concern, we are not a broken school district. Improvements are being made by leaps and bounds, and I question anyone who is messing with that progress. This brings me to an old saying probably from a different school – the school of hard knocks: “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.”

Candace Holmes
Maricopa

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Dear Editor:

After attending and speaking at the Maricopa Unified School District Board meeting March 28, I realized I had forgotten to say something very important, thus, I decided to write this letter.

The issue of non-renewal has nothing to do with the character of these people [not recommended for re-employment]. No one to my knowledge has questioned anyone’s character who is in question of being renewed.

I was not surprised to hear all the wonderful things about these good people. They have all worked hard, sacrificed their time and love children. I believe they all have a tremendous drive and great knowledge of education. They are warm and personable and have impacted many children’s lives. But, it is not about that.

I believe it is an issue of the type of team player they may or may not be behind closed doors, at a leadership meeting for example. Or how one takes direction, which may be different from how it used to be. I don’t know about the rest of the public, staff and colleagues, but I don’t know. I don’t believe that all the underline staff knows. The community doesn’t know either. It is Dr. John Flores, MUSD superintendent, who knows and possibly other members of leadership with whom they work.

I may be wrong, but I believe non-renewal status does not necessarily need an explanation, nor does it necessarily equate in anyway with wrong doing. It is an effective way in which an administrator, from their point of view, can make changes allowing more cohesiveness in difficult transition (meaning change in general).

Our school board hired Dr. Flores with the expectation that he would take our district from “Performing”/sometimes “Failing” to “High Performing”/”Excelling.” It is my understanding that he has already done this in Indiana with a 93-percent-poverty-level community. I do not understand everything because I do not have all the facts. But in my mind if he did it once, let him do it here! This district needs an attitude of academic excellence at every site. It is imperative to the children that everyone on board is unified and willing to sacrifice their own agendas for the good of the district as a whole.

An example might be teachers are needed district wide. Maybe the high school would give up hiring teachers for their large class sizes to allow the district to split a kindergarten class of nearly 40 with only one teacher. Both need teachers, but one will sacrifice for the greater priority.

That is what good education is all about. Doing what it takes to promote the greater good and blessing for the most children. Helping each other in a way that children discover through example of what life is all about.

Please, let us be careful not to misinterpret or jump to conclusions. No matter what the outcome, we need to remember that any decision made should be done based on what is good for children, not adults.

Margaret Noble Jackson
Maricopa