Thursday - May 29th @ 5:30 - District Office.
It would be great to show the Board and the District Administration that we are still in this together and are seeking change.
Let us know if you have any questions!!
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Upate: What *Change In HUSD* has been working on...
We feel it is important to keep HUSD community members informed on the progress of Change In HUSD. As you remember, in an effort to group together parents and community members who are concerned about Higley's future, we have requested that parents and community members who support the resignation of Dr. Joyce Lutrey please sign a petition. (www.ipetitions.com/petition/ChangeInHUSD) To this date we have just a few shy of 500 signatures. We also know there are more who have not signed the petition but want to see drastic changes in the district and are following our cause very closely. Many parents and teachers have called or written to us and have stood in front of the Governing Board to express their concerns. Here is a current list of parent, teacher, and community concerns:
1. There are a large number of teachers and administrators leaving the district. This causes a great instability in faculty and processes in addition to the strain on the children.
2. General instability in "where will teachers be" from year to year.
3. Reports of district bullying and district administration who deal with employees in an unprofessional and threatening manner.
4. Lack of support from district to teachers and administrators.
5. Breaking policy in district hiring practices and questionable ties with relationships between district administrators.
*Former HR Director Barbara Saxton was friend of Lutrey from Michigan.
*Current Associate Superintendent Denise Birdwell (recently promoted from Assistant Superintendent of HR, and replaced Barbara Saxton last year) who's mentor is Kay H. Hunnicutt, the attorney that represented Lutrey.
*Cathy Mayes, current HR Director, worked with Birdwell in the Dysart School District.
**We understand that it is natural to recruit past associates within companies, and support this to the extent that we have respected and trustworthy leaders. When there are issues of trust, however, it leaves the public questioning the amount of effort given to finding the best candidate for the position. Many have questioned the close associations within the HR department since the HR policies are not being followed.
6. Teachers and administrators are not being evaluated within the AZ State Law deadlines, or in many cases are not being evaluated at all.
7. A general lack of trust between administration, teachers, and community with district administration because of the way certain situations have been handled (we have promised to keep specifics confidential at this time).
8. Hiring of a large number of first-time principals with little (or no) leadership experience.
9. Lack of proper discipline on issues of pornography, student bullying, and issues involving morality.
In general we believe that the largest issue we face as a community is mistrust. That is, perhaps, the largest problem to solve because it requires a consistent pattern of good choices and relationship-strengthening on many levels for a noticeable period of time. Many parents and community members feel that the Governing Board is too allegiant to the Superintendent, and too skeptical of the people when problems arise. These parents feel that the Governing Board's first allegiance should be to the people, and that the Board should appropriately question the actions of the District Administration so as to keep the balance of power.
We have spent the past week talking personally with board members and administration and here is what we've learned:
*Joyce Lutrey has 2 years remaining on her contract. Several GB members feel it is fiscally irresponsible to release her from her contract because it would cost the District $250K - plus the cost of recruiting a new Superintendent.
**We must point out, that if reasonable cause is established, the Governing Board can make a motion to terminate her contract. This could result in no pay out; however, it is most likely that negotiations would be made to settle for a reasonable amount of severance pay for Dr. Lutrey. Depending on when such an agreement can be made, this would result in far less than $250K.
*3 Governing Board positions are up for election in November - Ed Moore, Nancy Eugenis and Denise Standage.
*Also in November, the community will vote on a Budget Override. Essentially, if this override is not passed, we will lose about 8% of the budget for our District. This will be a huge loss, considering the budget cuts already occurring. Some board members may feel that a disruption in the District leadership will adversly affect the public's perceptions of the District, and jeopardize the passage of the override.
*Governing Board members want to have Personnel Grievances filed according to processes provided under district policy. These grievances against personnel would be filed with the District and Governing Board for investigation. (Change In HUSD would appreciate anyone who files to also send us a copy for our records.) Many of the teachers and administrators who have had personal experiences that violate policies need to make an official grievance. (See previous blog for link to grievance form and District Policies). Change In HUSD fielding complaints and concerns only constitutes "heresay" and cannot be investigated. Board members have promised to protect any teacher, staff or administrator who follows this method of informing the Board. By law no retribution can take place, and we at Change In HUSD will be very aware of what happens to those who choose to share their experiences.
*GB members are quick to share that there is much good happening within the district.
**They are excited about the restructuring of positions within the curriculum arena. They have hired a curriculum director for K-8 and another for 6-12. It is a hope that this overlap in curriculum will ensure our middle-schoolers are ready for high school.
**They have requested that District Administration find highly qualified staff to fill key curriculum positions and want principals who have endorsements in curriculum.
*Governing Board members welcome community members to visit with them about district concerns and can be reached through their email links on http://www.husd.org/.
*District Administrations move to downsize the health staff on each campus was made to free up Maintenance and Operation funds with the intent to increase teacher's salaries. (Bond money is used to build buildings - M&O money is used for salaries and the day to day expenses.)
We are continuing to gather information and will disperse it to parents and community members as soon as possible. We hope that you will take time to familiarize yourselves with this information, so as a concerned public and voters you can make the best decisions for your children and community. We have had many questions regarding our association with Kim Anderson who has been in the news about district issues in the past. We want to clarify that we are acting independent of any board member and solely on the information given to us by teachers and parents. This cause began as teacher and parent complaints poured into our email accounts and over our phone lines after Michelle Rigbys' original email. These people requested that key issues be addressed beyond salary increases as we sought to take our message of Change to the District. We hope that through our actions many of these concerns will be heard by our Governing Board and District Administration. We intend to hold both governing bodies accountable to the people, as this is their responsibility as representatives of the people and educators of our children. We hope that the established system of checks and balances within our District Policy will be in full force as the Governing Board and District Administration cooperate with the will of the people in addressing areas of improvement within the District. We seek to to establish trust between HUSD and our community and will work diligently to that end.
We invite you to join us again on May 29th at the next District Governing Board Meeting. We have also learned that there may be another meeting prior to the 29th, called to address Health Staff downsizing... we'll keep you posted on that date and time. If you have any questions or comments they can be directed to our email address ChangeInHUSD@gmail.com .
1. There are a large number of teachers and administrators leaving the district. This causes a great instability in faculty and processes in addition to the strain on the children.
2. General instability in "where will teachers be" from year to year.
3. Reports of district bullying and district administration who deal with employees in an unprofessional and threatening manner.
4. Lack of support from district to teachers and administrators.
5. Breaking policy in district hiring practices and questionable ties with relationships between district administrators.
*Former HR Director Barbara Saxton was friend of Lutrey from Michigan.
*Current Associate Superintendent Denise Birdwell (recently promoted from Assistant Superintendent of HR, and replaced Barbara Saxton last year) who's mentor is Kay H. Hunnicutt, the attorney that represented Lutrey.
*Cathy Mayes, current HR Director, worked with Birdwell in the Dysart School District.
**We understand that it is natural to recruit past associates within companies, and support this to the extent that we have respected and trustworthy leaders. When there are issues of trust, however, it leaves the public questioning the amount of effort given to finding the best candidate for the position. Many have questioned the close associations within the HR department since the HR policies are not being followed.
6. Teachers and administrators are not being evaluated within the AZ State Law deadlines, or in many cases are not being evaluated at all.
7. A general lack of trust between administration, teachers, and community with district administration because of the way certain situations have been handled (we have promised to keep specifics confidential at this time).
8. Hiring of a large number of first-time principals with little (or no) leadership experience.
9. Lack of proper discipline on issues of pornography, student bullying, and issues involving morality.
In general we believe that the largest issue we face as a community is mistrust. That is, perhaps, the largest problem to solve because it requires a consistent pattern of good choices and relationship-strengthening on many levels for a noticeable period of time. Many parents and community members feel that the Governing Board is too allegiant to the Superintendent, and too skeptical of the people when problems arise. These parents feel that the Governing Board's first allegiance should be to the people, and that the Board should appropriately question the actions of the District Administration so as to keep the balance of power.
We have spent the past week talking personally with board members and administration and here is what we've learned:
*Joyce Lutrey has 2 years remaining on her contract. Several GB members feel it is fiscally irresponsible to release her from her contract because it would cost the District $250K - plus the cost of recruiting a new Superintendent.
**We must point out, that if reasonable cause is established, the Governing Board can make a motion to terminate her contract. This could result in no pay out; however, it is most likely that negotiations would be made to settle for a reasonable amount of severance pay for Dr. Lutrey. Depending on when such an agreement can be made, this would result in far less than $250K.
*3 Governing Board positions are up for election in November - Ed Moore, Nancy Eugenis and Denise Standage.
*Also in November, the community will vote on a Budget Override. Essentially, if this override is not passed, we will lose about 8% of the budget for our District. This will be a huge loss, considering the budget cuts already occurring. Some board members may feel that a disruption in the District leadership will adversly affect the public's perceptions of the District, and jeopardize the passage of the override.
*Governing Board members want to have Personnel Grievances filed according to processes provided under district policy. These grievances against personnel would be filed with the District and Governing Board for investigation. (Change In HUSD would appreciate anyone who files to also send us a copy for our records.) Many of the teachers and administrators who have had personal experiences that violate policies need to make an official grievance. (See previous blog for link to grievance form and District Policies). Change In HUSD fielding complaints and concerns only constitutes "heresay" and cannot be investigated. Board members have promised to protect any teacher, staff or administrator who follows this method of informing the Board. By law no retribution can take place, and we at Change In HUSD will be very aware of what happens to those who choose to share their experiences.
*GB members are quick to share that there is much good happening within the district.
**They are excited about the restructuring of positions within the curriculum arena. They have hired a curriculum director for K-8 and another for 6-12. It is a hope that this overlap in curriculum will ensure our middle-schoolers are ready for high school.
**They have requested that District Administration find highly qualified staff to fill key curriculum positions and want principals who have endorsements in curriculum.
*Governing Board members welcome community members to visit with them about district concerns and can be reached through their email links on http://www.husd.org/.
*District Administrations move to downsize the health staff on each campus was made to free up Maintenance and Operation funds with the intent to increase teacher's salaries. (Bond money is used to build buildings - M&O money is used for salaries and the day to day expenses.)
We are continuing to gather information and will disperse it to parents and community members as soon as possible. We hope that you will take time to familiarize yourselves with this information, so as a concerned public and voters you can make the best decisions for your children and community. We have had many questions regarding our association with Kim Anderson who has been in the news about district issues in the past. We want to clarify that we are acting independent of any board member and solely on the information given to us by teachers and parents. This cause began as teacher and parent complaints poured into our email accounts and over our phone lines after Michelle Rigbys' original email. These people requested that key issues be addressed beyond salary increases as we sought to take our message of Change to the District. We hope that through our actions many of these concerns will be heard by our Governing Board and District Administration. We intend to hold both governing bodies accountable to the people, as this is their responsibility as representatives of the people and educators of our children. We hope that the established system of checks and balances within our District Policy will be in full force as the Governing Board and District Administration cooperate with the will of the people in addressing areas of improvement within the District. We seek to to establish trust between HUSD and our community and will work diligently to that end.
We invite you to join us again on May 29th at the next District Governing Board Meeting. We have also learned that there may be another meeting prior to the 29th, called to address Health Staff downsizing... we'll keep you posted on that date and time. If you have any questions or comments they can be directed to our email address ChangeInHUSD@gmail.com .
Monday, May 19, 2008
Public Concerns/Complaints Grievance Form
Here is how to get to the "Grievence" Policy:
Go to: www.husd.org
Go to "District" and then "Governing Board"
Underneath the big picture you will see "HUSD Policy" -click on that
It will open up another window.
On the left hand side, you will see a list of schools...scroll down until you get to Higley and click on the +
Scroll down again until you see Section K - click on the +
Print: K-1450, K-1461 and K-1481
Fill it out, make one copy for you, one for "Change in HUSD" and one for the Governing Board (which you will put in a sealed envelope and send it to the District Offices).
Start the paper trail.
Please let us know if you have any questions!!!
Go to: www.husd.org
Go to "District" and then "Governing Board"
Underneath the big picture you will see "HUSD Policy" -click on that
It will open up another window.
On the left hand side, you will see a list of schools...scroll down until you get to Higley and click on the +
Scroll down again until you see Section K - click on the +
Print: K-1450, K-1461 and K-1481
Fill it out, make one copy for you, one for "Change in HUSD" and one for the Governing Board (which you will put in a sealed envelope and send it to the District Offices).
Start the paper trail.
Please let us know if you have any questions!!!
Staff Grievances
Here is how to get to the "Grievence" Policy:
Go to: www.husd.org
Go to "District" and then "Governing Board"
Underneath the big picture you will see "HUSD Policy" -click on thatIt will open up another window.
On the left hand side, you will see a list of schools...scroll down until you get to Higley and click on the +
Scroll down again until you see Section G - click on the +
Print: G-1800 through G-1835
Start the paper trail.
Please let us know if you have any questions!!!
Go to: www.husd.org
Go to "District" and then "Governing Board"
Underneath the big picture you will see "HUSD Policy" -click on thatIt will open up another window.
On the left hand side, you will see a list of schools...scroll down until you get to Higley and click on the +
Scroll down again until you see Section G - click on the +
Print: G-1800 through G-1835
Start the paper trail.
Please let us know if you have any questions!!!
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